First there was the spoken word...

I was visiting Lopen Pemala at his home in Bumtang. Lopen was for many years the spiritual advisor to the royal family. He is a great meditator as well as a great scholar, and is responsible for developing Bhutan's written language. That's no small accomplishment. Before this there was only an oral tradition in Bhutan. Here Lopen is clarifying some important historical texts for our translators and friends.

Lopen Pemala is an invaluable resource, and a national treasure, and has offered his support to the cultural center project.

The end of the innocence

Young Bhutanese children huddle around a television, transfixed by images of violence, sexploitation, and the consumer driven madness of the "developed" world. As we witness Bhutan's traditional values colliding with "World Wrestling Federation" and "Do You Want To Be A Millionaire," we felt inspired to do something, and do it quickly. The idea of the Cultural Center of Bhutan was developed as a solution to this rapid loss of innocence. I recall Don Henley's lyric...

" Now we've come so far, so fast
But this is the end of the innocence.

I know a place where we can go
That's still untouched by men
We'll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind...
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence."

-Don Henley