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| Gyalwa Jampa thongdroel in Phajoding. Picture by Karma Nima, Kuensel
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28 September, 2009 - A 241-year old Gyalwa Jampa thongdroel (giant thangka) of the Buddha Maitreya, or the future Buddha, was unfurled at the Phajoding monastery in Thimphu yesterday, after 47 years.
The 37 by 31 feet thongdroel, the first of its kind in the country, was constructed by the 14th Je Khenpo, Tenzin Namgyel, according to the principal of Phajoding shedra, Chimi Dorji.
Hundreds of devotees from Thimphu and nearby areas visited Phajoding to receive blessings from the rare thongdroel, which was displayed to the public on the advice of the central monk body for the wellbeing of all sentient beings.
Shakyamuni Buddha predicted that, due to the inevitable degeneration of the times, his own teachings would last just five thousand years before disappearing from this world. People will grow more immoral and their lifespan will gradually decrease, as will their health, stature and fortune. While such delusions as miserliness, hatred and jealousy gain strength, the world will go through prolonged periods of famine, disease and continuous warfare until it eventually resembles a vast battlefield or graveyard. Thereupon Maitreya will appear, not in his fully evolved buddha form, but as a person of regal bearing.
Shakyamuni Buddha also predicted that those who followed his teachings would be reborn in the first circle of Maitreya’s entourage and would be able to complete the spiritual path under Maitreya’s guidance.
By Rinzin Wangchuk
