Rituals

When entering each lodge for the first time, your GEM will present you with a ‘khadar,’ a traditional scarf printed with sacred symbols, to mark your arrival. The khadar varies in color from lodge to lodge and each carries an important meaning, linked to the chant of a Buddhist mantra to promote positivity and protection for your journey.

Throughout your stay you will be guided in auspicious Buddhist practices to gain merit and dispel bad karma. In Thimphu, as your set your intentions for your journey, your GEM will assist you in offering a butter lamp at the lodge’s Prayer Pavilion, surrounded by meditative reflecting ponds. In Punakha you may perform a mandala offering ceremony to hone your concentration and to bring awareness to the importance of living in the moment.

At Six Senses Gangtey, offer a purifying fire puja to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the ten directions and the Tantric deities as a way of letting go of the past and creating space for a fresh start, while in Bumthang, you can join our team in printing your own prayer flags using hand carved wooden blocks to hang in a clean, peaceful location in the pine forests surrounding the lodge. Prayer flags are typically raised outside homes, hung on bridges, hilltops and in places of spiritual importance. When the wind blows, it carries away the prayers on the flag, blessing all beings.

Before ending your stay in Paro, you’ll be invited to join a blessing ceremony performed by monks at a 15^th century monastery located just steps from the lodge. When it is time to depart, your GEM will tie a colored sungkey (blessed cord) around your wrist while reciting a mantra to bid you a safe onward journey. You may wear this cord to keep you safe and to bring good luck long after you have left the Kingdom.