Brent Olson's Journal

Join scholar and author Dr. Robert Thurman on this journey to the last remaining Tibetan Buddhist Kingdom – Bhutan. On our travels we explore sacred temples and monasteries, enjoy active day hikes, and take time for daily meditation and teaching with Dr. Thurman. Throughout the trip, we examine Bhutan’s unique cultural, religious, and environmental positions and its efforts at continuation and preservation. The trip is co-led by Brent Olson, former Director of Bhutan Programs at Geographic Expeditions. Brent has traveled to Bhutan over 40 times in the last 20 years.

About Robert Thurman:
Dr. Thurman is a professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University, President of the Tibet House U.S., and President of the American Institute of Buddhist Studies. The New York Times recently said Thurman “is considered the leading American expert on Tibetan Buddhism.” Professor Thurman also translates important Tibetan and Sanskrit philosophical writings and lectures and writes on Buddhism, particularly Tibetan Buddhism.

It was announced today that Bhutan will crown the new King on November 6th, 2008.
Here is the story from the BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7521429.stm

Technorati Tags: Bhutan, Geographic Expeditions, Buddhism, Brent Olson, Coronation, King of Bhutan

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During my recent trip to Bhutan with Dr. Robert Thurman and a group of Tibet House supporters, we visited the Pemacholing nunnery in the Tang Valley of central Bhutan.  Dr. Thurman led a wonderful visualization meditation and the nuns then did a Chod (or severance) ceremony for our group.  It was a very moving ceremony and meditation and I was fortunate enough to have my recording equipment along with me so that I can now share it  with you. 

For those of us who were on the trip with Dr. Thurman, it was one of the highlights of our travels together.

To listen to the meditation, go to
http://brentolson.org/audio/choed-meditation.mp3

To listen to the nuns performing the Choed Ritual, go to
http://brentolson.org/audio/choed-ceremony.mp3

To save these two recordings to your computer, go to
http://www.brentolson.org/audio and right click on the file and save it onto your computer.

Technorati Tags: Bhutan, Geographic Expeditions, Buddhism, Brent Olson, Dr. Robert Thurman, Pemacholing Nunnery

To celebrate my 20th anniversary with Geographic Expeditions, I’ve decided to organize a special trip to Bhutan. I wanted to find a way to give back to Bhutan a small portion of the rich blessings the kingdom has given me over the past two decades. Since my first trip to Bhutan in 1986, I’ve grown increasingly fond of the wonderful people, the rich culture and the striking landscape of this remote Himalayan kingdom. In my almost 40 trips, I’ve had the great honor of meeting Bhutanese from all walks of life – from villagers to the Royal Family and I’ve learned what an incredibly rare place Bhutan truly is.

By returning to Bhutan so frequently, I’ve had a close-up view of the changes and challenges that the country faces as it evolves from a medieval society and cautiously and wisely enters the 21st century. I look forward to sharing the beauty of Bhutan, the wonder of its Buddhist culture, and the hospitality of my Bhutanese friends with my GeoEx trip mates.

As an added bonus, “Giving Back to Bhutan” will have the special focus of raising funds for three very special projects. The Bhutanese organizations that will benefit from our donations include the Gangtey Gompa Restoration Fund, which is at work restoring one of the country’s oldest and most important temples; Pemacholing, a new nunnery in central Bhutan benefiting local women who wish to learn more about Buddhism; and the Tarayana Foundation, whose mission is “to help the vulnerable and disadvantaged of Bhutan help themselves.” I hope that those of you who join me on this trip not only have an enriching and educational journey, but also come away with a deeper understanding of what makes Bhutan such a bright and rare treasure in today’s world. Geographic Expeditions will match each traveler’s tax deductible contribution of $500 or more, up to $1,500 per traveler.

We’ll travel to central Bhutan to visit the beautiful Bumthang region which has always been one of my favorite parts of the kingdom.
Many special activities and serendipitous events will inevitably be added to our program as it evolves between now and our U.S. departure (and while we are traveling in Bhutan). I promise that I’ll do my best to make this trip an insightful and amazing journey. I truly hope you will consider joining me on this very special departure!

For more information on this trip or to receive a detailed itinerary, please go to:
http://www.geoex.com/trip.asp?tripID=4860

Technorati Tags: Bhutan, Geographic Expeditions, Buddhism, Brent Olson

I recently co-led a wonderful trip to Mongolia with a hardy group of travelers with Buddhist scholar, Dr. Robert Thurman. We visited Ulan Baatar, Lake Hvosgol and the ancient capital of Kharhorin. We had the honor of meeting with the abbots of both Erdene Zuu Monastery and Ganden Monastery — two of the most significant Buddhist monasteries in Mongolia.

Throughout the trip, Dr. Thurman provided Buddhist mediations and lectures on the reintroduction of Buddhism to Mongolia after it’s near eradication by the Communist in the 1930′s and 40′s. Under Mongolia’s fledgling democratic government, Buddhism is once again beginning to flourish and our group was able to learn more of the rebuilding efforts of the monasteries and the education of the Mongolian people.

During our visit to Lake Hvosgol, we organized a private Nadaam festival for our group that including wrestling, some archery and 3 dramatic, cross country horse races. For photos of the trip, please visit my photo library.

15 December, 2006 – The fourth Druk Gyalpo, His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck, has handed over his responsibilities as the Monarch and head of state of Bhutan to the Crown Prince Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck who now assumes the full responsibilities of head of state as the fifth Druk Gyalpo.

“The time has now come for me to hand over my responsibilities to Trongsa Penlop Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck,” said His Majesty in a kasho issued on December 9, the 20th day of the 10th Bhutanese month. “I am confident that a very bright future lies ahead for Bhutan with the leadership of a new King and a democratic system of government that is best suited for our country as enshrined under the Constitution. I have every confidence that there will be unprecedented progress and prosperity for our nation in the reign of our fifth King.”

As the transition was formally announced on December 14, the 24th day of the 10th Bhutanese month, the day was charged with emotion, and a special sitting of the Cabinet in Tashichhodzong was unable to articulate a comprehensive discussion. Cabinet members and special guests that included the chief justice, the speaker of the National Assembly, and the chief election commissioner were overcome by emotion and sat in a long and stunned silence after His Majesty the King’s announcement.

With a clarity that has been consistent in the royal views, His Majesty reminded the Cabinet session that he had already announced the decision to the nation last December and repeated it many times to the lhengye zhungtsho.

His Majesty explained that Bhutan could not hope for a better time for such an important transition. Today, the country enjoyed peace and stability, and its security and sovereignty was ensured. After phenomenal development and progress the country was closer than ever to the goal of economic self reliance. Bhutan’s relations with its closest neighbour and friend, India, had reached new heights. International organisations and bilateral development partners were ready to support Bhutan’s development efforts and political transformation.

Greetings! I’ve been back in the states now for about 3 weeks and have finally “resettled” back into my life and work routines after a wonderful month in Asia. The first two weeks of November were spent co-leading a trip with Dr. Robert Thurman for Tibet House and we had one of the most amazingly kindhearted groups I have ever traveled with. As usual (with our wonderful Bhutanese partners), everything ran like clockwork and we had many serindipitous events that added to an already brimming itinerary. One of my fondest memories was having the chance to meet with my long time friend and mentor, Gangteng Tulku Rinpoche, the head of Gangteng Gompa. We had a wonderful audience with Rinpoche, toured the reconstruction of Gangteng Gompa and received bessings for ourselves and our loved ones. While at the gompa, we also attended the annual Crane Festival and we throughly enjoy watching the masked dances performed by the Gangteng monks as well as the dances performed by the local school children — especially the Crane Dance, where they dressed in homemade Crane costumes and imitated the black necked cranes which arrive in the valley, right around this time of the year and spent the winter months.

Another highlight was our wonderful tented camp on the Mo Chu (river) upstream from the ancient capital at Punakha. It is such a beautiful setting in the pine forest on the banks of the rushing river and it made a great “base camp” from which to explore the surrounding region.

As always, Bob Thurman’s meditations and talks on Tibetan Buddhism added tremendously to the trip and offered all of us a deeper understanding of Buddhism and the Bhutanese culture. I recorded a number of the meditations and will be posting them on this site and will send them to Bob’s podcasting site as well. Having Dechen Thurman join us as our in-house yoga instructor was a wonderful addition along with Skip Parson’s Qi Gong classes. I’d travel with this group ANYWHERE!
Bob and I are busy planning future trips so be sure to sign up for my travel newsletter so I can keep you posted on the latest developments! I’ll be adding photos and text about our Cambodia and Myanmar trip soon. In the meantime, enjoy the photos I have uploaded from the Tibet House Bhutan trip by clicking on the My Photos link in the right hand column.
Until then, Happy Holidays!

I’ll be heading off to Bhutan on November 4th to co-lead a trip with Dr. Robert Thurman of Tibet House. This will be the 6th or 7th trip we have done together to this remote Himalayan kingdom and I am really looking forward to it.

On our past trip, one of the trip members recorded Bob’s daily meditations and put together a website where you can listen to them. Take a listen as they really capture Bob’s brilliance and encyclopedic knowledge of Tibetan Buddhism.

The site is: http://www.fyminc.typepad.com/bob_thurman_podcast/

I plan to do a daily entry during our trip too, so stay tuned!

http://www.fyminc.typepad.com/bob_thurman_podcast/

This young girl and her mother live on the coast south of Bentota. On Dec. 26th, 2005 they were in their house when the tsunami hit. The mother was able to grab her daughter and run for safety, but the rest of the extended family didn’t make it. To me, this little girl’s smile captures both the beauty of the Sri Lankan people and the resiliancy of the human spirit. We met with a wonderful organization called http://www.adoptsrilanka.com while we were in Galle. For a totally grass roots organization (less than 4% of their donations go to overhead and staffing) they have an amazing array of projects to help the region and the survivors. Take a look if you get a chance.