The Thai-Bhutan Friendship Temple: An Update

by sjsonnenbergmd

We have been back in Bhutan for a week now. Our route into town sometimes takes us past the Thai-Bhutan Friendship Park and Temple. Expecting it to be complete, we were anxious to visit but discovered it is still a work in progress. We had posted on June 14 2024 on Daphne Bholua and the traditional arts, including the statuary being created in the temple. Below are some photos of portions now completed.

Adjacent to a park in downtown Thimphu funded by the government of Thailand, a new temple is being constructed. Unlike traditional Bhutanese temples, it will be filled with natural light from its many windows. We were very fortunate to watch over time the early stages of creating the religious statutes that will anchor this spiritual space.
Jim zo or clay sculpture is one of the oldest of the traditional arts of Bhutan. Statues of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, dakinis, and various religious figures embody Vajrayana spirituality in temples dating back as far as the seventh century.

Above: May 2024 Below: September 2025

Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, the Bearded Lama, was a Tibetan Buddhist Rinpoche of the Drikung Kagyu school who unified Bhutan in the seventeenth century. He is highly revered throughout Bhutan and has temples dedicated solely to his veneration.

Above: May 2024 Below: September 2025

The central Buddha altar, September 2025
Wood carvings yet to be painted.
The work continues. September 2025. Sculptors study for six years at Zorig Chisum, the traditional arts school. See the post from December 15, 2019 for more info.

2 Comments

  1. Hi Steve and Margaret 🙂

    Wow the before and after pics of the temple sculptures are amazing! Thanks so much for sharing! I love following your adventures and it takes me right back to our time in Bhutan…

    I’ll be travelling to Greece in a couple of weeks to volunteer at t refugee camp offering traditional acupuncture and physiotherapy for 3 weeks – I’d love to revisit Bhutan and study traditional medicine more next time.

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    1. Wish you were here. Hope you’re happy and well. This visit was touch and go due to new immigration and labor regulations day that say, at 70, I am too old to receive a foreign worker permit. Fortunately I’ve been here enough times that there were people in high places to pull the necessary strings. We’re happy to be back.

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