Kuzu zampo la, y’all!

In the past few decades, I’ve been to quite a lot of graduations — probably a couple dozen or more — owing to a career in academia, a handful of my own degrees, and brothers and cousins to celebrate.

So you can trust me when I say the August 29th celebration of Jigme Singye Wangchuck School of Law’s fourth graduating class — 24 graduates who completed the five-year LLB (Bachelor of Law) / PGDNL program, and 11 graduates who completed the one-year Post Graduate Diploma in National Law (PGDNL, following a first law degree from another institution) — was the most magnificent graduation ceremony ever.

The Bhutanese know their pomp and circumstance. The rituals — yes, plural — were a study in pacing and grandeur, alternately languorous and active, mystical and rational, individual and collective, solemn and giddy. Ritual studies scholars could write multiple dissertations on this event.

In fact, the three-ritual extravaganza was so immense, intense, and vibrant as to require two posts to do it justice (as well as a nap immediately following its conclusion).

Preparations for graduation had begun as soon as the semester started in late July. At that time, graduation was planned for late September or early October.

However, a series of auspicious coincidences, including the conclusion of the term of service for the Ambassador of India to Bhutan, His Excellency Shri Sudhakar Dalela, who has been an important partner in establishing and launching the law school, meant that the graduation ceremony had to be “preponed,” or advanced by several weeks. (This eventuality is frequent enough that prepone is a commonly used term.)

According to Bhutanese belief, auspicious beginnings — or initial conditions — significantly shape the subsequent unfolding of an event. For the best possible outcome, a new beginning must occur at the most auspicious time and place. The inauguration of the graduates’ post-college life should occur at the most optimal time.

This sensitivity to appropriate timing ensures that people don’t rush into things — except when preponing an event is most fortuitous! — and ensures that the moment has fully ripened when commencing an endeavor.

This sensitivity to initial conditions resonates with findings of the “new sciences” of chaos and complexity theory. Chaos theory considers how initial conditions can be amplified through feedback loops over time, leading to outsize influences of minute initial conditions, the so-called “Butterfly Effect”: as the saying goes, the flap of a butterfly’s wings in the Amazon can influence the course of a tornado in Texas.

Workers began beautifying the campus with flags and banners, planting flowers and greenery, and scrubbing the buildings where events would be held. As the Estate team consists of only a few people, classes were cancelled for the week, with students, staff, and faculty assigned preparatory tasks. (I took the opportunity to get ahead in my course planning.)

Graduation day was divided into three rituals, representing the JSW of the law school’s name: Justice, Service, and Wisdom.

Sherab Lhakhang (Temple of Wisdom), the chapel at the top of the central pillar or utse, was the location for the first ritual.

The Wisdom Ceremony began with an opening marchang offering ceremony, in which a ladle of wine is lifted from a vessel, displayed and offered with precise movements prescribed by traditional etiquette, transforming it into transcendental nectar.

His Eminence Laytshog Lopen Sangay Dorji, the second senior-most leader of the Central Monastic Body, blessed silky white ritual scarves that were draped over the shoulders of the graduates. Her Royal Highness Princess Sonam Dechan Wangchuck, President of the law school who attended Stanford as an undergrad and then Harvard Law School, gave each graduate a graduation medal. Women pinned the medals their rachus and men to their kabneys (large, off-white raw silk scarves wrapped around one shoulder on formal occasions).

The graduates received an oral transmission of Bodhisattva Manjushri’s wisdom from His Eminence Laytshog Lopen Sangay Dorji.

At the conclusion of the contemplative ceremony, everyone received sudja (traditional butter tea) and desi (saffron rice with butter, sugar, raisins, and cashews). Most students had their phob (traditional hand carved wooden cups), carried in the top pouch of the kira or gho, eliminating the need for disposable cups. For those visiting faculty who were less well prepared, cups were provided.

Guests departed from the lhakhang to walk to the Pillar of Reverence, which honors the Fourth King, where the Service ceremony would take place. Parents were waiting for the graduates at the Pillar. The pillar recalls the occasion when Guru Rinpoche, who instituted Buddhism in Bhutan in the ninth century, required two warring kings to swear their allegiance to Buddhism and end their feud at a stone monolith.

The Ambassador of India to Bhutan, His Excellency Shri Sudhakar Dalela, witnessed the graduates circumambulate the Pillar three times and sign an oath committing to serve the Tsa Wa Sum — King, country, and people — with dedication, compassion, and integrity.

Although the sky seemed to threaten rain — the app on my phone predicted an 80% chance of rain — the weather was perfect: mild and cool, without glaring sun or harsh shadows, as everyone knew it would be. The deities were trusted to bless the auspicious day.

After the Service ceremony, graduates and guests processed down the steep stairs and back up to the law school for a tea break.

May your undertakings have well-appointed, auspicious, and blessed beginnings, until next time,

Tashi delek!