65th Issue: Drukpa Kunley and Phallus Worship

I was reading the latest Anthony Bourdain book – it was actually meant to be a collaboration with him and someone else and then he died so the book isn’t what it was meant to be and I don’t actually recommend it – and there was a mention of a Buddhist monk in Bhutan in the 15^th and 16^th centuries called Drukpa Kunley. I looked this monk up and learned that he was an interesting guy. He kind of reminds me of some of the popes from that same time period.

 

 

Drukpa Kunley came from a noble family in Tibet, and was called “The Saint of 5000 Women”. He encouraged women to be blessed by him by having sex with him. He wanted to show that you didn’t have to be celibate to achieve enlightenment. He also said that by having sex he could pass on his enlightenment to others. Sounds like excuses to me, but who knows, maybe he really believed this.

Drukpa Kunley was responsible for introducing phallus paintings in Bhutan. If you visit, they are still painted on some buildings and homes, though the practice is dying out. His penis supposedly had the power to awaken those who were unlightened so it was called the “Thunderbolt of Flaming Wisdom”. This sounds fake and maybe it is but I don’t know how to read the languages this was written in so I can’t check.

 

 

Drukpa Kunley also peed on some sacred places and showed up to a famous Lama naked and offering his testicles. He would only bless you if you brought him a beautiful woman and a bottle of wine.

Apparently the use of phallus symbols in Bhutan was from before Drukpa Kunley. The religion that existed there before Buddhism had it too, so he probably just popularized it. Drukpa said he acted up to shock the clergy who he thought were way too uptight. Some consider him a fertility saint as well.  One time he was given a sacred thread to wear around his neck to protect him but instead he tied it around his penis to get luck with the ladies…not that he needed it.

In some parts of Bhutan, a wooden penis is put into a cup before a drink of alcohol is served to guests. Some of the phalluses on the walls have silly eyes painted on them. They are always ejaculating.

 

 

I read a book a while ago that was about animal penises but also penises in general and I always think that there’s not really much more to discover, science wise, at least in the animal/natural world, but it turns out that vaginas of various different animals are totally understudied. I want to know if any country paints pictures of non-penis related genitalia on their houses.

Anyway I already have a topic in mind for the next issue and it has nothing to do with genitalia so get ready for a change in topic!