Скачать или смотреть Rinpung Dzong of Paro, Bhutan

After visiting Bhutan's National Museum we visited the Paro Dzong “Rinpung Dzong” which ranks as a high point of Bhutanese architecture. The massive buttressed walls that tower over the town are visible throughout the valley, especially when floodlit at night. It was formerly the meeting hall for the National Assembly and now, like most dzongs, houses both the monastic body and district government offices, including the local courts. Entering the Dzong we encountered some interesting murals. The Tale of The "Four Harmonious Friends" is an iconic image of an elephant carrying a monkey, a rabbit and a bird on top of one another as they stood together under a fruit tree sets one’s mind thinking about what it symbolizes. The delightful tale begins like this: an elephant, a monkey, a rabbit and a bird lived by a huge fruit tree. Out of curiosity, the four animals sought to find out who is the oldest amongst them, by measuring their age with the tree.
According to the elephant, the tree was already fully grown when he was young while the monkey said that it was still small back then.
As for the rabbit, the tree was a mere sapling when it was a little bunny and when it came to the bird’s turn, it said: “I ate the fruits of a great tree nearby, then excreted the seeds from which this tree grew.” Henceforth, the little bird was recognized for its seniority, followed by the rabbit, the monkey and lastly the elephant. From then on, the four friends lived in harmony, with due respect given to the eldest, as they tended to the tree and helped one another to enjoy its sweet fruits. Therefore, the moral value that this tale is trying to impart is that communal harmony can be achieved through respect for one another based on age, as a barometer of one’s experiences in life. The four harmonious friends - a seemingly simple tale and richness of its values – unity, selflessness, generosity, respect, care for the environment and nature as well as friendship, has indeed transcended through time and is well-loved by many, especially the Bhutanese.
Most of the chapels are closed to tourists but it's worth a visit for its stunning architecture and views.
Rinpung Dzong's formal name, Rinchen Pung Dzong, means 'Fortress on a Heap of Jewels'. In 1644 Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal ordered the construction of the dzong on the foundation of a monastery built by Guru Rinpoche. The fort was used on numerous occasions to defend the Paro valley from invasions by Tibet. The British political officer John Claude White reported that in 1905 there were old catapults for throwing great stones stored in the rafters of the dzong's veranda. The dzong survived a 1897 earthquake but was severely damaged by fire in 1907. The central tower inside the dochey is five storeys tall and was built in the time of the first governor of Paro in 1649. The richly carved wood, painted in gold, black and ochres, and the towering whitewashed walls reinforce the sense of established power and wealth. Once again we could not resist spinning the beautiful prayer wheels. A stairway leads down to the monastic quarter, which houses about 200 monks. **An interesting side note: scenes from Bernardo Bertolucci's 1993 film Little Buddha were filmed here. I love that movie starring Keanau Reeves. From here we walked down from the back entrance down to the river. Stay tuned for the next video to see what happens next.