Fertility Temple in Bhutan

Chimi Lhakhang, also known as fertility temple, is a Buddhist monastery in Punakha Dzongkhag of Bhutan. It was built in 1499 AD on a round hillock near Sopsokha village by Ngawang Choegyel. The site was blessed by the unconventional saint Drukpa Kunley. The monastery is the repository of the original wooden symbol of phallus that Kunley brought from Tibet. The ritual at the monastery is to strike pilgrims on the head with a 10-inch wooden phallus (erect penis).

It is believed that Drukpa Kunley subdued a demon of Dochu La with his “magic thunderbolt of wisdom”. He was known as the “Divine Madman” for his unorthodox ways of teaching Buddhism by singing, humour and outrageous behavior. He is the saint who encouraged the use of phallus symbols as paintings on walls and flying wooden phalluses on house tops. Symbols of an erect penis in Bhutan have been intended to protect the home from evils.