Bhutan is the last Buddhist kingdom of the Himalayas. Buddhism goes back to Buddha Shakyamuni, who lived in India five centuries before our time. Only after a thousand years of developing, did his teachings reach the Himalayas, where it entered into close association with previous religious ideas.
The form of Vajrayana Buddhism - the »vehicle of diamonds« - practised in Bhutan, shapes all aspects of life - from state politics to every-day life in the rural areas.
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