By Kim Ae-ran
Recently by chance, I met Father Kinley Tshering, former provincial superior of Darjeeling Jesuit Province in India, the first and only native Bhutan Catholic priest.
Bhutan is a close Buddhist theocracy with a population of less than a million, located in the Eastern Himalayas in South Asia, sandwiched between India and China. Bhutan is the second least populous nation after the Maldives. Bhutan and the Maldives were only two countries without Catholics. But about 10 years ago, the Bhutan government allowed freedom of religion, and at present, there are about 100 Catholics, mostly from Nepal or India.
Peaceful Bhutan with the best gross national happiness is the only carbon-negative country and the least corrupt. A place where smoking and damaging nature are banned. Never having been colonized, Bhutan was able to develop a distinct identity based on Buddhism introduced in the 7th century. Basic education and health care are free for all in Bhutan.
Foreign missionaries are not allowed to live in Bhutan; only native Catholics or Christians can work. About 77 percent of the population is Vajrayana Buddhist and about 23 percent is Hindu. Less than 1 percent of the population follows other religions.
Born in the upper class in Bhutan, Father Kinley was amazed when he saw the little child in the manger in Christmas cards. When he went abroad at age 5 to a boarding school run by Jesuits in Darjeeling, he saw the crucifix in a convent, and the sisters explained to him the story of the little boy in a manger in relation to the man on the cross.
At age 15, on May 18, 1974, he was baptized in secret. Despite the objection of his family, he aspired to be a priest; but due to the objection of nearby missionaries, he entered university, earned an MBA, and worked in a company for three years. Being the first MBA holder in Bhutan, graduating from the prestigious IIM-Bangalore, he had many opportunities to succeed.
One day, on a business flight to Kolkata in 1985, he sat next to Mother Teresa who awakened in him a calling to the priesthood when he confessed his wish to be a priest. Holding his hands, Mother Teresa said, “Many people don’t talk like you. You have a vocation. You should be a priest.”
Over his Bhutanese coat (culture), he has put on his Christian coat (faith). Being inclusive, he can understand Catholicism better thanks to his Buddhist background.
He became a priest because he was fascinated by Christ’s love. Looking at missionaries dedicating themselves to the poor, he also desired to live for the poor. He joined the Society of Jesus on June 21, 1986, was ordained on Oct. 23, 1995, served as a principal at St. Joseph’s High School, and also served for the Jesuit province for six years.
Another dream of his is to make a native to be a priest. He hopes to be “a man for the marginalized, a servant of the joy of the Gospel, to smell like the sheep, to go out where others don’t want to go to love and serve. My goal is not to convert people. I think practicing mercy and love is more important.”
(The author is a member of the Daughters of St. Paul living and giving the Good News to the world by means of social communication. This article first appeared in koreatimes.co.kr on December 5, 2019)