One Lung, Full Life traces the unlikely journey of a village lay-monk (gomchen) boy from the forests and ritual paths of rural Bhutan to the responsibilities of a Chief Engineer.
Born into a lay monk family, Ugyen Dorji spent his childhood walking from village to village with his father, carrying ritual texts, phobs and offering bowls. School came late, on the back of a government letter and a reluctant decision that pulled him out of the only life he knew. What followed were years of hunger, long walks, common exams, hostels, illness and moments of quiet kindness that opened unexpected doors.
Diagnosed with a damaged lung, Ugyen was told he might never live a normal life. Instead, he completed engineering, worked in audit, returned to construction and eventually took on national responsibilities in Bhutan’s water sector – still walking, still climbing, still trying to serve.
This memoir is not about perfection or heroism. It is about parents who sacrificed silently, teachers who believed in a shy student, colleagues who stood by during difficult decisions and the quiet strength that comes from faith and a sense of duty.
For anyone who has ever felt too ordinary, too late or too limited by their circumstances, One Lung, Full Life is a reminder that even a boy with a single working lung and a lay-monk (gomchen) past can find his own way to a life of meaningful service.
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Ugyen Dorji
Ugyen Dorji grew up as a village lay-monk (gomchen) boy in rural Bhutan, collecting alms (seonyom) with his father before entering school through a government decree. Surviving a severe lung illness that left him with one functioning lung, he became a civil engineer and Chief Engineer serving under His Majesty’s Secretariat. His memoir, One Lung, Full Life, traces this journey from remote village paths to national service.
