In Bhutan’s Himalayan haven, Buddhist leaders convene for global peace prayers; India to send relics

Nestled in the eastern Himalayas, where snow-capped peaks guard a kingdom that measures progress by Gross National Happiness rather than GDP, Bhutan is hosting a rare spiritual summit aimed at healing a fractured world. The Global Peace Prayer Festival, which began Tuesday and runs through Nov. 19.

It has drawn eminent lamas from every major Buddhist lineage to Thimphu’s sacred sites and Changlimithang Stadium for 16 days of rituals, empowerments, and interfaith harmony.

Presided over by His Holiness the Je Khenpo—Bhutan’s chief abbot and spiritual head of the Central Monastic Body—the gathering includes the 12th Kenting Tai Situpa, the 9th Gyalwang Drukpa, and Dorji Lopen Kinley, among others. Their mission: to channel ancient Vajrayana practices into a collective plea for planetary peace amid wars, climate crises, and digital discord.

The festival unfolds like a living liturgical calendar. From Nov. 4 to 10, hundreds of monks performed the Jabzhi Doechog, an elaborate thread-cross ritual rarely staged at this scale, intended to bind negative forces and purify global karma. Chanted in Dzongkha and classical Dharma languages, the ceremonies are streamed live with English and Tibetan translations, reaching millions online.

On Nov. 10, lamas bestowed public blessings; the following day, thousands joined a mass recitation of the Bazaguru mantra—Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum—invoking Guru Rinpoche’s transformative power. The centrepiece, a three-day Kalachakra empowerment led by the Je Khenpo from Nov. 12 to 14, offers a tantric map of the universe within the human body, revered as a spiritual technology to avert catastrophe.

A historic milestone closes the festival: from Nov. 15 to 19, over 250 nuns will receive full Bhikkhuni ordination at the Bhutan Nuns Foundation—the second such ceremony in the kingdom’s Mahayana tradition, advancing gender equity in monastic life.

Parallel events include scholarly panels on Kalachakra cosmology and an exhibition of rare thangkas depicting intricate mandalas. The festival’s emblem—two golden and white Bodhi leaves, symbolising enlightenment and balance between East and West—adorns prayer flags fluttering across Thimphu.

India will be sending Buddha relics later this week. It coincides with PM Modi's visit to the country as well. The Indian leader will be in Thimphu from 11-12 November, during which key infrastructure projects could be inaugurated.

Organisers expect thousands in person and millions digitally, blending ancient ritual with modern outreach. For Bhutan, a constitutional monarchy, the festival is both homecoming and global embrace—a quiet mountain nation’s prayer for a louder, kinder world.