SATV Kathmandu Nov 02: Bhutan, where progress is measured by Gross National Happiness (GNH), is set to next week host a unique event, the Global Peace Prayer Festival. Starting from November 4th, the ambitious 16-day convocation will see a gathering of eminent Buddhist lamas from all schools of Buddhism—within Bhutan and beyond. Among them: the 12th Kenting Tai Situpa, the 9th Gyalwang Drukpa, Dorji Lopen Kinley, His Holiness the Je Khenpo. Je Khenpo is the title of the senior religious hierarchy and chief abbot of Bhutan's Central Monastic Body.
In a world riven by war and algorithmic rage, the festival is Bhutan's own way of sending a message of peace. The event, which will take place in Changlimithang stadium and at sacred sites across Thimphu. The program unfolds like a liturgical calendar. From Nov. 4 to 10, the Central Monastic Body will perform the Jabzhi Doechog, an elaborate thread-cross ceremony rarely staged at this scale, intended to bind negative forces and cleanse planetary karma. Simultaneously, nonsectarian prayers will ring out in Dzongkha, in the original Dharma Language, with live translation in English, Tibetan for the global stream.
On 10th November, a public blessing ceremony will take place by eminent lamas, and the next day will feature a mass recitation of the Bazaguru mantra—Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum—inviting lay participants to add their voices. The centrepiece arrives from November 12-14, the Je Khenpo’s bestowal of the Kalachakra initiation, a profound tantric transmission that maps the universe onto the human body and is considered a spiritual technology for averting catastrophe.
Perhaps the most consequential act comes at the close. From Nov. 15 to 19, more than 250 nuns from several countries will receive full "Bhikkhuni ordination" at the Bhutan Nuns Foundation (BNF), only the second such ceremony in the kingdom for the Mahayana Buddhist nuns. Parallel events include scholarly panels on Kalachakra cosmology and an exhibition of rare tangkas depicting mandalas.
Hosted by the Royal Government of Bhutan, organisers expect several in-person attendees and millions online. Hosting this festival is the boldest happiness export yet of the country, a Himalayan antidote to a world on fire. The festival's symbol features two Bodhi leaves—the sacred symbol of Buddha's enlightenment under the tree where Siddhartha became the Awakened One—representing awakening, wisdom, and ultimate peace. Positioned opposite each other in golden and white colours, they embody balance, compassion, and unity between East and West. For Bhutan and its citizens, the festival is both homecoming and an outreach.
