Sacred relics of Shakyamuni Buddha arrived in Bhutan from India on Saturday morning, where they will be enshrined during the landmark Global Peace Prayer Festival that is underway in the capital Thimphu from 4–19 November. Escorted by a high-level delegation from India, the relics will be placed on public exhibition during the festival to commemorate the 70th birth anniversary of Bhutan’s fourth king.
“The relics, known as the Piprahwa-Kapilavastu Relics, hold profound historical and spiritual significance,” Bhutan’s government said in a public statement. “Regarded as among the most venerated objects in the global Buddhist tradition, they provide a direct and tangible link to Lord Buddha’s physical presence and enduring blessings.” (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Royal Government of Bhutan)
The Kingdom of Bhutan’s Global Peace Prayer Festival is a rare and momentous spiritual gathering bringing together Buddhist leaders, teachers, scholars, and practitioners from all vehicles of Buddhism and all schools of Vajrayana Buddhism. The occasion is aimed at directing the transformative power of loving-kindness and compassionate awareness to manifest a more peaceful and happier world.
The reliquary containing partial remains of the historical Buddha’s body arrived in Thimphu on 8 November, ahead of an official visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is due to make his second trip in two years to Bhutan. The relics are to be enshrined in the Grand Kuenray Hall in Tashichho Dzong, traditional seat of Bhutan’s civil government, for public display from 12–17 November, before being returned to India on 18 November.
The public exhibition is being held “in commemoration of the 70th Birth Anniversary of His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo,” the government statement added. “This auspicious occasion will enable the people of Bhutan to offer veneration, receive blessings, and participate in the Global Peace Prayer Festival.”
His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck (r. 1972–2006) is the fourth Druk Gyalpo, or Dragon King, of Bhutan, and the father of the reigning monarch, His Majesty the Fifth Druk Gyalpo, Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck. The Bhutanese government has declared a special national holiday on 12–14 November in honor of his 70th Birth Anniversary and the sacred Kalachakra Empowerment segment of the Global Peace Prayer Festival.
The relics were escorted to Bhutan by a high-level delegation from the government of India, including officials from India’s Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the Ministry of Culture, the National Museum of India in New Delhi, where the relics are usually enshrined, and the International Buddhist Confederation.
“It is an auspicious time in Bhutan, coinciding with His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo’s 70th birthday on 11 November,” explained His Eminence Tshogi Lopen Sangay Khandu. “It is also the day when the Lord Buddha descended from the Trayastrimsa heaven to Earth. The arrival of such sacred relics from India further adds to the auspiciousness of the occasion.” (BBS)
Members of the public lined the streets to offer incense and prayers as the motorcade escorting the relics traveled from the airport in Paro to Thimphu. In the capital, the Buddha’s relics were received by Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay at Tashichho Dzong in a sacred ceremony.
“The sacred relics are those of Shakyamuni’s bone fragments that have been preserved as treasures of the Shakya clan,” His Eminence Tshogi Lopen observed. “Viewing the relics is an opportunity to pray that all sentient beings be blessed with happiness. With the blessings received from the relics, may happiness shower upon all sentient beings, and may they be liberated from all suffering.” (BBS)
The Global Peace Prayer Festival will feature the Jabshi Gyap ritual, conducted by Buthan’s Central Monastic Body; two days of non-sectarian Vajrayana Buddhist Global Peace Prayer; a mass recitation of the Bazaguru mantra, bringing people together in a shared aspiration for peace; a day of public blessings by eminent lamas. An exhibition of Kalachakra art and artifacts, as well as academic seminars will also be held alongside the prayer festival.
The highlight of the festival will be the Kalachakra initiation bestowed by His Holiness the Je Khenpo from 12–14 November. Among the most profound tantric teachings in Tibetan Buddhism, the Kalachakra symbolizes the interconnection between the cosmos and the human body, and is often performed to promote peace and avert global crises. The empowerment will be broadcast live on television and online platforms, allowing people around the world to participate through prayer, contemplation, and gratitude.
The festival will also include the historic ordination of 250 nuns on 15–19 November—only the second time that full bhikshuni ordination has been conducted in Bhutan. His Holiness the Je Khenpo will confer the ordination at the Training and Resource Centre of the Bhutan Nuns Foundation in Thimphu.*
Bhutan, nestled in the foothills of the Himalayan mountain range, and sandwiched between the two political and economic heavy hitters India and China, is the world’s last remaining Vajrayana Buddhist country. The spiritual tradition is embedded in the very consciousness and culture of this remote land, where it has flourished with an unbroken history that dates back to its introduction by Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche, in the eighth century. Almost 85 per cent of Bhutan’s population identify as Buddhists, with Hinduism accounting for the majority of the remainder. Most of Bhutan’s Buddhists follow either the Drukpa Kagyu or the Nyingma schools of Vajrayana Buddhism.
Bhutan is regularly ranked among the happiest countries in the world. With a population of just 777,000, according to government estimates for 2021, it is also one of the world’s smallest and least industrialized countries, yet it has significant experience in maintaining the delicate balance of managing economic growth in a sustainable manner, famously encapsulated in its conservative “Gross National Happiness” (GNH) approach to development. While not opposed to material development or economic progress, GNH rejects the pursuit of economic growth as the ultimate good, instead seeking to cultivate a more holistic approach to balanced development and societal well-being, translating cultural and social priorities into developmental goals to create a happier, more equitable society.
* 142 Buddhist Nuns Receive Full Ordination at Landmark Ceremony in Bhutan (BDG) and Gelongma Dompa (dgeslongma’i sdom pa): The Blessing of Bhikshuni Ordination in Bhutan (BDG)
See more
Global Peace Prayer Festival
Press Release (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Royal Government of Bhutan)
Press Release (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Royal Government of Bhutan)
Sacred Buddha relics from India to arrive for Global Peace Prayer Festival (Kuensel)
Sacred Buddha relics from India arrive in Bhutan (BBS)
Buddha relics reach Bhutan as India’s ‘gift’ for Global Peace Prayer Festival (The Hindu)
Buddha’s holy relics to travel to Bhutan for public exposition (The Statesman)
Sacred relics of Lord Buddha embark on a journey to Bhutan (ANI)
Related news reports from BDG
Bhutan Plans Historic Bhikshuni Ordination as Global Peace Prayer Festival Begins
Bhutan’s Laytshog Lopen Sangay Dorji Promotes Events of Global Peace Prayer Festival in November
Government of Bhutan to Host Landmark Global Peace Prayer Festival in November
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