The Global Peace Prayer Festival, held from 4–19 November in the Bhutanese capital Thimphu, was one of the most significant Vajrayana events of 2025. It was a grand ecumenical, non-sectarian gathering bringing together Buddhists from all over the world to engage in a Global Peace Prayer, Jabzhi, Kalachakra empowerment, and gelongma (bhikshuni) ordination. But it was also an opportunity for Bhutanese and non-Bhutanese alike to celebrate, together, the 70th birthday anniversary of His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck (b. 11 November 1955), the country’s beloved fourth king.

The Druk Gyalpo emeritus remains in good and spritely health. He has a purposeful stride in every step, and retains his signature modesty and seriousness long after having abdicated in 2006, according to the constitutional law that he established, at the age of 65. Like the Chinese sages of old, or indeed, George Washington, he was at his most powerful when relinquishing power.

His Majesty’s establishment of a parliament and democratic traditions in Bhutan’s political culture, pioneering the national philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH) (a development model that prioritizes the holistic well-being of its citizens over purely economic indicators), and commitment to inclusivity, dialogue, and ethical governance has made his country not only a shining light of the Buddhist world, but a model of inspiration to many nations with much larger landmasses and populations.

A landlocked Himalayan country and the last Buddhist kingdom on the planet—and sandwiched between to regional superpowers—Bhutan is truly a remarkable case study in modern governance. For decades, it has successfully maintained its sovereignty, cultural identity, and internal stability while navigating a complex geopolitical landscape.

This remarkable achievement is largely credited to the transformative reign of who Bhutanese affectionately and reverently call “the Great Fourth,” for the simple fact that while there have been previous kings of Bhutan, it was solely and wholly the fourth king who created a Bhutanese state fit for the 21st century, being able to move nimbly between various geopolitical factions while remaining committed to preserving its greatest resources: its vast, beautiful ecology and its Buddhist heritage, embodied by the Zhung Dratshang (Central Monastic Body) and many other Vajrayana traditions.

There circulates the darkly humorous observation that a monarchs’ reigns end in only two ways: death (peaceful or not), or being overthrown through revolution or invasion. Hindsight reveals that His Majesty may have avoided that through his own wise leadership and compassion for his people. But there was one point when his reign looked truly fragile, and the entire kingdom in danger of political extinction. That was when parts of Bhutan were overrun by Assamese separatists crossing the Indian border. Through their refusal to leave sovereign Bhutanese land, these Indian insurgents triggered a two-day war from 15–16 December 2003.

In confronting this threat, the fourth king not only faced a hardened, battle-ready rebel group with modern rifles and equipment, but also had to come to terms with the fact that Bhutan had no standing army in the traditional sense. Nor did it possess an arsenal that could realistically hold out for long. His Majesty needed a Buddhist strategy, blending a fearless and decisive deployment of a motivated small armed force with a genuine plea to the interlopers to make peace and leave.

The stakes could not have been higher. The king himself had stated, according to the longtime associate of the royal family Tsering Tashi in his book with Thierry Mathou The Bodhisattva King: His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck of Bhutan (2015), “If not [successful] then it would be the beginning of the end of the state of Bhutan.” Codenamed “Hotel Mike,” the king shared with his men his assessment that the Bhutanese were like a weak boxer in the ring with a far stronger opponent. Eventually, they would be outlasted and beaten. Everything hinged on demoralizing the better-trained and better-equipped enemy into not fighting.

Hotel Mike determined that the Bhutanese needed to strike first and so hard that the unexpected hit would deter the shocked Assamese insurgents from attempting further advances. He also noted that the monks of the Zhung Dratshang had chanted many prayers and held many rituals for a peaceful outcome and successful negotiations, as well as a successful campaign should all else fail.

There was to be no perdition upon Bhutan’s foes. As the Great Fourth predicted, a surprise mortar barrage by artillery and a bold sweep of the militants’ camps, led by the monarch at the front of the armed volunteers—a move that many Bhutanese, some of them now decorated, who stormed those camps and took men prisoners, still recall with slightly damp eyes—was enough. Tsering Tashi, who served during the conflict, observed that he and his friends “found most of them [the camps] empty. The militants had deserted their camps in panic—as intended by the King’s strategy.” Rebels that had not fled back to Assam or into Bangladesh were taken prisoner by the Bhutanese, but would later recall that they received better treatment from the Bhutanese than their own leaders. There was a mediated peace, and Bhutan’s sovereignty and its people’s way of life, would continue. Three years later, the king would implement his long-term vision of democratization and environmental stewardship.

Sources close to the royal household note that the Great Fourth, despite his retirement, retains with his son, the current king His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (b. 1980), a singular focus on maximizing the Himalayan kingdom’s position in today’s complex and competitive world. The constitutional abdication law that will mean that the fifth king, at age forty-five, has twenty years to establish his legacy through the equally transformational Special Administrative Region of Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC).

GMC has the full support of his father the fourth king, and will embody, as part of both monarchs’ bodhisattva aspirations, Bhutan’s identity and its most significant contributions to the world: sustained peace, pioneering environmentalism, and human-centered statecraft. The father and son’s commitment to Buddhist values, which ensconce all these estimable goals, will only fuel the fifth king’s success, which is being built on the shoulders of a moral giant.

Related features from BDG

Buddhistdoor View: The Global Peace Prayer Festival in the Bigger Picture of Bhutan’s National Agenda
Excess, Moderation, and Skillful Means: Bhutanese Dharma Leadership in a Changing World
Buddhistdoor View: Buddhists at the Crossroads of Global Dialogue

Related news reports from BDG

His Majesty the King of Bhutan Offers Gelephu Mindfulness City Full Support with Official Visit

Related blog posts from BDG Tea House

The Great Fourth at 70—A Reign to Inspire the Centuries