Bhutan is often upheld as the last sovereign Vajrayana Buddhist country in the world. Here, the kingdom’s development philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH) prioritizes foundational Buddhist principles like moderation, compassion, and skillful means as core national values. Yet, as Bhutan grows wealthier and more connected to a globalized world, the country faces a paradox. The very Buddhist practices that preached simplicity and restraint are colliding with the messiness of modern consumerism, excess, and waste.

Consider the rise of mass Buddhist congregations. These once rare gatherings now occur with conspicuous regularity, drawing tens of thousands of devotees. Spiritually, they offer blessings and the accumulation of merit for devotees. But they generate enormous practical and logistical challenges, consuming vast resources and leaving behind mountains of plastic waste, discarded food and unmanaged human excretions. Newspapers such as Kuensel have raised the alarm about the scale of waste left in the wake of these events.

According to Trine Brox, associate professor of contemporary Tibetan studies at the University of Copenhagen, religious consumption carries a moral ambivalence. There is a specific Buddhist perspective on waste: when excess overwhelms moderation and good sense, devotion risks becoming indistinguishable from wastefulness. This is an uneasy contradiction for a Buddhist society that prides itself on following the middle path and prioritizing ethical restraint.

One common way of squaring this circle has been to claim Buddhism’s inherent compatibility with environmental ethics and good practices. Bhutanese leaders frequently emphasize that Buddhist values naturally align with sustainability. But some scholars caution against this assumption, warning that it risks becoming a form of spiritual greenwashing. Doctrine alone does not ensure sustainability. What matters is conscious reform and deliberate policy action.

This is where the role of Bhutan’s spiritual leadership comes into sharp focus. Despite the country’s 2008 constitution formally separating religion and governance in line with modern secular ideals, Bhutan’s traditional governance model of choesid zungdrel (harmony or tandem between spiritual and secular authority) remains vibrant. Nowhere is this more visible than in the social and policy interventions of His Holiness the 70th Je Khenpo (Lord Abbot), Trulku Jigme Choedra.

Born in 1955 and having become the leader of the country’s Central Monastic Body in 1996, the Je Khenpo has issued more than 200 public advisories and administrative decrees known as chabsho (Dz: ཆབ་ཤོག་). Far from being secretive temple scriptures, they are widely circulated in the public domain and consciousness. In 2023, they were formally anthologized and published under the title, A Collection of Advisories that are a Beneficial Guide. Together, they cover a vast range of issues, from monastic discipline and spiritual hygiene to public health, finance, gender equality and waste management. For a scholar like myself, they provide a unique window into how Buddhist authority is evolving to meet the challenges of globalization, consumerism and ecological strain.

What is particularly noteworthy is the Je Khenpo’s willingness to address issues that touch the daily lives of ordinary people. Many chabshos call for limiting expensive ceremonies that burden families financially. Others initiate reforms in monastic education, encouraging the creation of new colleges and meditation centers for innovation and excellence in Buddhist practice.

Some of his most powerful interventions concern the conceptualization and management of waste. Through his proclamation of the “five-fold benefits of cleanliness” (Dz: tsandra phenyoen ngaden; གཙང་སྦྲ་ཕན་ཡོན་ལྔ་ལྡན་), he reframed cleanliness as far more than household tidiness. He argued that it is a matter of spiritual ethics, communal health and ecological responsibility, skillfully reframing waste management as both a mundane and sacred duty.

The Je Khenpo has not shied away from speaking about matters of national policy. When plans were floated to introduce large-scale animal farming and meat processing, he publicly criticized them as incompatible with Buddhist ethics and condemned them as morally degenerate. Apart from being a spiritual statement, it was a forceful intervention in the country’s economic planning, reminding Bhutan’s secular leaders that moral considerations must guide the country’s development priorities. His support for the Gelephu Mindfulness City project, intended as a major international Buddhist hub of spiritual wellbeing and technological innovation, similarly reflected his conviction that development should be driven not just by market forces but by values of moderation, compassion, and skillful means in meeting emerging challenges.

The Je Khenpo’s authority extends beyond the secular sphere in ways that are quite distinctive to Bhutan’s governance structures. In times of crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic or during major national undertakings like the new Buddhist city, his chabshos have been addressed not only to government officials and the public but also to the pantheon of deities who protect the country’s territories. Following the model of the country’s founder, Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel (1594–1651), he has issued sacred decrees commanding these deities to safeguard the nation. For a deeply religious populace, such acts have tangible affective power, calming anxieties in uncertain times and binding communities together in a shared spiritual ecology.

All of this underscores the Je Khenpo’s unusual role: constitutionally above politics, yet politically astute and engaged. He treads a delicate line between tradition and reform, wielding religious authority to intervene in issues often thought to belong exclusively to the state. His chabshos show us a vision of Buddhism that is not retreatant but engaged, not static but adaptive.

Bhutan’s experience offers broader lessons. Across the world, societies grapple with the costs of overconsumption, ecological breakdown and moral uncertainty. Too often, religious institutions retreat into dogma or ceremonial self-preservation. The Je Khenpo has shown another path, a model of leadership that combines religiosity with practical wisdom, tradition with innovation and spiritual authority with demonstrated public engagement.

The stakes remain high. As Bhutan navigates its own developmental crossroads, the question is whether its Buddhist leadership can continue to steer the country toward a balance between material prosperity and ethical restraint. The Je Khenpo’s example suggests that the answer is yes. If religious authority remains willing to confront excess and waste head-on, not simply with statements but with meaningful reforms and interventions, it can act as a moral compass attuned to the complexities of modern life.

In an age of planetary crisis, this is perhaps the deepest message from Bhutan: that wisdom traditions must prove their relevance not simply by asserting inherent value, but by engaging skillfully and meaningfully with the messy realities of the present.

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