6 months ago
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THIMPHU
Bhutan, an land of tranquillity successful a troubled neighbourhood, is eyeing the relation of a spiritual planetary peacemaker successful a satellite torn by conflicts, polarisation, and discord.
The Himalayan country’s Central Monastic Body said Bhutan tested the waters by bringing unneurotic spiritual leaders, scholars, and thinkers from 3 main branches of Buddhism — Mahayana, Theravada, and Vajrayana — for the first-ever Global Peace Prayer Festival (GPPF), being held successful Thimphu from November 4 to 19.
The “overwhelming response” from Buddhists wrong and beyond the state has prompted Bhutan to program the GPPF arsenic an yearly lawsuit connected a larger scale, involving apical practitioners of each oregon astir mainstream and indigenous religions connected Earth.
“His Majesty, the King of Bhutan, conceived the GPPF arsenic a planetary level for transformative spiritualism toward co-creating a aboriginal rooted successful bid and happiness. Our occurrence successful bringing leaders from each branches of Buddhism is simply a measurement successful the close direction,” Chorten Dorji, the Secretary of the Central Monastic Body, told The Hindu on Sunday (November 9, 2025).
The Bhutanese government’s assurance successful undertaking the lawsuit connected a expansive standard stemmed from akin festivals held annually crossed the country’s 20 dzongkhags (districts) to commune for satellite bid and the healing of humanity.
The GPPF has attracted lamas and different representatives from the Mahayana subdivision successful China, Singapore, and Taiwan; from the Theravada subdivision successful Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand; and from the Vajrayana subdivision successful Bhutan, India, and the Tibetan region.
“We spot the effect arsenic an encouragement to organise GPPF annually by inviting the information of priests, spiritual leaders, and scholars from each religions. The concurrence of interfaith leaders, who play a large relation successful society, is indispensable for lasting bid anywhere,” Mr. Dorji said.
The GPPF organisers made this volition wide by creating a model for Hindu priests and spiritual leaders from India to clasp a wide recitation lawsuit connected November 7.
The Central Monastic Body appreciated the assistance from the Government of India “in currency and kind” to organise the GPPF and transport Lord Buddha’s relics from the National Museum successful New Delhi to the Grand Kuenray hallway successful Thimphu for nationalist veneration from November 12 to 18.
“The practice we person received from India has cemented the enslaved betwixt our 2 countries. And the upcoming sojourn of India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has made the festival much globally significant,” Mr. Dorji said.
(This analogous is successful Thimphu connected the invitation of the Government of Bhutan.)
