India-linked Buddha relics to be enshrined in 108 chortens in Bhutan

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Published - October 31, 2026 09:06 pm IST - GELEPHU

The podium from which Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk will address the people on November 1, 2026, as 108 stupas are constructed simultaneously to mark the spiritual foundation of the Gelephu Mindfulness City | Photo Credit: Rahul Karmakar

Buddhist relics of Indian origin will be enshrined in most of the 108 jangchub chortens (stupas of enlightenment) that monks and volunteers are scheduled to build simultaneously along a 12 km stretch of the Mau Chhu River in the Bhutanese town of Gelephu on Sunday (November 1, 2026).

The event will mark the spiritual foundation of the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), which Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk envisions as a spirituality-driven global economic hub. About 240 km south-southeast of Bhutan’s capital, Thimphu, the city borders Assam’s Chirang district.

The Central Monastic Body of Bhutan, the country’s principal institutional carrier of the Drukpa Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, said that Buddhists in Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Bhutan had donated hundreds of relics, mostly bones and hair.

“Malaysia sent three sets of 108 relics of the Buddha, enlightened saints and revered lamas. We received many from Thailand. Most of the relics were established as having been sourced from India,” Choten Dorji, the Principal Secretary to one of the masters of the monastic body, said on Saturday (October 31, 2026).

The royal gallery at Gelephu Mindfulness City, on October 31, 2026 | Photo Credit: Rahul Karmakar

The relics form part of the ‘zung’, the living embodiment of the Buddha’s enlightened body, speech and mind. The sacred components of the zung include thangkhas (traditional Tibetan Buddhist paintings on cotton or silk fabric), statues, precious stones, rolled mantra scrolls, or dharanis, and relics of enlightened beings.

The jangchub chorten commemorates the Buddha’s attainment of enlightenment and symbolises the triumph of wisdom over ignorance. Once consecrated, a chorten is rendered equivalent to the living Buddha.

On February 26, King Wangchuk announced Project 108 at the GMC as a “test of national character”, not merely an initiative to set a world record.

“It is an ambitious undertaking that demands courage, unity, and deep commitment. We must do it to prove to ourselves that, as we face the challenges ahead, there is no limit to what we can achieve when we stand together,” he said.

Volunteers line up for work at the main venue of Project 108 Jangchub Chortens on October 31, 2026 | Photo Credit: Rahul Karmakar

Officials said that Project 108, involving 40,000 trained volunteers, was Bhutan’s sacred gesture of peace in a world troubled by conflict.

Each chorten is estimated to cost $200,000, and individuals, families, communities, and institutions worldwide have contributed to the project.

According to the blueprint, each chorten will stand 15 metres tall, positioned 108 metres apart in a line along the Mau Chhu River, which runs through Gelephu.

Bhutan’s spiritual leaders explained the rationale behind the number 108.

“In astronomy, the distance between the earth and the sun is approximately 108 times the sun’s diameter and the distance between the earth and the moon is about 108 times the moon’s diameter,” a monk said.

“In some Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the Kangyur (principal collection of sacred Buddhist scriptures) is arranged in 108 volumes. Practitioners count 108 beads on a prayer mala, circumambulate sacred sites 108 times, and ring temple bells 108 times. In the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition, 108 symbolises spiritual completeness, cosmic balance, and the purification of karma,” he said.

Project 108 also links to Hinduism. “Hindu tradition often speaks of 108 Upanishads (sacred philosophical texts). Many Hindu deities have 108 names. In yoga, the sun salutation is traditionally performed in cycles of 108,” the monk said.

The date for executing Project 108 is significant, too. Bhutan observes November 1 as Lord Buddha’s Descending Day and Mother’s Day. Sunday also marks the 18th coronation anniversary of King Wangchuk, who reached Gelephu with his royal entourage on Saturday.

Published - October 31, 2026 09:06 pm IST

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