Thousands of volunteers build 108 stupas in a day in Bhutan's Gelephu Mindfulness City

GELEPHU, Bhutan (AP) — Buddhist masters from various schools and denominations and about 200,000 people from around the world congregated in Gelephu, Bhutan , on Sunday to witness volunteers erect 108 stupas in a single day.

The newly erected sacred structures, representing Buddha’s enlightenment, anchor Gelephu Mindfulness City. Conceived by Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and designed by Danish architects, the city is taking shape as a vibrant economic hub that puts the ideals of ecological sustainability and the happiness of the country's citizens over commercial profit.

The city, currently a small town with a population of about 10,000, is in southern Bhutan along the border with India, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of Thimphu, the nation's capital.

Amid massive economic challenges — from rising unemployment and falling birth rates to the mass migration of skilled workers — Bhutanese are pinning their hopes on this city to boost their economy and provide the opportunities that would encourage young people to stay in the country.

Bhutan’s Project 108 is an initiative to install 108 stupas with each standing about 50 feet (15 meters) tall, spaced about 354 feet (108 meters) apart, in a single file along the Mao Chhu river, to appear like a “procession” of monuments, according to the project's website. The number 108 is sacred in Buddhism, which is widely practiced in Bhutan.

These stupas are known as Jangchub Chortens in Vajrayana Buddhism, a major branch that emerged in India around the 5th and 7th centuries B.C. It aims to help practitioners attain enlightenment within a single lifetime.

“This is not merely an engineering feat,” the statement said. “In the Buddhist tradition, building a chorten is one of the most meritorious acts a person can undertake, a gift of spiritual benefit not just to those who build it, but to everyone who encounters it. Project 108 is a collective offering to the world.”

While the external structures of all 108 stupas were completed Sunday with the help of about 40,000 volunteers, the preparations have been underway for months, project officials said. The sealed structures will be filled with prayers, blessings, relics and spiritual texts, making it “a physical form of prayer, made permanent in stone and earth.”

Devotees gathered in massive crowds at night, holding glowing yellow light balls, chanting and offering prayers at the foot of the stupas.

Bhutan is the only sovereign nation where Vajrayana Buddhism is not just constitutionally enshrined as the state religion, but also deeply woven into its daily governance, cultural identity and legal frameworks. For example, Bhutan’s concept of Gross National Happiness, which prioritizes peace and collective well-being over pure economic growth, is a direct, practical application of Vajrayana Buddhist principles. The religion views nature as sacred and holds the belief that spirits reside in mountains, rivers and forests, making environmental protection a spiritual duty.

Bhutan’s tradition of chortens is more than 2,500 years old; the earliest of them were built to enshrine relics of the Buddha after he died.

Kinley Dorji, a spokesperson for Gelephu Mindfulness City, said Sunday’s event was “a big historic and spiritual” event for Bhutan. The stupas will stand on a prime spot along the river where the plains of India rise into the Himalayas, he said.

“We were initially expecting thousands, but now we have 100,000 coming together,” he said. Guests, including Buddhist masters from temples and monasteries worldwide, have brought treasured offerings and blessings for the stupas.

Among them was the Venerable Pannakara, a Theravada Buddhist monk, who earlier this year completed a 108-day, 2,300-mile Walk for Peace from the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C. The delegation included his teacher, the Most Venerable Ratanaguna, and others.

The delegation posted on social media calling their trip to Bhutan for the consecration of the stupas a sacred journey.

Pannakara posted a video on the Walk for Peace Facebook page taking a tour of the completed stupas. He said he watched the entire endeavor as volunteers and workers donning construction vests and hard hats assembled prefabricated pieces to build the 108 stupas in about 12 hours — starting at 2 a.m. and finishing up at 2 p.m. — about four hours ahead of schedule.

“We have come here to witness, to pray and see the results,” he said. “It's great to see that 200,000 people from all over the world came here to witness this special moment.”

Bharath reported from Los Angeles.

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