Prior to his request to HH the Je Khenpo to resign as Laytshog Lopen, HE Sangay Dorji, Bhutan’s Karma Acharya, was already fulfilling roles that typically would be reserved for statesmen, senior diplomats, or political figures. He had been a critical facilitator of His Majesty the Fourth King’s bilateral visit to Vietnam in 2025, and earlier this month, he signed an MOU with Ven. Thich Duc Thien (Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha) to establish the Vietnam-Bhutan Sangha Friendship Association. This further consolidates Bhutan’s unique and strong bond with Vietnam, paving the way for future exchange programs, joint prayers, and collaborative efforts to preserve the Buddha-dharma between the Himalayan kingdom and the officially Communist country.
The Laytshog Lopen role, a senior position among five lopen titles that oversees the Central Monastic Body (Zhung Dratshang), has been Sangay Dorji’s for around a decade. Perhaps a younger monastic might be able to inject some new ideas and possibilities to the position, and Sangay Dorji is not short of protégés. But in early June, the Je Khenpo released a kasho (ecclesiastic decree) refusing to accept Sangay Dorji’s resignation, requesting that he remain in his post until the completion of the Shambhala Dzong (quite literally, Fortress of Shambhala) in Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC).
The GMC is the king’s most important project for a generation, a Special Administrative Region (SAR) that is a completely revolutionary and unique experiment in Bhutan’s history. And in a recent speech he gave to an assembly of young Bhutanese, Sangay Dorji confirmed that he had been bestowed the new role of Chairperson of Shambhala Dzong, as well as Chairperson of the Bhutan Tara Foundation.
This episode (aside from attracting gossip from Bhutan’s chattering classes and monastic circles) revealed that Sangay Dorji, gradually and almost unintentionally, has elevated the Laytshog Lopen role from that of a senior functionary in Bhutanese monasticism to a hybrid role that combines nation building and statesmanship with traditional duties.
The Shambhala Dzong will be the most important monastery at GMC, intended to establish the City as the terrestrial Shambhala heaven. It is projected to be the global epicenter of Vajrayana Buddhism, and as such, the sacred responsibility of its construction mustbe to the Central Monastic Body. His Majesty has therefore assigned the establishment of Shambhala Dzong, both through the Je Khenpo’s kasho and the new appointment, to Sangay Dorji.
Those close to Sangay Dorji’s will be familiar with his affinity with Green Tara, the Protectress and remover of obstacles. As chairperson of the Bhutan Tara Foundation, Sangay Dorji presided over the inauguration of the office of the Jetsun Drolma Pure Land at GMC on 15 June. The future Jetsun Drolma Pure Land is projected to become another foundational Dharma institution at GMC, with the mission of upholding, preserving, and propagating the Buddha-dharma and rendering service to the King, the government, the people, and the nation.
Seen together, these two new offices mean that the Laytshog Lopen role, in Sangay Dorji’s capable hands, is evolving into a more encompassing role that will blend the duties of a quasi-statesman with that of a senior leader within the Central Monastic Body. Take the content of his speech from June. From his appeal to young overseas Bhutanese to return to the kingdom to help with GMC’s construction to his public invitation for global and local donors to contribute to the upcoming Project 108, as well as his rhetoric about GMC’s core role in transforming Bhutan, the Karma Acharya finds himself at a crossroads of his longstanding service. He is not simply governing the Central Monastic Body, but empowered by the king and the Je Khenpo to help guide the governance of GMC itself. In the context of GMC as the king’s greatest project and most critical legacy, this has significant implications.
This will be no mean feat. His Eminence will require his wits about him, and all the blessings of Tara and the support of his community, country, and overseas supporters and well-wishers. But if Shambhala Dzong proceeds smoothly, GMC will proceed smoothly. And if GMC can thrive and develop, then the king’s vision of Bhutan’s twenty-first century will unfold like the sumptuous wings of a beautiful butterfly.
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