The rehearsal, led by the most senior and exalted monastics of the Central Monastic Body, could not have gone better. It was only one day before the 4th of November, on the 3rd, that His Eminence Sangay Dorji led over 1,500 members of the monastic community in receiving their Dharma robes in preparation for the sacred ceremony’s commencement at Changlimithang.
The Global Peace Prayer Festival formally commenced today, with His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and His Holiness the Je Khenpo opening the proceedings. With their blessing and felicitations, the Global Peace Prayer at Changlimithang began.
From underneath the serene gaze and vast body of the Buddha overlooking the great mountainside of Kuenselphodrang, the nation of Bhutan gathered to welcome the world and this earth-system’s Buddhists to enjoy a glimpse of Shambhala. . . a modern-day Buddhist kingdom, the last of its kind and deceptively fragile despite its outward confidence and internationalism, that is united in purpose as it brings forth the vision of the monarchy and the Central Monastic Body.
Changlimithang and Kuenselphodrang are the two epicenters of the Festival. One might wonder why the Jabzhi is being held at exactly the same time as the Global Peace Prayer itself, from 4-10 November. Jabzhi is the most powerful of the cleansing rituals meant to remove all Maras and afflictive forces, so it is entirely appropriate and fitting that it should be held as an effective counterweight, an obstacle remover, to everything seen and unseen that would block the prayerful, blessed energies radiating from the Global Peace Prayer. The Jabzhi and its elite monks form the vanguard, clearing the psychic channels of the region and the planet for the Global Peace Prayer to be effective.
All roads into Thimphu, and indeed all around the capital, are decked with signage celebrating this landmark collection of events. Once the Jabzhi has smashed all negative Maras, and the Global Peace Prayer has suffused the Festival’s attendees and the world with love and tenderness, the sangha will be ready to reveal the next step. With the entire congress in the right state of mind, the Central Monastic Body will then unveil its true glimpse of Shambhala’s embodiment: the Kalachakra empowerment.
But for now, the Jabzhi and Global Peace Prayer continue.
