Volunteers erect 108 Buddhist stupas in a single day in Bhutan

The planned city pairs Buddhist values with hopes for the economy

Volunteers in construction vests and hard hats raised 108 Buddhist stupas along the Mao Chhu river in Gelephu, Bhutan, on Sunday, completing a single-day build that project officials said had months of preparation behind it. Buddhist masters from various schools and denominations were in town for the consecration, and about 200,000 people from around the world came to watch.

The monuments form Project 108, which calls for 108 stupas, each standing about 50 feet (15 meters) tall and spaced about 354 feet (108 meters) apart in a single file along the river, according to the project’s website. The arrangement is meant to make the monuments appear like a “procession.” The number 108 is sacred in Buddhism, which is widely practiced in Bhutan.

The monk Venerable Pannakara, a Theravada Buddhist 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., 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 in construction vests and hard hats assembled prefabricated pieces to build the 108 stupas in about 12 hours, from 2 a.m. to 2 p.m., finishing about four hours ahead of schedule. Project officials said about 40,000 volunteers helped complete the exterior structures of all 108 stupas.

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

The structures are known as Jangchub Chortens in Vajrayana Buddhism, a major branch that emerged in India around the 5th and 7th centuries B.C. The tradition aims to help practitioners attain enlightenment within a single lifetime. Bhutan’s tradition of chortens is more than 2,500 years old, and the earliest of them were built to enshrine relics of the Buddha after he died.

Bhutan is the only sovereign nation where Vajrayana Buddhism is not merely constitutionally enshrined as the state religion but also woven into the country’s daily governance, cultural identity and legal frameworks. The nation’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 that spirits reside in mountains, rivers and forests, making environmental protection a spiritual duty.

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

Bhutanese are pinning their hopes on the city to boost the economy and provide the opportunities that would encourage young people to stay in the country, amid challenges including rising unemployment, falling birth rates and the mass migration of skilled workers.

A statement said the work “is not merely an engineering feat.” 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,” the statement said, adding that “Project 108 is a collective offering to the world.”

Kinley Dorji, a spokesperson for Gelephu Mindfulness City, called Sunday’s event “a big historic and spiritual” event for Bhutan. Dorji said the city had expected thousands of guests. “We were initially expecting thousands, but now we have 100,000 coming together,” he said. The stupas will stand on a prime spot along the river where the plains of India rise into the Himalayas, he said. Guests, including Buddhist masters from temples and monasteries worldwide, brought treasured offerings and blessings for the stupas.

Pannakara’s delegation included his teacher, the Most Venerable Ratanaguna, and others, and posted on social media that the trip to Bhutan for the consecration of the stupas was a sacred journey. “We have come here to witness, to pray and see the results,” Pannakara said. “It’s great to see that 200,000 people from all over the world came here to witness this special moment.” His count of 200,000 differs from the 100,000 Dorji said drew to the city.

The sealed structures will be filled with prayers, blessings, relics and spiritual texts, making each one “a physical form of prayer, made permanent in stone and earth.”