{"id":87882,"date":"2026-11-03T17:55:49","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T12:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=87882"},"modified":"2026-11-03T17:56:34","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T12:26:34","slug":"buddhist-relics-project-108-bhutan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/03-11-2026\/buddhist-relics-project-108-bhutan","title":{"rendered":"India-Origin Buddha Relics to Be Enshrined in 108 Chortens in Bhutan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS1\/Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India-origin Buddhist relics will be enshrined in 108 Jangchub Chortens (stupas of enlightenment) that are being constructed under Project 108.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About Zung and Jangchub Chorten<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The relics form part of the \u2018zung\u2019,<\/strong> the living embodiment of the Buddha\u2019s enlightened body, speech and mind.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The sacred components of the zung include <strong>thangkhas (traditional Tibetan Buddhist paintings on cotton or silk fabric)<\/strong>, statues, precious stones, rolled mantra scrolls, or dharanis, and relics of enlightened beings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Chorten<\/strong> is the Tibetan\/Bhutanese term for a &#8216;stupa&#8217;. It is a Buddhist sacred monument that enshrines relics, scriptures or other consecrated objects.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The jangchub chorten<\/strong> commemorates the Buddha\u2019s attainment of enlightenment and symbolises the<strong> triumph of wisdom over ignorance.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Once consecrated, a chorten is rendered equivalent to the living Buddha.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is Project 108?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Location:<\/strong> Along the Mau Chhu River in Gelephu, Bhutan.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Objective: <\/strong>To establish a spiritual foundation for the proposed <strong>Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC)<\/strong>, envisioned as a global economic hub integrating spirituality, sustainability and economic development.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Design: <\/strong>Each chorten will be approximately <strong>15 metres<\/strong> tall, with <strong>108 metres <\/strong>between successive structures.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Significance of 108: <\/strong>In some Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the <strong>Kangyur <\/strong>(principal collection of sacred Buddhist scriptures) is arranged in <strong>108 volumes.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In the <strong>Vajrayana Buddhist tradition<\/strong>, 108 symbolises spiritual completeness, cosmic balance, and the purification of karma.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About Buddhist Stupas<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A stupa is a Buddhist architectural structure built to <strong>preserve the relics of the Buddha <\/strong>or other enlightened beings and commemorate important events in Buddhism.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Architectural features:<\/strong> A traditional stupa consists of<strong> five<\/strong> major elements:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Anda (Dome):<\/strong> The hemispherical structure representing the cosmic egg and the universe.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Harmika: <\/strong>A square railing-like structure above the dome, symbolising the abode of the gods.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Yashti: <\/strong>A central pillar rising above the harmika, representing the cosmic axis.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Chhatra: <\/strong>Umbrella-like discs placed on the pillar, symbolising spiritual sovereignty and protection.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Medhi:<\/strong> A raised circular platform or terrace supporting the dome, often used by devotees for circumambulation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Religious significance: <\/strong>Stupas symbolise the Buddha&#8217;s enlightened mind and teachings. Devotees traditionally perform Pradakshina (clockwise circumambulation) around them as an act of reverence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Evolution:<\/strong> Stupa architecture spread across Asia and evolved into different regional forms, including <strong>Tibetan Chortens, Sri Lankan Dagobas and East Asian pagodas.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"d5d5d5\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"461\" height=\"324\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/11\/image-7.png\" alt=\"buddhist stupas\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-87883\" style=\"--dominant-color: #d5d5d5; aspect-ratio:1.422928523198611;width:386px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/11\/image-7.png 461w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/11\/image-7-300x211.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 461px) 100vw, 461px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/international\/india-linked-buddha-relics-to-be-enshrined-in-108-chortens-in-bhutan\/article71649782.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> India-origin Buddhist relics will be enshrined in 108 Jangchub Chortens (stupas of enlightenment) that are being constructed under Project 108. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> About Zung and Jangchub Chorten <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The relics form part of the \u2018zung\u2019, the living embodiment of the Buddha\u2019s enlightened body, speech and mind.\u00a0 <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> 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. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/03-11-2026\/buddhist-relics-project-108-bhutan \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87882"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87885,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87882\/revisions\/87885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}