𝐁𝐡𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐆𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐦𝐚 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐣𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐀𝐥𝐦𝐬
Bhutan, 20 November 2025: In a profoundly historic and spiritual moment for Bhutan, Their Majesties The King and Gyaltsuen this morning received the newly ordained Gelongmas and offered the first auspicious alms to commemorate their full ordination.
Over the past several days, more than 260 nuns from 14 countries received full Gelongma ordination from His Holiness the Je Khenpo. Following the ceremony, the nuns proceeded along Norzin Lam to receive alms, where hundreds of devotees lined the streets, offering prayers and blessings.
The procession concluded at Clock Tower Square, where the Gelongmas were formally received by the Prime Minister. This marked the final public event of the Global Peace Prayer Festival, held in honour of the 70th Birth Anniversary of His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo.
Organised by the Bhutan Nuns Foundation in collaboration with the Central Monastic Body, the five-day ceremony builds on the landmark 2022 ordination, which first reintroduced full Mahayana Gelongma vows in the region. The Gelongma ordination represents the highest level of monastic vows for Buddhist nuns.
Its continuation in Bhutan is widely regarded as a major step in reviving a women’s ordination lineage that had nearly vanished across much of the Buddhist world. With full vows, nuns now participate equally within the monastic community, helping restore the complete fourfold sangha of monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen envisioned in early Buddhist teachings.
Bhutan remains one of the few countries where women can receive full ordination within the Vajrayana tradition—a development viewed as spiritually significant for the advancement of the Dharma and for expanding pathways for women committed to monastic life.
The culmination of the ordination and today’s alms offering brings an auspicious close to weeks of prayers, ceremonies, and national celebrations under the Global Peace Prayer Festival.
