The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Coinciding with His Royal Highness The Gyalsey’s first birthday, His Majesty The King on 5th February installed the Sertog on the Drukgyal Dzong’s Utse early in the morning. The reconstruction project for the Drukgyal Dzong was announced last year to commemorate the Royal Birth.
His Majesty granted Tokha to the personnel working at the Dzong construction site. Lunch was also granted to all the personnel involved in the construction and reconstruction works of dzongs, lhakhangs, and other religious structures across the country.
His Majesty The King, His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo, and Her Majesty The Gyaltsuen, with His Royal Highness The Gyalsey, offered prayers before the Zhabdrung Ku at the Simtokha Dzong.
During the prayer ceremony held at the Dzong, representatives from the government, central monk body, armed forces, and the people, offered Phuelcha to commemorate the first Birth Anniversary of His Royal Highness The Gyalsey.
The Agriculture Minister made a symbolic offering of traditional Soelbam herd consisting of cattle, Bhutanese mastiffs and horses complete with tack, to His Royal Highness The Gyalsey on behalf of the people.
As a special national initiative to commemorate HRH Gyalsey’s first birthday, and for the accumulation of karmic merit to benefit all sentient beings, over a hundred thousand lives of fish, yaks, cattle, birds, and goats were spared (tsethar) and the animals released from captivity in various dzongkhags in Bhutan and in Bangladesh and India. Special prayers (Tshethar moenlam) and the lighting of butter lamps were also carried out.
Buddhist centres in Tawang, Thailand, Myanmar, Srilanka, Bodhgaya, Mysore, Dehradun, Lhasa, Nepal, and Mongolia came together to offer prayers, and organized kurims and lit butterlamps at the different locations to mark the occasion, with prayers for world peace.
Meanwhile various institutions and individuals across the country initiated celebrations and prayers to commemorate HRH Gyalsey’s birthday. Various groups organized blood donation drives, and cleaning campaigns, and school students pledged to read more, among other similar activities.
People from Bhutan and around the world offered an overwhelming outpouring of wishes and messages on various platforms online, and major media agencies covered the occasion.
