Je Khenpo

Common card · No. 336301

The Je Khenpo (Tibetan: རྗེ་མཁན་པོ་, Wylie: Rje Mkhan-po; "The Chief Abbot of the Central Monastic Body of Bhutan"), formerly called the Dharma Raja by orientalists, is the title given to the senior religious hierarch of Bhutan. His primary duty is to lead the Dratshang Lhentshog (Commission for the Monastic Affairs) of Bhutan, which oversees the Central Monastic Body, and to arbitrate on matters of doctrine, assisted by five Lopen Rinpoches (learned masters). The Je Khenpo is also responsible for many important liturgical and religious duties nationwide. The sitting Je Khenpo is also formally the leader of the southern branch of the Drukpa Kagyu sect, which is part of the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Aside from the King of Bhutan, only the Je Khenpo may don a saffron kabney.

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