Bhutan launches digital platform for Yoeja prayer tradition

Bhutan has introduced a digital platform to bring the Yoeja tradition online, allowing users worldwide to participate in Buddhist prayer recitations. The platform, Yoeja.com, features a digital chyem (prayer beads) that enables users to recite mantras, such as the six-syllable Om Mani Padme Hung, and record their individual prayer counts toward a collective global total.

King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck became the first person to enter the digital prayer room on 22 October 2026. The platform serves as a record-keeping tool, mirroring the traditional use of physical prayer beads. It also includes a prayer calendar for services at Tashichho Dzong in Thimphu and Punakha Dzong, and a section for making financial offerings to support religious institutions and the monastic community.

The international launch is scheduled for 1 November, coinciding with the completion of 108 Jangchub Chortensin in Gelephu Mindfulness City. Yoeja is a long-standing Bhutanese practice involving offerings of money, food, or services to sustain Buddhist teachers, temples, and the sangha.