The Kagyu Centers of Hawaii — a group of Tibetan Buddhist meditation centers in Nuu­anu on Oahu, on Maui and Kauai — is hosting a three-day prayer festival for world peace and the environment which will get underway Friday at Blaisdell Center.

The festival, known as the North American Kagyu Monlam Hawaii, is a gathering of ordained lamas, or high priests, and lay students who will pray for world peace, the health of the environment and the freedom of all beings from suffering. Kagyu is a school of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Honolulu prayer festival, or Monlam, will mark the fifth in North America. The first was held in 2010 at Woodstock, N.Y., followed by 2011 in Vancouver, B.C., 2012 in San Francisco and 2013 in Toronto, according to the Hono­lulu meditation center’s newsletter The Empty ­Mirror.

The original Kagyu Monlam was held 500 years ago in Tibet when monks gathered and prayed for world peace and the freeing of beings from all suffering and misfortune. It was re-established in 1983 in India at Bodh­gaya, the religious site where Gautama Buddha is said to have obtained enlightenment, and has been held each year since.

The Monlam in Bodh­gaya is attended by thousands of students and monastics from around the world, and regional prayer festivals are now held in Southeast Asia, North America and Europe, the organizers said in a news release.

"With people and nations bound closer together by technology, global economies, politics, and a deteriorating environment that has no borders, the Monlam prayer festival has become even more important," the organizers said. "We hold the Kagyu Monlam for the benefit of the entire world. We will not give up on the Earth."

The prayerfest will start each day at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at about 5:30 p.m. Participants take vows to refrain from negative actions, recite prayers, meditate and listen to Buddhist teachings.

The cost of attending is $120 for all three days, including a prayer book, or $40 for one day. If you register for single days, the prayer book costs an additional $30. You can register at the door at the Pikake Room at the Blaisdell Center.