Buddhism in the 21st Century: Landmark Science, Meditation, and Mindfulness Conference Commences in Bhutan

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Buddhism in the 21st Century: Landmark Science, Meditation, and Mindfulness Conference Commences in Bhutan

By Craig C Lewis
June 4, 2025

Images courtesy of the Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies

Bhutan’s much-anticipated Science, Meditation, and Mindfulness Conference* commenced in the capital Thimphu on Tuesday with a flourish of traditional ceremony amid progressive modernity. Running from 3–6 June, the prestigious four-day symposium is the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan’s fifth international Buddhism conference, organized and hosted by the Zhung Dratshang, Bhutan’s Central Monastic Body, and the Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies (CBS).

Moving beyond the traditional Vajrayana emphasis of these international forums, which Bhutan has hosted since 2016, this fifth incarnation has warmly embraced voices from across Buddhist traditions as well as secular disciplines. The convocation brings together almost 500 dignitaries, guests, attendees, and speakers from Bhutan and around the world, including Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Japan, Latvia, Myanmar South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, Venezuela, the United States, and more.

The attendees include distinguished scholars, scientists, philosophers, advanced practitioners of Vajrayana Buddhism, and senior spiritual figures from all Buddhist traditions. All have gathered to present, examine, and discuss Buddhist practices, thought, and perspectives as they seek to explore cross-disciplinary dialogues that shine the light of the profound wisdom of these ancient teachings on the realms of technology, research, and society in the 21st century.

Speaking to the guests at an informal pre-conference gathering on Monday, Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay shared some pertinent observations on the continued relevance of Buddhist practices in contemporary society.

“If the mind is restless, relationships suffer, and if the heart is heavy, even the best technology can’t bring peace,” Tobgay noted, underscoring that even foundational mindfulness and meditation practices offer proven efficacy for lay practitioners of all levels.

The prime minister also remarked that climate disruptions, social and structural inequalities, and mental health pressures were not discrete problems: “Addressing them requires more than policies and technologies; it demands a deeper understanding of ourselves, our relationships, and the world we inhabit, which is the essence of mindfulness.”

“And so this gathering, where science meets meditation, and research meets ancient wisdom, is necessary,” he added. “As mindfulness becomes a global movement, we hope that more societies will consider approaches that center the mind as both the source and solution of many of our challenges. . . . This conference reflects that vision.”

The more than 200 international delegates and 60 international speakers include scholars and scientists, who are exploring a swathe of themes in the Buddhist context that address fundamental issues in the 21st century, among them: neuroscience research; artificial intelligence; psychological and cognitive protection; education and health; environmental dimensions to life and practice; and ethical and consciousness studies.

Amid rapid social, environmental, economic, and technological evolutions, the speakers also focus on tangible means and pathways that more advanced meditation practices and techniques can support emotional intelligence, creativity, addiction recovery, neurodivergence, and mental health.

In a profoundly spiritual and symbolic gesture, the conference proceedings were formally opened in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen Mother Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, Her Royal Highness Princess Sonam Dechan Wangchuck, His Eminence Vairotsana Rinpoche, and His Eminence the Dorje Lopen** of the Zhung Dratshang.

In his keynote speech following the symposium’s opening ceremony, the Dorje Lopen emphasized the invaluable wisdom and transformative potential of the Buddhadharma for practitioners and for human society as a whole.

“Broadly speaking, Buddhism was expounded by the universal teacher; the Bhagavad Buddha, Shakyamuni. Irrespective of the profound teachings or the Buddhasasana he founded, they can be summarized into two paths: the Sutrayana and the Mantrayana, both of which can lead to salvation or liberation.

“These two yanas or fundamental aspects point to a path that leads to liberation. The Sutrayana, the foundational path, emphasizes the perfection of causes and conditions, whereas the Mantrayana emphasizes practice goals and attainments. These two methods form a process that can lead to liberation.”

Focusing on the tantric perspective on the gathering’s emphasis on science, mindfulness, and meditation, the Dorje Lopen underscored the importance of purifying negative influences from, and stabilizing, the three doorways of body, speech, and mind in order to realize the deepest benefits of meditation.

The Dorje Lopen continued: “The functions of body, speech, and mind can be categorized into three: the external, the internal, and the sacred. In terms of the external, it’s quite easy and that we should refrain from committing harm or violence through our body.

“Our mind, in general, in any practices, should be free of wrong view. One should abstained from wrong view . . . and any thoughts that bring harm to oneself or to others. During visualization, or any practices, the mind is the main moderator or engine that can lead the body and speech.

“It is said that if the mind is stabilized and if the mind is well purified, it is spontaneously going to lead body and speech toward wholesome activities. But this is also the same mind that drags us back to the past. Again, it is the mind that leads us to build castles in the air, thinking and planning for the future

“However, coming to our practice, we should neither look back to our past, nor plan activities in the future. Instead, we should focus on the present moment, without any distraction or being unsettled by disturbing emotions or other circumstances. If we can maintain our body speech and mind in this discipline, then we will be able to practice in a very correct and wholesome way.”

The conference’s key co-organizer, the Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies (CBS) is tasked by the Bhutanese government with conducting and coordinating research and other activities related to Bhutan’s development concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH). Remote and landlocked, and perched in the rarified air of the eastern Himalaya, Bhutan is regularly ranked among the happiest countries in the world. With a population of just 727,145, according to census data for 2022, Bhutan is also one of the world’s smallest and least industrialized countries, yet it has significant experience in maintaining the delicate balance of sustainable economic growth, famously encapsulated in its conservative GNH-led approach to economic development.

The philosophy of GNH was introduced in the late 1970s by the country’s fourth monarch, King Jigme Singye Wangchuk, and informed by the kingdom’s traditional Buddhist culture. An alternative to traditional metrics for measuring national development, such as gross national product (GNP) or gross domestic product (GDP), GNH is founded on four underlying principles or “pillars” of good governance, sustainable socio-economic development, the preservation and promotion of traditional culture, and environmental conservation.

The president of the Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies, Dasho Karma Ura eloquently welcomed the guests and participants, sharing his view on the auspicious circumstances that surround this significant gathering of minds and aspirations.

“I should paraphrase the great 18th century poet and adept Jigme Lingpa, whose ‘Song of Gathering’ one of our renowned singers rendered this morning: we have come to this assembly, or in Jigme Lingpa’s imagery landed on this tree—because he compared his disciples to peacocks landing on a tree—and it is a wish-fulfilling tree, because of our correlated aspirations and karma, if we believe in that.

“This will be a very fruitful event where we can, in his words, drink the sacramental nectar amrita, which will ripen us and will free us. And in his poem on that gathering, of course in Tibet, the subject was a Bhutanese, who became his chief disciple.

“In his poem, Jigme Lingpa wrote about his meditative practice: that even when he was not meditating, he could see the vision of his deities; and even when he was not meditating, he was in a state in which his Dharmakaya appeared—or he experienced it.

“And you have also come to a place where a great guru who is reincarnated, dwells among us this morning. I am overwhelmed to acknowledge most respectfully and most reverently the presence of His Eminence Vairotsana Rinpoche into our midst. As you know, His Eminence is the reincarnation or emanation of the first Vairotsana, one of the most significant disciples of Padmasambhava and Sri Singha, who, along with others, translated the Dharma into the language that is widespread in the Himalayas.

“Through the Dzogchen lineage, which enriched and was enriched by other schools of Vajrayana, Vairotsana laid out the path of illumination for countless people since the eighth century. We are so honored by his illuminating presence because His Eminence is today, in this assembly of some 500 people, the youngest at 11. And this for me, at this age, represents hope for the Dharma and for scholarship that extends far beyond our own humble lives.”

“I am equally overwhelmed to welcome Her Majesty the Royal Queen Mother of Bhutan, and Her Royal Highness Princess Sonam Dechan Wangchuck,” Dasho Karma Ura emphasized. “As you know very well from social media, Her Majesty the Royal Queen Mother of Bhutan is both a writer and a social worker as the founder of Tarayana Foundation. And you know that Her Royal Highness is a postgraduate of Harvard Law School, and leads the Bhutan Law Institute here. It is truly an honor for the conference to have their gracious presence. It is in many ways unprecedented because royal families usually do not attend academic conferences, but this is a measure of how much the world has changed.

“Both her Majesty the Royal Queen Mother and Her Royal Highness have dedicated their lives to working with marginalized communities through Tarayana Foundation, which was established in 2003. Through their service they have transformed numerous villages, providing housing, piped drinking water, education scholarships, healthcare, micro-financing, and promoting rural crafts that help village economies. . . . So I am truly honored, and I would like to pay our deepest reverence to Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness, and Your Eminence for your very gracious presence among us, which makes this gathering quite special.”

Bhutan, nestled in the foothills of the Himalayan mountain range, and sandwiched between the two political and economic heavy hitters India and China, is the world’s last remaining Vajrayana Buddhist country. The spiritual tradition is embedded in the very consciousness and culture of this remote land, where it has flourished with an unbroken history that dates back to its introduction by Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche, in the eighth century. Almost 85 per cent of Bhutan’s population identify as Buddhists, with Hinduism accounting for the majority of the remainder. Most of Bhutan’s Buddhists follow either the Drukpa Kagyu or the Nyingma schools of Vajrayana Buddhism.

Building on the spiritual foundation of the First International Vajrayana Conference, which Bhutan organized in 2016, this fifth conference on the invaluable and inarguable relevance of the wisdom, philosophy, and practices of the Buddhadharma to secular as well as spiritual life will continue this week. Its participants will seek to bring their knowledge and expertise to bear in fostering cross-disciplinary dialogue and cooperation to build bridges that can connect these ancient wisdom teachings with modern scientific and technological knowledge, and channel this confluence toward creating a kinder, more compassionate, and sustainable world for the benefit of all sentient beings.

* Bhutan to Host International Conference on Science, Mindfulness, and Meditation, Invites Abstracts from Presenter (BDG)

** The Dorji Lopen is the most senior of the five Lopen Lhengyes—minister-ranking learned masters who support and assist the Je Khenpo, the chief abbot of the Zhung Dratshang and the most senior Buddhist monastic in Bhutan, and the kingdom’s spiritual head.

Craig C Lewis

Craig Lewis grew up in a transplanted Scottish family in southern England before setting off against all advice to seek light and wisdom in far-off places, rather than staying put and looking within. After repeated encounters with the Buddhadharma as a journalist in Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, and across Asia, he eventually found refuge as senior editor at BDG, where he reports and writes on the diversity of contemporary manifestations of the Dharma. Craig is also a keen mountain trekker and photographer, finding particular inspiration in the peoples, cultures, and Buddhist expressions of the Himalaya. In his column for BDG, “Chasing Light,” Craig seeks to document encounters, experiences, and epiphanies resulting from his own tentative and faltering path toward liberation. Contact: [email protected]

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