“The mind not only illuminates the surroundings but it also illuminates itself. It knows the objective world but simultaneously it also knows itself,” said Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche at the just concluded Bhutan Innovation Forum, Paro essentially in reference to Gelephu Mindfulness City—a city that is dreaming of becoming conscious of itself. A city with a mind. An earthly place capable of closing its eyes and looking inward.

Is that a Shangrila-esque dream?

Is it possible to build a mindfulness city in a world that has gone too far with consumer capitalism and mindless progress?

We, modern humans, have been living on this earth for the last 300,000 years. Today, the environment is in turmoil. Climate change is menacingly staring at us ready to pounce at any time. Concrete jungles are continuing to sprout all over the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that one in eight people worldwide have mental disorders. AI is threatening to take over our mind. Empathy is no longer an innate human virtue, but a religious watchword.

Yet, somewhere in a tiny part of the earth called Bhutan, His Majesty the King, known to his people as People’s King, is dreaming up to build a city where the earth will breathe a sigh of relief, where his beloved people will get to live as human beings in dignity, peace and harmony.

Before human beings took over the earth, the earth had a mind. We didn’t have to understand the nature of mind. The earth was the mind. It illuminated itself. We belonged to that consciousness. Then we fell out of it, out of the light. Perhaps, it’s time to return. Who else than the Bodhisattva King to pave the way and illuminate the path.

Today, life is becoming more and more shaped by being informed, not forged by lived experiences and explorations. We are becoming like a mindless cloud floating by dreary urban landscapes, not aware of the blue sky above. We have lost the context. For, every time you put your right foot on the accelerator pedal, in karmic manifestation, a smidgen of snow melts somewhere on the Gangkhar Puensum. 

Aura and authenticity are left forgotten on the dusty mental shelves. Clarity is replaced by confidence, wisdom with expertise. We have metamorphosed into a democratic creature of two mouths and one ear. In a world that is being increasingly shaped by technology and now AI, the future demands not just innovation and creativity, but the preservation of our humanity.

In Gelephu Mindfulness City, His Majesty’s vision is to bring along our culture and spiritual heritage, ensuring that while we advance, we don’t lose the traditions, values and importantly the stories that define who we are. Never ever has Bhutan and its future been opened up for intense discussion and scrutiny before like in Bhutan Innovation Forum, Paro. For the first time, ordinary Bhutanese were given the power to imagine, to see themselves in the future. A dream like no other, a hope like no other.

I have always wondered, when it’s time for an astronaut to return to the earth and if asked, “Where to?” I am quite sure that the astronaut would reply, “I am going back home.” This glorious earth is our home. Likewise, when I return from the West I look at Asia, the land where Buddha was born, as my home. Then, when I fly into Paro and see the indomitable mountains rise up with the morning sun, I know it’s my home, my beloved Drukyul, the Land of the Thunder Dragon. And, finally, I reach my humble home where my dear mother lives, in Gelephu. It’s like tracing back to a mother’s womb. The home became smaller and smaller, and finally got encircled into a smallest dot. But, in the smallness I recognised the cosmic. In recognising the earth as my home, I understood the value and the meaning of my own small home.

What His Majesty is building is a home—a home for me and my mother, for you and humanity. A precious place to return to and recognise that we belong to this gorgeous earth. For, we only go, so that we can return.

As Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche said, “To understand the mind, first you have to recognise that you have a mind.” Gratitude is the “mind” recognising and living an aesthetic experience. In Gelephu, the earth will have a home. No wonder, 65 years back this tiny border town was befittingly named the “sanctuary of virtue”.

Contributed by

Tashi Gyeltshen

Screenwriter/Filmmaker