BHUTANESE CHARACTER
The Bhutanese have been called a gentle, proud people. Chastity, humility, propriety and simplicity are all cherished. Public displays of affection and direct eye contact are frowned upon. It is said the Bhutanese like to gossip. In a country with such a small population it no surprise that everyone seems to know everyone else’s business. Their Buddhist respect for living things manifests itself most conspicuously with the large number of stray dogs running around that are fed left overs by village and towns people.
On my brief visit to Bhutan in 2020, the Bhutanese I hung out with — my guide and driver — were certainly nice and reasonably cool enough. The driver liked to smoke and chew betel nut and we enjoyed these vices together. My guide endured my requests and questions but also kept me from exploring on my own and trying to get my hands on some cannabis. He was into Drukpa Kunley, the 15th century monk who enjoyed drinking ans sex and is the source of the phalluses you see all over Bhutan.
Bhutanese look sort of like Tibetans but dress differently. They have black hair and dark eyes and Asian features. In the mountains and highland valley many have ruddy cheeks from time spent outside in windy, cold conditions.
When asked the differences between Bhutan and the U.S., Karen Beardsley, a Fulbright professor teaching global mapping courses to students at the Royal Thimphu College, told CBS News: “The concept of time is a little different here; it's a lot more relaxed. I think in the U.S. we're always very uptight about time and very rushed about everything. I find life here very relaxing, peaceful. The people are wonderful." [Source: Barry Petersen and T. Sean Herbert, CBS News April 17, 2016]
The Bhutanese are a fun-loving people fond of song and dance, friendly contests of archery, stone pitching, traditional darts, basketball and football. We are a social people that enjoy weddings, religious holidays and other events as the perfect opportunities to gather with friends and family. The openness of Bhutanese society is exemplified in the way our people often visit their friends and relatives at any hour of the day without any advance notice or appointment and still receive a warm welcome and hospitality. [Source: Tourism Council of Bhutan, tourism.gov.bt]
World Happiness Report Score: 5.082 (compared to 7.5 in Denmark and 3.3 in Tanzania). Bhutan ranked 95th out of 156 countries. The ranking is based on a Cantril ladder survey in which respondents in each economic are asked to think of a ladder, with the best possible life for them being a 10, and the worst possible life being a 0. They are then asked to rate their own current lives on that 0 to 10 scale. [Source: United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Wikipedia wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Happiness_Report
Buddhism and Character
The religious scholar A.C. Graham wrote: “Buddhism is a “Nay-saying” religion, rejecting all life as suffering and promising release from it; yet when one is actually in a Buddhist country it is hard to resist the impression that one is among the liveliest, the most invincibly cheerful, the most “yea-saying” people on earth."
Poor people in Buddhist countries often have a big smiles on their faces, something that many people believe is attributed to the fact they spend so much time praying and engaging religious activities. Religion is a daily, if not hourly, practice for many Buddhists. Tibetans, for example, seem to spend hours each day praying or spinning prayer wheels.
Karen Greenspan wrote in Natural History magazine: “Buddhist values and philosophy are woven into the fabric of life and politics in Bhutan. The pursuit of personal and societal happiness, as a mechanism for liberation from cyclical suffering, has led this modern nation to embrace a governmental-economic policy that they call Gross National Happiness (GNH). [Source: Karen Greenspan, Natural History magazine, November 2012]
Buddhism encourages its practitioners to keep their emotions and passions in check and stresses karma over determination, which often means people are more willing to accept their lot in life and look for happiness in future lives. This outlook and is sometimes viewed in the West as a lack of ambition or unwilling to work hard to get ahead.
Patience is a great virtue. Many Buddhists see patience in terms of moral patience to endure suffering and hostile acts of others and intellectual patience to accept ideas — especially ones that seem so unfathomable and unpleasant like the non-existence of all things — before understanding them.
Buddhism beliefs in sanctity of life and non-violence have their origins in Hinduism and Jainism. The view that non-violence is a dominate belief is a bit of a myth. Robert Thurman of Columbia University told the New York Times, "There is a Buddhist theory of war, of self-defense, and there is also a kind of theory of surgical violence. The optimal ideal thing is non-violence. But sometimes you have to do a little violence to prevent a larger violence. The Buddhist have thought about this are they are not simplistic."
Politics, Walking and Being Polite in Bhutan
Ugyen Tshering was a candidate running for a seat in the Bhutan legislature. Henry Chu wrote in the Los Angeles Times: “For 10 days, Tshering hiked and rode horseback to visit the more remote parts of his constituency, pressing the flesh in three far-flung villages with about 300 voters, out of an overall roll of 4,888. Tshering told the Los Angeles Times: .“We are blessed to do this peacefully, literally as a gift from the king. Everywhere else it's at the point of a gun. Every ballot is going to count." Campaigning "wasn't something we were used to. It took a little time to get into the rhythm of it." [Source: Henry Chu, Los Angeles Times, March 21, 2008]
“Now, putting aside the characteristic Bhutanese modesty that frowns on self-promotion, he waves down passing cars and motorcycles to introduce himself. He shakes hands. He sips tea in living rooms. At a silversmith's house, he gamely climbs a narrow staircase that is little more than a hollowed-out tree trunk.
“Everyone who receives him is unfailingly polite. Some are bewildered. Few give any inkling as to what they think. There are no opinion polls. “The Bhutanese people are consummate diplomats," said candidate Dorji, who is running in south Thimphu. "They listen to both sides, but none of us can get inside their minds." “Wangdi, the tour operator, has not been impressed with any of those who would be his new leaders. "People can yap and convince and talk," he said, "but when it comes to the realities, we don't know if they can handle it." “He hasn't made up his mind which party to support, but he plans to cast a vote Monday anyway. It's what the king would want.
Gross National Happiness
Bhutan measures quality of life by Gross National Happiness (GNH) rather than Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with the government aiming to strike a balance between material happiness and mental well being. GNH is enshrined in the country's Constitution. When you ask Bhutanese if they are happy, most will say yes. Part GNH policy was banning foreign television until 1999. “You can be sure that our happiness is increasing," Karma Tshiteem jokingly told The Telegraph. He was head of the Gross National Happiness Commission, responsible of developing government policy for raising rates of GNH. [Sources: The Telegraph, October 12, 2011; BBC, April 14, 2016]
Brook Larmer wrote in National Geographic: “Introduced in 1972 by King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, GNH provides a less materialistic way to measure success than GNP. In Bhutan the pursuit of happiness — and its attainment — are state business. For many Bhutanese, this idea is not merely a marketing tool or a utopian philosophy. It is their blueprint for survival. Guided by the “four pillars of Gross National Happiness” — sustainable development, environmental protection, cultural preservation, and good governance — Bhutan has pulled itself out of abject poverty without exploiting its natural resources (other than hydropower, sold to India as Bhutan’s main source of foreign funds).Nearly three-quarters of the country is still forested, with more than 25 percent designated as national parks and other protected areas — among the highest percentages in the world. Rates of illiteracy and infant mortality have fallen dramatically, and the economy is booming. Tourism is growing too, though strict limits on new construction and a daily tax of up to US$240 a visitor keep out the kind of backpacking hordes that have trampled Nepal. [Source: Brook Larmer, National Geographic, March 2008]
Simon Denyer wrote in the Washington Post: The term was coined by King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, in 1972 in an apparently off-the-cuff remark to a journalist. “I am not so much interested in gross national product,” he reportedly said. “I am more interested in gross national happiness.”Those words grew into an ideology that has been examined and embraced by development economists and political leaders the world over.” The U.N. General Assembly adopted happiness as an unofficial Millennium Development Goal in July, 2010. [Source: Simon Denyer, Washington Post, October 30, 2011
Gross National Happiness: the Development Philosophy of Bhutan
According to Bhutan’s government: Economists the world over have argued that the key to happiness is obtaining and enjoying material development. Bhutan however, adheres to a very different belief and advocates that amassing material wealth does not necessarily lead to happiness. Bhutan is now trying to measure progress not by the popular idea of Gross Domestic Product but by through Gross National Happiness. [Source: Tourism Council of Bhutan, tourism.gov.bt]
His Majesty the third Druk Gyalpo Jigme Dorji Wangchuck expressed his view on the goals of development as making “the people prosperous and happy.” With this strong view in mind, the importance of “prosperity and happiness,” was highlighted in the King’s address on the occasion of Bhutan’s admission to the United Nations in 1971.
While the emphasis is placed on both, prosperity and happiness, the latter is considered to be more significant. The fourth Druk Gyalpo emphasized that for Bhutan “Gross National Happiness,” is more important than “Gross National Product.” Thus, Gross National Happiness is now being fleshed out by a wide range of professionals, scholars and agencies across the world.
Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wangchuck said that the rich are not always happy while the happy generally considered themselves rich. While conventional development models stressed on economic growth as the ultimate objective, the concept of Gross National Happiness is based on the premise that true development of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occur side by side to complement and reinforce each other.
The philosophy of Gross National Happiness has recently received international recognition and the UN has implemented a resolution “…recognizing that the gross domestic product [...] does not adequately reflect the happiness and well-being of people,” and that “…the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal”.
Four Main Pillars of of Gross National Happiness
According to the Bhutan government: “The four main pillars of Gross National Happiness are: 1) Equitable and equal socio-economic development; 2) Preservation and promotion of cultural and spiritual heritage; 3) Conservation of environment and; 4) Good governance which are interwoven, complementary, and consistent. These pillars embody national and local values, aesthetics, and spiritual traditions. The concept of Gross National Happiness is now being taken up the United Nations and by various other countries.
Gross National Happiness as a development paradigm has now made it possible for Bhutan to take its developmental policies into the remote corners of the kingdom and to meet the development needs of even its most isolated villagers, while still accentuating the need to protect and preserve our rich environment and forest cover. The policy of high value, low impact tourism has facilitated the promotion and preservation of our cultural values.
Furthermore, the concept of Gross National Happiness has greatly enabled the pursuit of development, while at the same time promoting the attainment of happiness as the core philosophy of life. For the government, it has facilitated the drive towards self sufficiency and self reliance, the ultimate reduction in the gap between the rich and the poor and ensuring good governance and empowerment of her people as one of its key directives.
Following the international seminar on Operationalizing Gross National Happiness held in Bhutan in February 2004, the participants began working to establish a Gross International Happiness Network, indicating the influence of Gross National Happiness beyond the Bhutanese Borders.
The Network attempts to find the best examples of sustainable development that incorporate values reflecting the general well-being of the people. The GNH Network is a collaboration of the following institutions: Center for Bhutan Studies, Bhutan; Spirit in Business, USA and the Netherlands; Social Venture Network Asia, Thailand; ICONS, Redefining Progress & Implementing New Indicators on Sustainable Development, Brazil; Inner Asia Center for Sustainable Development, the Netherlands; The New Economics Foundation, UK; Genuine Progress Indicators / GPI Atlantic, Canada; Corptools/Values Center, USA; International Society for Ecology and Culture, UK
Measuring Gross National Happiness
Simon Denyer wrote in the Washington Post: “The government has tried to factor happiness into policy in a systematic way, creating a Gross National Happiness Commission and conducting two comprehensive studies of the happiness of its citizens based on what it sees as the four pillars of happiness: sustainable development, good governance, preservation of the environment and promotion of traditional culture. [Source: Simon Denyer, Washington Post, October 30, 2011]
“In a survey that took half a day to complete, people were asked some conventional development questions — about their access to health services, clean drinking water and electricity — and some slightly more unusual ones, such as how well they slept, whether they were prone to feelings of jealousy, how much time they spent in prayer and how well they knew local folk stories.
“The initial results were striking — the rural western Haa district recorded the highest GNH score, while people in the capital, Thimphu, scored significantly lower, the numbers pulled down because people reported that they often neither knew nor trusted their neighbors and had less time for their families or for themselves.
“The next step was to screen government policies, to see whether they enhanced overall happiness, and to design ones that would benefit the economy and promote a better quality of life. “Our approach to development is about making better choices,” said Karma Tshiteem, secretary of the Gross National Happiness Commission. “It is not anti-development, anti-urbanization, anti-modernization. But when we make our choice, we have more circumspection, a more holistic consideration, so, hopefully, we will be happier where we will end up.”
What Makes Bhutanese Happy
On makes Bhutanese happy, a Tokyo-based American teacher told CBS News: “In America it seems like you're always pushing to have the better car or the better house. Here, it almost seems like they are happy with what they have. They seem to be less focused on the material aspect of things and more about enjoying life and the nature around them. [Source: Barry Petersen and T. Sean Herbert, CBS News April 17, 2016]
On promoting gross national happiness, Prince Dasho said, "As the younger brother to His Majesty, [I'm] always to represent my people and my country to the best of my ability. And as president of the Olympic committee, it is to strive to make sure that as many boys and girls in my country receive the positive benefits of organized sports." So, what makes the prince happy? "Well, happiness is a very relative term," he replied. "But for me, having positive energies surrounding myself, and being content with myself."
When asked how important it was to make time for family, for happiness?", Karma Tshiteem, who ran the country's official commission on happiness, told CBS News: “Extremely important, I think I would put it on top of the list. There are important things in one's life that contributes to one's happiness which requires the investment of time more than money." To boost happiness, Tshiteem's commission ordered two minutes of daily meditation in each school each day.
When asked what she thought was the most important value for happiness in Bhutan, Karen Beardsley, the Fullbright professor said: “It's about love, compassion, looking out for others. I think it comes into play in almost everything that goes on here.It's a very serious topic. It's not just sort of, 'We're happy in Bhutan.' It's something that's taken very seriously."
What Exactly Does Gross National Happiness Mean?
““Here is the key point to understand about G.N.H.,” Kinley Dorji, the head of Bhutan’s Ministry of Information and Communication, told the New York Times magazine, “Happiness itself is an individual pursuit. Gross National Happiness then becomes a responsibility of the state, to create an environment where citizens can pursue happiness. It’s not a guarantee of happiness by the government. It’s not a promise of happiness. But there is a responsibility to, you know, create the conditions for happiness.” [Source: Jody Rosen, New York Times magazine, October 30, 2014]
“Dorji said: “When we say ‘happiness,’ we have to be very clear that it’s not fun, pleasure, thrill, excitement, all the temporary fleeting senses. It is permanent contentment — with life, with what you have. That lies within the self. Because the bigger house, the faster car, the nicer clothes, they don’t give you that contentment. G.N.H. means good governance. G.N.H. means preservation of traditional culture. And it means sustainable socio-economic development. Remember, here, that G.N.H. is a pun on G.D.P., Gross Domestic Product. We are making a distinction.”
Jody Rosen wrote in the New York Times magazine: “For foreigners of progressive leanings, the values espoused in G.N.H. ignite the utopian imagination. And for Western travelers of all political persuasions, a visit to Bhutan can leave one sputtering Orientalist clichés. Bhutan presents itself as a startlingly different place. It is a land of astounding beauty, of soaring peaks and verdant valleys, of centuries-old rope bridges that stretch across white-water rapids. There are ancient monasteries nestled on craggy cliff-tops — and the terminal at the international airport resembles an ancient monastery. The law mandates that all buildings be built according to traditional Bhutanese designs, employing no nails or iron bars in their construction. Government workers and schoolchildren are required to wear traditional dress, kimonolike garments called gho (for men and boys) and kira (for women and girls). The majority of Bhutanese still live off the land, practicing subsistence agriculture and animal husbandry. Bhutan is the only country in the world whose state religion is Mahayana Buddhism. Its official language, Dzongkha, is spoken in few other places on earth — but all Bhutanese schoolchildren, even in the deepest countryside, are taught English. Bhutan only got television in 1999. There are no plastic bags allowed in Bhutan, and 72 percent of the country is under forest cover. In 2013, the government announced its intention to become the world’s first 100-percent organic-farming nation.
“All of this has earned Bhutan a reputation in certain quarters as a dreamland, an unsullied Shangri-La. Government officials pooh-pooh this idea — yet they trade on it. Once, Bhutan admitted only 2,500 tourists each year; today that number has swollen to 100,000, with luxury resorts springing up in remote regions to lure wealthy adventure- and eco-travelers. Bhutan’s official tourist slogan makes a bald appeal to the “Eat, Pray, Love” crowd: “Happiness is a place.”
“The realities of Bhutan, of course, are more complicated. On the streets of Thimphu, you will find drug rehabilitation clinics and pizza joints, and when children get out of school they discard their traditional Bhutanese dress for hoodies and skinny jeans. Nearly all of Bhutan’s roads and buildings are constructed by migrant laborers from India and Nepal, whose standard of living is far lower than anyone else’s in the country. In the late 1980s and early ’90s, Bhutan expelled nearly 100,000 of its citizens, almost all of them Hindus of Nepalese origin, forcing them into refugee camps in eastern Nepal; refugees have alleged that the government purge involved torture and sexual violence. Homosexuality is illegal. Gender equality is a work in progress; fewer than 9 percent of the country’s nationally elected officials are women. Happiness, in Bhutan as elsewhere, is a goal, an ideal. A place, though — that’s a stretch.
“There is another line of thinking about happiness that is gaining currency these days: that happiness is a thing — specifically, a bicycle. A favorite mantra of cycling-boosters goes like this: “You can’t buy happiness — but you can buy a bike, and that’s pretty close.” In 1896, Arthur Conan Doyle voiced the same sentiment, in less bumper-sticker-friendly fashion. “When the spirits are low,” Conan Doyle wrote, “when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without the thought of anything but the ride you are taking.”
Lessons Learned on Happiness from Living in Bhutan
After living in Bhutan about a year, Karen Lim wrote in the Strait Times: Here are some serious lessons on happiness that I've learnt during my time here: 1) MONEY DOES NOT EQUATE TO HAPPINESS: Analytics and advisory company Gallup ranked the Kingdom as 97th in its 2018 World Happiness Report. The happiest countries in the world, according to the report, happened to be some of the richest ones too, such as Finland, Norway, and Denmark.” But “Bhutan is careful in the steps they take to development. Decisions and policies must adhere to GNH guidelines of cultural preservation, protection of the environment, good governance and sustainable socio-economic development. [Source: Karen Lim, Strait Times, March 23, 2019]
“Here, the average monthly salary of an employee in the government sector ranges from 20,000Nu to 30,000Nu (SUS$400 to SUS$600). After deducting financial commitments such as rent and so on, there's barely enough left to save. Yet the Bhutanese trudge on, content and grateful for everything that they have. Perhaps it is also due to the Buddhist mindset of living in the present that the Bhutanese live their life one day at a time — despite the lack of financial security — and with a lot of gratitude too, gratitude for their Kings, their work, the beauty of their country, their family and their community.
“2) HAPPINESS ISN'T ABOUT HAVING A PROFITABLE BUSINESS: In Bhutan, there are many small businesses that have been set up to empower or assist the marginalised. These enterprises have found a middle path to doing business: Rather than falling to the two extremes of purely profit driven businesses and Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs), local businesses have sought the path of setting up social enterprises, giving back to society and the environment. These companies are contributing to many areas, from waste management, to rural development, and to empowering women.
“These initiatives show that the Bhutanese are not intent on making a profit, but rather to help their fellow citizens. An example is Nazhoen Pelri Eco-Friendly Initiative, Bhutan's first waste paper recycling unit that produces on average 20,000 egg trays per week from waste materials and employs recovering drug dependent youth to reintegrate them into society. Another is MAD Bhutan, a Singapore-based tour operator that channels its profits to benefit the rural school children in Bhutan.
“3) BEING CLOSE TO NATURE MAKES ONE HAPPY: Bhutan is mostly made up of forests and mountains that roll on forever, with dense growth of pine trees. Conserving and protecting the environment is so important to the Bhutanese that it is mandated in the Constitution that at least 60 per cent of Bhutan must be covered by forests for all time. This has resulted in the Kingdom being the only carbon negative country in the world, absorbing more of the world's carbon dioxide than it produces. As an agricultural society, the Bhutanese rely heavily on their land and nature. Their connection with the environment and animals is important, and when that is destroyed, their livelihoods become affected. Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, once said: "Where we live must be clean, safe, well-organised and beautiful; for national integrity, national pride and for our bright future."
Societal Secrets to Happiness in Bhutan
Karen Lim wrote in the Strait Times:“4) HAPPINESS IS ABOUT BELONGING TO A COMMUNITY : The population in Bhutan is small: about 735,000 people. What this translates to is a tight-knit community where everyone knows one another. Someone is always somebody's cousin, in-law, relative or work associate. A small community helps to foster kinship and harmony unlike populations that live in large, globalised cities. A lot of time here is spent on kindling those relationships, and cousins are usually hanging around with one another, over a beer or a cup of buttered tea huddled around the bhukhari (local wood-fire stove used as a heater), or playing sports such as archery, darts and football. [Source: Karen Lim, Strait Times, March 23, 2019]
“Neighbours all know one another and stop to chat in the middle of the road, relatives are always at your disposal when you need them to help with family rituals, and if you need help in procuring a nice silk kira (traditional costume for women), there's always someone who knows a weaver somewhere. To get something done here, the Bhutanese normally just pick up their phone and make a call.
“5) HAPPINESS IS ABOUT BEING KIND AND HAVING COMPASSION: Compassion is an integral trait of the Bhutanese and you can witness it in the way they treat animals, specifically the multitude of stray dogs here. Stray dogs roam the streets in droves — along the roads, napping at your doorstep and even entering shops at times — but you'll rarely see a Bhutanese chasing a dog away or hitting them. They have become such an essential part of the daily lives of people living here that some locals feed the dogs on a regular basis. The Bhutanese love to do picnics and any leftovers are always given to the dogs. I've been told before that "it's better to feed the dogs than to waste the food". Now that's good food waste management.
“Compassion is also seen in their collective support and words of encouragement that you can see on social media, during times when tragedy strikes or when someone is in need. The outpour of solidarity and compassion that I have seen is always encouraging and inspiring. I have also personally witnessed elderly beggars entering the office seeking alms, and they are never chased away. Instead everyone reaches out for their wallets to give some money to the elderly. Compassion is also exemplified in Bhutan's prime minister Dr Lotay Tshering, who is a trained urologist surgeon and treats patients for free, often working after hours and on weekends to tend to the sick.
“6) HAPPINESS IS ABOUT HAVING A SENSE OF BELONGING: Every Bhutanese is proud of how far they have come. They adore their Kings, they guard their culture and traditions jealously, and they're proud about the fact that they have never been colonised by external powers. Their cultural identity is visible in the traditional costumes that they wear every day to work, school, temples and festivals. Even the designs of buildings must adhere to strict cultural guidelines, incorporating traditional Bhutanese elements on the facade. These are just part of a set of protocols or code of conduct (driglam namzha), that determines how cultural values, practices and traditions are maintained and not lost in an increasingly modernising Bhutan.
Personal Secrets to Happiness in Bhutan
Karen Lim wrote in the Strait Times: “7) HAPPINESS IS ABOUT LEADING A SIMPLE LIFE: One of the most important lessons I learnt about living in Bhutan is how to lead a simple life, one that is far from the excesses of delicious food, the ease and convenience of a well-connected transport system, and access to water each time I turn on the tap. A simple life here means coming home daily after work with no distractions like midnight movies...sushi dinners or window shopping. It also means having a similar cuisine almost daily, due to the limited variety of vegetables and ingredients here. Dining out is a rarity and a luxury. [Source: Karen Lim, Strait Times, March 23, 2019]
“Walking is the primary mode of transportation. Sometimes, a taxi ride is needed and unavoidable, but my daily commute is usually done with my two legs. Water supply can sometimes be unreliable and during occasions where there are water issues, we all tend to say a little prayer in that one second when we turn the tap on. Sometimes the water is muddy too. Keeping reserve water in buckets at home is par for the course for everyone here.But all these "inconveniences" doesn't stop many living here from being happy. Yes, there may be days where you can't wash properly, or days where you may crave for a nice dinner at a restaurant, but one thing I've learned is that the simpler your life is, the less you desire. The lack of complexities in life makes one much more appreciative for the little things you have. In fact, I wake up
“8) HAPPINESS IS ABOUT ACCEPTING SITUATIONS YOU HAVE NO CONTROL OVER: There are many situations one might face here where you will have no control over, such as issues with water supply or electricity. When a dry spell hits, you don't go all uncontrollably mad. Most of us just sigh and start boiling the water from our buckets. There have been umpteenth times when my colleagues' vehicles were blocked by construction trucks just as they were about to head to the office. They don't go yelling at the drivers. Instead, they just sit in their cars and wait it out.
“The attitude of the Bhutanese to situations they have no control over isn't about raging at others till they get their way. Instead, I've been told by a Bhutanese that most of them just remark "what to do?" and move on. Perhaps this truly is the key to their happiness. To not get stressed over small things in life and to take things easy. Sometimes there really is no reason to get worked up over everything.
“9) HAPPINESS IS ABOUT LAUGHING AT EVERYTHING, INCLUDING YOURSELF: The Bhutanese are known to be rather humorous. Although a little crass at times, their jokes show how simple, carefree and easygoing they really are. Even in professional settings such as the workplace, people are cracking small jokes or giggling because they're amused by another colleague's mannerisms. They laugh at the smallest things. And from a place where we have forgotten to laugh at the simplest, sometimes lamest jokes, I oftentimes don't get why they get so tickled by something so apparent or so meaningless. But I've learned that this is how they learn to take things easy and that is by laughing at everything. And sometimes including themselves. Life shouldn't be so serious and we should all learn to laugh a little, even if it's over something silly.
Pursuit of Happiness in Bhutan Can Be Tough
Simon Denyer wrote in the Washington Post: Some fidget, a few eyes wander here and there, but for a minute or two, hundreds of primary schoolchildren are quiet, learning to meditate together at morning assembly — palms upturned and thumbs together in the style of Buddha. This is Gross National Happiness — or GNH — at work in Bhutan [Source: Simon Denyer, Washington Post, October 30, 2011]
The utopian-sounding idea has proved difficult to put into practice at home. “The joy of GNH is that it offers Bhutan a distinct and alternative path to development,” said opposition leader Tshering Tobgay. “The pitfall of GNH is that we are more satisfied with talking about it, preaching about it, rather than sincerely implementing some of its important principles.”
“Hydroelectric power, built with Indian money, is the engine of Bhutan’s economy, but it scarcely employs anyone except for some Indian laborers and a few engineers. Youth unemployment is a growing problem in Thimphu, and petty crime, gangs and drugs have come in its wake. In the countryside, fields are being left fallow and villages are populated by the elderly. The rural idyll imagined by the happiness survey has few takers these days, and some Bhutanese wonder whether GNH is a luxury their country cannot afford.” King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck “seldom loses an opportunity to remind his government and his people that there is little point in talking about happiness unless the economy is strong. “One of his concerns is that GNH is misunderstood as a substitute for GNP or GDP [gross domestic product],” the king’s press secretary, Dorji Wangchuck, diplomatically explains. “GNP is one of the means to achieve GNH; it is not either/or.”
“As it develops, Bhutan is confronting another foreign, fire-breathing dragon, that of modern culture and consumerism, and the country is trying to tame it rather than turn it away. While many young men prefer jeans and T-shirts to the long robes and knee-length socks of their traditional dress, and listen to modern rock rather than local folk songs, there is undoubtedly more respect for authority and tradition here than in most parts of the world.
“GNH is an attempt to measure and preserve the values the country treasures, but it is not, Tshiteem insists, a direct attempt to make people happier through government policy. “We are trying to create conditions for people to lead their happy lives,” he said. “Whether you use those conditions is up to you.”
Criticism of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness
Simon Denyer wrote in the Washington Post: “There is no doubt that Bhutan’s considered approach to development has a lot going for it. But it is not to everybody’s taste. In its attempts to preserve the country’s traditional values, some critics argue that GNH overly romanticizes life in rural Bhutan, a vision of Shangri-la that papers over rampant alcoholism and domestic violence in the country’s villages. Others say government policy has failed to address rising income inequality and is ultimately not much more than a clever public relations exercise designed to win over foreign donors and justify the rule of a small elite in a highly stratified country. [Source: Simon Denyer, Washington Post, October 31, 2011]
“Nima Dorji, 28, runs a drop-in center for drug addicts in the Bhutanese capital of Thimphu. Like many young Bhutanese facing a stifling system and a future of uncertainty, Dorji rebelled as a teenager, took drugs and dropped out of school. His mother, he says, stood by him, even when he stole and ended up in prison, but the system and his teachers were unforgiving. “Nobody asked me why I did it, what the problem was, how they could help,” he said. “They just wanted to punish me.” To him, and to many of his friends who sit around watching soccer, with tattoos and T-shirts advertising Western rock bands like The Ramones or Metallica, gross national happiness has yet to trickle down. While Bhutan is trying to tackle its drugs problem, a shortage of detox and rehab beds means that many reforming addicts fail to get the support they need. “I can’t say much, but GNH is only for some rich people,” Dorji said. “It sounds beautiful, it looks beautiful, but I don’t think it is happening.”
According to the BBC: “The country has not been idyllic for everyone. Slavery was only abolished in 1958 and, after a series of policies preferential to the Tibetan-based majority Bhutanese culture, clashes broke out with the minority Nepalese community in 1990. Tens of thousands of them fled to refugee camps in Nepal and their status is still in dispute. Some of those left behind say they still face discrimination. Even the prime minister has suggested the concept of Gross National Happiness is overused, and masks problems with corruption and low standards of living. Nearly 7 percent of young people are unemployed and it is one of the world's poorest nations, in GDP terms. [Source: BBC, April 14, 2016]
Unhappiness with Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness
Simon Denyer wrote in the Washington Post: “One of the most damaging criticisms of GNH is associated with the national policy of preserving Bhutan’s ancient Buddhist culture. It was that policy — and anger about the country’s national dress and Dzongkha language being made compulsory — that led to protests from the large ethnic Nepali and Hindu minorities in the late 1980s and early ’90s and, ultimately, the expulsion of tens of thousands of them. [Source: Simon Denyer, Washington Post, October 30, 2011]
“But there is a more fundamental objection that strikes at the problem of making happiness a national goal. In Bhutan, some people are complaining that the government has no right to decide what makes them happy — not least when it banned smoking and made possession of cigarettes or tobacco a jailable offense in 2010.
“When a Buddhist monk was arrested and sentenced to three years in jail for possession of US$2 to US$3 worth of tobacco, even the normally quiescent Bhutanese rebelled. GNH was nicknamed “Gross National Harassment,” and a Facebook campaign helped crystallize the opposition. Although about 60 people are in prison, the government has promised to amend the law. “The smoking law is the overzealous Bhutanese mind-set at work,” said Kinley Tshering, a media consultant and editor who started the Facebook campaign.
“Money is not everything, some critics say, but at least economic growth seems like an objective, measurable goal, while the pursuit of happiness is subjective, easily manipulated by the government to justify any policy it wants to implement. In the cities, people barely understand GNH, and in the villages, many farmers find its dogma frustrating. Under law inspired by Buddhism, they are not allowed to kill wild animals and are virtually powerless to prevent their crops from being eaten by wild boars, monkeys and elephants. “The whole concept of GNH in Bhutan is a democratic one, but the way it is implemented is not democratic at all,” said Tashi Dorji, the editor of Business Bhutan, a newspaper that has played a leading role in investigating and holding the government accountable. “It’s top-down, with politicians and leaders telling us what is GNH.”
“At the Brookings Institution in Washington, senior fellow and happiness expert Carol Graham says she finds much to admire in Bhutan’s considered approach to development and well-being, but accepts that it might not be to everyone’s taste. She says development and happiness do not always go hand in hand. “Bhutan is facing the same progress paradox that every other developing nation faces — that change makes people unhappy,” she said, something she calls the paradox of the happy peasants and the miserable millionaires. “People living a simple life may report that they are feeling happy, but all of a sudden, things change.”
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, Tourism Council of Bhutan (tourism.gov.bt), National Portal of Bhutan, the Bhutan government’s main site (gov.bt), The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Wikipedia and various books, websites and other publications.
Last updated February 2022