Shangri-la maybe the problem

Article by Rinpoche at Bhutan Observer

In Bhutan, when we scold our kids with words like kao majebe or drenpa-ma-khug (in Dzongkha) or ma-tugpa (in Sharchhop), we mean they have not “gone through” life, or through any real character-building experience. Drenpa-ma-khugpa kids are naive, immature, and undeveloped. They are happy enough in their naïveté, and not really smart enough to know better. Does this represent how we are as a nation?

In fact, when I travel, people are often delighted to hear I’m Bhutanese, having heard that Bhutan is one of the happiest countries in the world. I have to admit this kind of remark makes me really uncomfortable. Are we really so happy?

Bhutan has a very strange problem. We may be proud of being considered this beautiful pristine heaven on earth, but thinking that we are citizens of a Shangri-la nation may be our problem.

Let us not be too quick to claim that we earned this unique label. We got our good fortune with a bit of luck, through the blessings of the Triple Gems and the gurus, a history of good governance, and I dare say, also through our relative insignificance. But the real tests are coming, because things are not going to stay like this, and we simply cannot remain complacent and take our good fortune for granted.

Modernity has already brought challenges to Bhutan such as Facebook, non-Bhutanese values, materialism, and drugs like SP and N10. But those are just the obvious issues. What I am talking about is more subtle and implicit, and even more important.

When we think we’re too special, we become spoiled, we think we’re ‘entitled’ to privilege, and we certainly don’t want to get our hands dirty. That manifests in a so-called youth unemployment problem, which may have more to do with our young not wanting to do any menial or manual labour while we import thousands of Indian labourers to do our construction for us.

And it also manifests in our elites often spoiling themselves – sometimes more concerned about feathering their own nests, buying Prados, sending their children abroad, and going on shopping sprees in Bangkok than caring for others, giving to their communities, and taking real responsibility for our nation’s future.

More subtly, this feeling of specialness manifests in a reliance on exalted words and concepts, and in an antipathy for the kind of trench work and attention to detail required to translate words into action.

Some readers may reject such comments, as they did my last article in May, simply on the grounds that lamas like me should stay out of politics. In one sense, I really appreciate their concern. Rule by lamas in Tibet, for example, was disastrous, and Bhutan very wisely decided to prevent lamas from voting and running for office.

And yet, the welfare and stability of a nation are the concern of every citizen. In fact, I think people like me – lamas, elites, business leaders, top government officials and everyone else without exception who are blessed with great privileges – have a particular responsibility to really plan, and care for the future of Bhutan. And that’s why I feel compelled to say what I see and ask to be heard as a private citizen of Bhutan.

Though democratic forms have been introduced in Bhutan, it is also important to give real economic democracy to the people. Because when our stomachs are filled, we will have more time for ideology. When we are hungry and poor, we will strive for survival and petty profit and become increasingly discontent. We should not be complacent in our ignorance, thinking Maoist problems are simply “over there” in a neighbouring country and have nothing to do with us. In fact, our social problems of today, such as drug addiction, unemployment, and gangs, do risk turning into our Maoist problems of tomorrow.

Some may like to look over at Nepal and just be thankful we don’t have the same problems, like being without proper government for years. But can we learn a lesson from Nepal’s problems? And I don’t mean just being thankful we’re not like that. At least our neighbouring country may be “going through” a drenpa-tag learning curve. And if one day in the next two decades, a new generation of Nepalis makes sense of this difficult historical experience with resolve and insight, it might make a true success of the country. But for us the lesson of Nepal is primarily what can happen when the poor are neglected.

The lesson that “greed is suffering” is one of the most fundamental teachings of the Buddha. But even though we may not easily transcend our greed, it may be smart for the elites, simply for their own survival, to settle for a bit less so that the poor can have a bit more. Or if they can’t do that, then at least our elites might foster a healthier type of greed by desiring to help the poor become richer. Everything is interdependent, the dharma shows us, and wealth is no exception. The phenomenon of an independently arising wealth just does not exist. The world has demonstrated this again and again. If almost everyone is poor, to whom will the rich sell their goods?

One might wonder, is Rinpoche suggesting we have problems where we have none? I am not saying that. I am merely reminding us not to be too complacent. There are days I feel some foreign expats are more genuinely caring of Bhutan than many Bhutanese. Our patriotism and loyalty seem almost always oriented towards some past glory. But our love for Bhutan should also be driven by a healthy anxiety about the future.

Though I am part of it, I worry for the Bhutanese elite and for its complacency. Sometimes I hear people worry about Indian and Bollywood influences on our youth. But we should also recall that our entire religion, wisdom tradition, and key aspects of our culture derive from India. I am personally more concerned about our new-found attraction to the bright lights and upscale lifestyles of Bangkok, and about the propensity of wealthy Bhutanese to send their children there to study and to draw their educational models from Thailand. In fact, I wonder if Bangkok’s seduction of grace and the easy life may just be our undoing. Once there, our kids become mesmerized by an all-encompassing paradise of drenpa-ma-khugpa. Where will we be when they finally wake up?

But that cultural commentary aside, my main point here is simply that Bhutan can no longer afford to live off the merit of the past, with all the ‘specialness’ that merit seems to confer. If we’re to create a better future for our children and ensure our country’s long-term wellbeing, we have to gather new merit now. Two of the best ways do that are to get our hands dirty as we build our nation and for our elites to care for and give a little more to others, and thereby to provide better examples and leadership. They might find that their giving actually feels good.

Maybe most importantly, it will help Bhutan a lot if we think a little less that we are so special. On the contrary, we might even celebrate our relative insignificance as a nation as a blessing that confers real protection. After all, it’s when people ignore us that we can really get something done.

By Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse