
Bhutan's dark secret to happiness - hmsln
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20150408-bhutans-dark-secret-to-happiness
======
simple10
> Another explanation is the country’s deeply felt Buddhist beliefs,
> especially that of reincarnation. If you know you’ll get another shot at
> life, you’re less likely to fear the end of this particular one.

This is a common oversimplification of reincarnation. I had the opportunity to
study with a Buddhist scholar in India a year ago who corrected a lot of my
misconceptions. Reincarnation is neither reward nor punishment. It's a long
cycle with the end goal not being immortality but escape (or exit) from the
cycle through moksha[1]. A possibly more accurate oversimplification is "do
good, increase karma until you win the game, and stop being reincarnated."

If there's any link between belief or interaction with death and happiness,
it's most likely due to simply increasing daily gratitude[2] which does have
scientific benefit.

I'm headed to Bhutan in a month and will report back if I learn anything
interesting on this topic.

[1] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moksha](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moksha)

[2] [http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-
can-m...](http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-
happier)

~~~
nickbauman
Well that's one specific interpretation of Buddhism common to a few schools.
Samsara (reincarnation) can also be interpreted as an illustration of the
problem of not learning from experience.

A general way of ending the cycle (that works across different schools of
Buddhism) is that the Buddha was trying to teach us to focus on understanding
human suffering. And only by understanding suffering can we ultimately
dislodge it and move forward. You don't even have to be Buddhist to believe in
that!

~~~
drieddust
I think you are spot on here.

Ironically Buddhism has now come very far from original teaching of Buddha.

~~~
bunderbunder
I fail to see the irony. It seems entirely appropriate to me.

I'm admittedly no proper scholar of the subject, just a former armchair
enthusiast, but when I read texts from the Pali canon it seems clear to me
that from the earliest recorded times Buddhism has considered itself a living
tradition. In the stories it tells, Gautama Buddha often refuses to weigh in
on those sorts of matters. Fast forward a couple thousand years and you've got
things like a letter in which a major Zen patriarch explicitly refuses to
offer any opinion on a point of "theological" disagreement between Pure Land
Buddhism and his own sect. And in between, plenty more stories of leaders
encouraging flexible thinking on these kinds of matters. It's really not like
Abrahamic religious traditions where there's this tendency toward obsessing
over orthodoxy.

------
themartorana
I've been contemplating death a lot lately - from this HN comment thread with
@sago

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9260286](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9260286)

to being at my uncle's bedside as he passed away earlier this week. There was
undeniable pain in watching him go, even though I barely knew the man - we
were all still rather struck by watching someone breath their last breath.

But in the end (and yeah, it's anecdotal) I find I've been spending more time
considering what I want the remainder of my life to be, if the end is randomly
assigned to be sometime between moments after I submit this comment to say, 60
years from now. It's focused my thinking. I've been more forgiving, less
likely to take offense, kinder to my wife, more in awe of my new kid. Politics
bothers me less, and I'm less likely to get hot and bothered about the latest
scandal.

It's been a bit cathartic, while being intensely scary. I'm not looking
forward to leaving this life (see comment thread linked above) but having the
idea be so in-my-face in the recent past has, in some way, made me more
thankful and reflective on the life I do have right now.

~~~
middleclick
My father passed away when I was 18, my mother passed away a year ago. Both
from illnesses which no one had in my family.

As someone in his late twenties, it hit me hard. Even today, I cannot seem to
enjoy anything since I feel the void of my parents, both of whom I was deeply
attached to.

A friend who saw how broken I was gave me the book, "The Tibetan Book of
Living and Dying".
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tibetan_Book_of_Living_and...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tibetan_Book_of_Living_and_Dying).
It changed my perspective on death. It made me realize that nothing is
permanent and it's best not to be afraid of death. A must read for anyone
suffering from loss of their loved ones.

To live without the fear of death and to accept what happens, sets you free in
many ways.

~~~
kinleyd
That is one beautiful book. I've read it twice so far, and it remains on my
read again list. I wish you much happiness in the years ahead.

------
jamessantiago
Reminds me a bit of this book on a modern take on stoicism:

[http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0195374614](http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0195374614)

Had a part about negative visualization where one would contemplate the
negative aspects of life as much as the positive as a sort of counterbalance
to hedonic adaptation. One would fall into a good life as being the norm and
start to become overly negative about inconsequential aspects of it and hope
for the next step up where the cycle would repeat. Instead, using this
negative visualisation thing, one would contemplate how life would be without
a paying job or a family or arms which I suppose leads to positive thoughts
about having such things.

~~~
Zarkonnen
Yeah, the negative visualization aspect very much reminded me of stoicism.

~~~
hvs
Stoicism and Buddhism have some interesting parallels. They are very different
in techniques and belief systems, but similar outlooks.

------
theyeti
A bit misleading title, but Bhutan has its own share of problems. The
Bhutanese refugee issue, a large scale eviction of Bhutanese citizens of
Nepalese origin is a prime example of the Druk kingdom's shady regime.

[1] [http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/america-
tonight/art...](http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/america-
tonight/articles/2014/6/19/bhutanese-refugeessuicide.html) [2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutanese_refugees](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutanese_refugees)
[3]
[http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e487646.html](http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e487646.html)

~~~
kinleyd
"Large scale eviction of Bhutanese citizens" and "shady regime" are highly
simplistic or one sided ways to describe a complex problem that Bhutan does
indeed have. Over the course of the last 4 to 5 decades Bhutan has faced a
wave of economic migration that it has been (and continues to be) ill-equipped
to manage. In trying to do so, yes, unfortunately and almost certainly some
Bhutanese citizens have suffered. At the same time, many claiming to be
Bhutanese citizens certainly were not.

~~~
theyeti
While, certainly not all those who claim to be the refugees might be actually
one, the poor human rights record[1] of Bhutan speaks for itself. For a nation
that issues citizenship based on race and origin [2] and "categorizes" them, a
lot of economic development (and the self claimed Gross National Happiness)
might be just a good publicity move by the Druk regime.

[1] [https://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/countries/asia-and-
the-p...](https://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/countries/asia-and-the-
pacific/bhutan) [2] [http://thediplomat.com/2014/04/bhutans-human-rights-
record-d...](http://thediplomat.com/2014/04/bhutans-human-rights-record-
defies-happiness-claim/)

~~~
kinleyd

        For a nation that issues citizenship based on race and origin [2] 
    

That's quite a leap you make there. Where exactly in the referenced article
does it say that citizenship is based on race and origin?

    
    
        and "categorizes" them
    

I do agree the categories are clumsy at best but how else is it possible to
describe aggregated information without some form of categorization?

------
mikkom
That is basic buddhist thinking. However, there is much more than just
meditating death in buddhism.

As we are talking about buddhist country it would be much wiser to look at
what buddhists think (as almost the whole religion is about happiness) than
just look at one tiny part and think that is the "thing" to be happy. It's
just part of the buddhist "impermanence".

One interesting thing: Have you noted that Buddha is almost always laughing or
smiling?

------
NTDF9
What a timely article! I was talking to my girlfriend about this yesterday and
she became mad at me. What ticked her off was that I made a comment to the
effect of, "Don't worry about <this problem>. Your parents will die soon
anyway."

I soon realized why such a comment would make people unhappy.

From my perspective though, I see death (due to natural causes) as a happy
necessity. I insisted that my position on death is that death is an absolute
truth. It is going to happen sometime or the other. Let's live this journey of
life as well as we can and make sure that we are prepared to handle death (of
ourselves and loved ones).

Since I give death so much thought, I'm not shocked or traumatized by death
when it actually happens (I've seen 8 deaths of close friends and family). I
am also better prepared to deal with the inevitable emotional, legal and
financial storm that this event might bring. After handling all these issues,
I'm also able to respect and reflect on that persons life much better.

Peace!

------
bradleybuda
"Presumably, she thinks she’s got the right not to be chewed up by the dragon.
How willful and presumptuous. The finitude of human life is a blessing for
every individual, whether he knows it or not."

[http://www.nickbostrom.com/fable/dragon.html](http://www.nickbostrom.com/fable/dragon.html)

------
higherpurpose
> Ritual provides a container for grief, and in Bhutan that container is large
> and communal. After someone dies, there’s a 49-day mourning period that
> involves elaborate, carefully orchestrated rituals. “It is better than any
> antidepressant,” Tshewang Dendup, a Bhutanese actor, told me. The Bhutanese
> might appear detached during this time. They are not. They are grieving
> through ritual.

That actually sounds like a great idea. It's basically like AA's 12 steps, but
for learning to cope with someone dying in your family.

------
morpheous
Bah!, can't access it from the UK!

~~~
M8
What makes you feel entitled to _B_ BC :)? Seriously though, it's available
via Google cache.

------
amagumori
this resonates me! i think "happiness" is actually a relative, sliding-scale
thing. if you've been comfortable and secure for a long time then i think
you're actually going to find it hard to be happy, since a relatively high
level of happiness has become your "normal" and you take it for granted. yet
if you're going through struggles and grief a lot, it's much easier to feel
happy about basic things.

like the article said, pain and suffering shouldn't be avoided but should be
accepted as a normal part of life. and when you're going through it, it's
heartening to look at your suffering as a down payment for greater joy and
appreciation later on.

------
cpncrunch
His symptoms are typical of hypoxia, and given that he was at 7600ft mild
hypoxia seems the most likely explanation of his symptoms.

------
intheuk
Content is inaccessible in the UK. Can someone repost?

~~~
sleepyhead
Are you telling me that BBC is not available in the UK?

~~~
jallardice
Apparently so... I've never encountered pages like that on the BBC site before
though:

 _We 're sorry but this site is not accessible from the UK as it is part of
our international service and is not funded by the licence fee. It is run
commercially by BBC Worldwide, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the BBC, the
profits made from it go back to BBC programme-makers to help fund great new
BBC programmes._

~~~
hoggle
I wonder why that is an issue? Controlling the message? Feels like a PRC
measure - as a UK citizen that'd make me feel very wary about public news.

~~~
bpodgursky
It is to avoid competing with paid private news companies on uneven terms,
since they get funding from the gov.

------
madaxe_again
Fearing death is utterly irrational.

One simply transitions from being to non-being. In a state of non-being one
cannot worry, influence, toil, think, experience, or suffer.

I look at death very straightforwardly: it is irrelevant to me. I will never
experience death. I will therefore, from my perspective, never die. My
experiences are bounded by my being and non-being, and self-referentially we
are each immortal within the bounds of our own experience.

I may one day experience the act of dying, but one does not know one is dying
unless one is terminally ill. More often than not one simply either goes to
sleep and does not wake, or one goes "gosh, what's that thing that's about to
hit my head?".

Of course one might worry for those one leaves behind - but in most cases,
this does the living a disservice, as to think one essential in the life of
another is egoistic at best, and controlling and damaging at worst.

Hare today, goon tomorrow, and the world will keep turning.

~~~
philh
Would you play Russian roulette for ten dollars?

If not, what is it that stops you, and why is it irrational for that same
reason to make people not want to die of other causes?

~~~
rwmj
The OP's net present value of future earnings is likely to be much bigger than
$10, so why is it irrational for him to play Russian roulette for so little
money?

~~~
philh
If OP doesn't want to do it, it would be irrational for ver to do it. That's
not true of all decisions, but I think it holds in this case.

But, I'm a little confused, because

> The OP's net present value of future earnings is likely to be much bigger
> than $10

would seem like an argument against playing. So I'm not sure if you were
trying to say something that went completely over my head?

------
yawz
I quite liked the article until the part that talks about self-deception:

> If you know you’ll get another shot at life, you’re less likely to fear the
> end of this particular one.

This should not be the reason to value and enjoy life! This is no different
than any other superstitious tradition that is put in place to comfort people
who cannot face the reality: we get one and only one shot at this. Beyond
that, whether you believe in reincarnation or in 72 virgins waiting in heaven,
it is the same delusion.

~~~
meric
When you die, your body disintegrates, and becomes food for insects, plants
and bacteria, and so your body merely transformed into other lifeforms, then
reincarnation can be considered literately true. Your consciousness, your
mind, your nervous system, will not survive this transformation, but new
conciousness, new minds and new nervous systems will form in its place.

If you take it many steps further, you can see how it connects to Carl Sagan's
idea: "The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for
the universe to know itself.".

Your life, your death is merely one part of the cosmos, transforming into
another. One door closes, and many more doors open.

~~~
saraid216
Not sure whether or not I'm allowed to plug stuff that I have no connection
to, but you may be interested in this Kickstarter I stumbled across recently:

[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/546469190/the-urban-
dea...](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/546469190/the-urban-death-
project-laying-our-loved-ones-to-r)

------
vixen99
Coming to terms with the inevitable. Can this be why it's reported that so
many old people record high levels of happiness and contentment?

------
krantiveer
Someone says they are happy and the world rushes in to prove they are not.

------
kghose
"Rich people in the West, they have not touched dead bodies, fresh wounds,
rotten things"

1\. Grandma's funeral. You stole her glasses. Tee Hee. Boy was she cold.

2\. Soccer. But you bit the other guy too.

3\. That sandwich in the rucksack, left over the weekend. Eww.

------
mayreck
DMT

