Public television has a great program on Bhutan which I am buying to show to my american government students this fall. It is called Bhutan: the Middle Road to Happiness. My film students have had to put up with the Bhutan film "Travellers and Magicians: The Bitter and Sweet of Temporary Things." A film that shows the beauty of Bhutan, and also carries a Buddhist message. We desire so much, we want our dreamworld, be it jobs, cars, marriage partners, whatever. But desire detracts us from the beauty of our lives. It makes us unhappy. Take a middle road, live simply, find happiness. In Bhutan, the government has a Gross National Happiness indicator, just like Gross Domestic Product or Gross National Product. It is the only country that measures its people's happiness. Being happy is the whole point of life (according to Aristotle). Happiness comes from a spiritual life for the Bhutanese. Anyway, great program. And finally, what IS the bitter and sweet of temporary things???? Life. Life is temporary. It is bitter and also sweet. We need to let go of physical desire, accept our temporary lives, and live peacefully. Be happy. (Easy to write about, much harder to actually accomplish). The program shows the new King of Bhutan explaining that the global economy opens up the nation to the consumer culture of the west, and that is a threat to their happiness. Also, Bhutan is now a parliamentary democracy, and that is also a challenge to their culture. anyway, great movie, less than an hour long.
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