We were fortunate enough to be in one of the happiest place on Earth during election week. No not Disneyland, but Bhutan. Seeing all of the craziness back home made us appreciate the tranquility and peacefulness of this country.

The Kingdom of Bhutan is one of the smallest and least traveled to countries in the world. Bhutan, a Buddhist kingdom on the Himalayas’ eastern edge, is known for its monasteries, fortresses and dramatic landscapes that range from subtropical plains to steep mountains and valleys. It has a population of just over 780,000 and only started allowing visitors in 1974. Approximately 40,000 people visit Bhutan each year. One reason so few people visit Bhutan is the cost associated with traveling to Bhutan. Bhutan charges $250 per person per day to visit, which keeps out many backpackers. The money collected from visitors goes to fund free healthcare and public schools.

As someone who loves economics, I always check the key economic indicators of each country we are visiting (GDP per Capita, Growth Rate, Unemployment rate and the Big Mac Index). During my pre-trip research, I was fascinated to see that Bhutan uses an indicator called Gross National Happiness (GNH). In 1972 Bhutan decided to measure happiness. The term ‘Gross National Happiness’ was coined by King Jigme Wangchuk. The King challenged conventional, narrow and materialistic notions of human progress. He realized and declared that the existing development paradigm – GNP (or GDP) – did not consider the ultimate goal of every human being: happiness. The GNH is measured by its peoples’ happiness by their sense of well-being with the governance, their relationship with the environment, sense of cultural and national belonging and their satisfaction with the pace of the development of the country.

We were lucky enough to be in the capital of Thimphu at the start of their week long Happiness Festival. The capital city of Thimphu has a population of 130,000 but feels like a small town rather a capital. The entire country does not have a single traffic signal and most people walk or ride in small public buses. The festival reminded me of our local grade school’s festival with little booths manned by smiling citizens promoting different government of nonprofit services to increase happiness.

One of the most prolific symbols in Bhutan is the Thunpa Punshi or Four Harmonious Friends. When you enter the capital city of Thimphu you are greeted by a large statue representing the Thunpa Punshi. My first reaction was, “What kind of statue is that? A bird on top of a rabbit on top of a monkey on top of an elephant?” The Thunpa Punshi is often painted on doors, tables, walls of Buddhist temples as well as homes. It is believed that wherever this picture is displayed, the wholesome deeds of its beholders and the harmony among them will increase.

Given all of the protests and division in America I thought this teaching is much needed.

Here is the story of the Thuna Punshi taken from dailyenlightenment.com:

The Buddha was traveling with young monks when he shared the story of a bird, hare, monkey and elephant, who lived by a large tree. When there was loss of respect for one another, conflict began. Knowing this is not good, they decided to give priority to the elder ones, by measuring their age with the tree. The elephant remembered it to be as big as a bush when he was a baby. The monkey remembered that its leaves touched his nose then. The hare remembered that he fed on the leaves of this tree when it was just a small sapling. As the bird said there was a great tree nearby, whose seeds he ate and pooped where the tree now was, they decided that he was the eldest, followed by the monkey, hare and elephant, whose advice should be listened in that order, due to their respective experience.
The bird advised that they should all do good and avoid evil by observing the five precepts of no killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and taking of intoxicants. Thus living peacefully, they were later reborn as humans. The four discussed about ownership of the tree and agreed to tend to it together. Supporting one another physically, with one above another, they would harvest its fruits.
While the bird planted the seed earlier, the hare watered it, the monkey fertilized it, and the elephant protected it – till it grew into a big beautiful tree full of fruits. Synergising their individual talents, they could reach farther for more literally fruitful results. A version says that when the plant was just a sprout, the bird could scratch around it to find bits to eat. As he was unable to fly, it became difficult to get enough to eat as it grew taller. The hare would eat what was on the ground and lift the bird on his back to reach higher. This was followed by the monkey and the elephant for reaching higher heights, as they collaborated and shared without selfishness.

These ‘four harmonious brothers’ became literally towering good examples in the forest. The bird initiated those with wings to be good, the elephant those with fangs, the hare those with paws, and the monkey those with fur. They even influenced the human kingdom to be moral, which led to higher rebirths. Though simple, this remarkable story bears great truths… on the importance of interdependent cooperation despite differences in size, strength and even species (or race and human-imposed ‘caste’). It also speaks of unity, integrity, friendship, generosity, and selflessness for the greater good. Underlying too are the themes of respecting the spiritual potential of animals, and the protection instead of exploitation of nature.

Ideally, those senior in age are also wiser, and thus worthier of respect. However, as some are ‘older but no wiser’, seniors must be respectful of juniors too. Respect has to earned on both sides. Spiritually, true seniority is by one’s advancement in virtue or practice of the Dharma; not by advancement in years. Again, while it is generally true that the older one is, the better practiced one should be, there are the young who are spiritually advanced too – which is another reason why respect must be mutual – for a win-win situation, where the young and old humbly learn from each other. This is crucial to remember – lest one mistakes the story to advocate one-way submission to the elderly without question!

In discussions with our Bhutanese guide, Tashi, I discovered other deeper meanings of the four animals. The elephant represents our body, the monkey represents the restless mind, the rabbit represents emotions, and the bird is the soul. In addition, he also told me that the animals represent four qualities that are essential in life: elephant – strength, monkey – wisdom, hare – speed, bird – vision. I imagine he meant this not only on a physical level, but on a spiritual level as well.

I hope this message of cooperation can reach our divided country in order to increase our Gross Domestic Happiness!