On A Pilgrimage Trail....... to Paro Taktsang, The Tiger's Nest
The Hidden Land of Happiness........ Gross National Happiness
The Bhutanese grounding in Buddhist ideals suggests that beneficial development of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occur side by side to complement and reinforce each other. The term "gross national happiness", a concept of a quantitative measurement of well-being and happiness, was coined in 1972 by Bhutan's fourth Dragon King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who has opened Bhutan to the age of modernization. The four pillars of gross national happiness are the promotion of sustainable development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment, and establishment of good governance.
In a 2007 study from University of Leicester, Bhutan ranked eighth out of 178 countries in Subjective Well-Being (Satisfaction with Life Scale, SWLS), a metric of happiness that has been used by many psychologists. In fact, it is the only country in the top 20 "happiest" countries that has a very low GDP.
White, A. (2007). A Global Projection of Subjective Well-being: A Challenge to Positive Psychology? Psychtalk 56, 17-20.
Taktsang Palphug Monastery , a prominent Himalayan Buddhist sacred site and temple complex, first built in 1692, hangs on a precipitous cliff at 3,120 metres (10,240 ft), above the Paro valley, Bhutan.
To reach this place people have to trek for around 3-4 h from the Paro valley below. Previously there was almost no path to the top, only a pilgrim's trail, but in last decade a well maintained path was built to help pilgrims and travelers reach the monastery a bit more comfortable walk.
On A Pilgrimage Trail....... to Paro Taktsang, The Tiger's Nest
The Hidden Land of Happiness........ Gross National Happiness
The Bhutanese grounding in Buddhist ideals suggests that beneficial development of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occur side by side to complement and reinforce each other. The term "gross national happiness", a concept of a quantitative measurement of well-being and happiness, was coined in 1972 by Bhutan's fourth Dragon King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who has opened Bhutan to the age of modernization. The four pillars of gross national happiness are the promotion of sustainable development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment, and establishment of good governance.
In a 2007 study from University of Leicester, Bhutan ranked eighth out of 178 countries in Subjective Well-Being (Satisfaction with Life Scale, SWLS), a metric of happiness that has been used by many psychologists. In fact, it is the only country in the top 20 "happiest" countries that has a very low GDP.
White, A. (2007). A Global Projection of Subjective Well-being: A Challenge to Positive Psychology? Psychtalk 56, 17-20.
Taktsang Palphug Monastery , a prominent Himalayan Buddhist sacred site and temple complex, first built in 1692, hangs on a precipitous cliff at 3,120 metres (10,240 ft), above the Paro valley, Bhutan.
To reach this place people have to trek for around 3-4 h from the Paro valley below. Previously there was almost no path to the top, only a pilgrim's trail, but in last decade a well maintained path was built to help pilgrims and travelers reach the monastery a bit more comfortable walk.