The Geography of Bliss

Weiner flies to Bhutan, thinking of Shangri-La from the James Hilton book Lost Horizon. Bhutan has a policy of Gross National Happiness, which measures people’s happiness the way other countries measure wealth and promotes increases in happiness.

Weiner lands in Paro. A guide named Tashi attends to Weiner, who notes that attention can bring happiness. They drive to a cafe. Later, they go to Thimphu, the capital.

Bhutan did not have television until 1999. Since then, wrestling shows have become popular, but are also controversial. Until 1962, the country did not have a road, school, hospital, or currency. Recently, though the country has introduced internet cafes and cell phones, the capital still does not have a traffic light.

Weiner meets Karma Ura, who runs a think tank. Ura notes that most countries measure wealth and longevity, rather than happiness. Ura says that he is happy in part because he has not set unrealistic expectations for himself. Instead of achievement, Ura cares about compassion.

Weiner tells Ura about having a worrisome health episode and visiting a doctor. Ura accurately guesses that the doctor probably found nothing—Weiner was simply experiencing a panic attack. Ura says that Westerners are distant from death, and because of this, they worry more.

Later, Weiner meets Barba Tulku, a healer and the Rimpoche, or reincarnation of a holy line of Buddhists, who studied under the Dalai Lama. Tulku says that Tibetans have a cultural history of happiness, mentioning Drukpa Kunley, a 15th-century monk and poet known throughout for his wild enjoyment of life. On the other hand, a different tradition is that Bhutanese men sometimes spend up to three years meditating without talking.

Linda Leaming, an American residing in Bhutan, meets Weiner. She says that the isolated geography defines the country. The remoteness calms people. She notes that the presence of death and discomfort remind one of happiness.

Weiner visits again with Tulku, who attends to a group seeking favor for a court ruling, and a woman with a leg injury. Tulku describes Bhutanese people as taking their happiness as a given: “In America, few people are happy, but everyone talks about happiness constantly. In Bhutan, most people are happy, but no one talks about it” (73).

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the economic worth of a country, and some research has shown that money does make people happier up to a certain point. However, in 1973, King Wangchuk of Bhutan shifted the traditional economic viewpoint. Instead of GDP, he decided to focus on happiness, developing the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH).

Weiner attends a GNH conference. There, the Bhutanese home minister says that a country seeking happiness does not go to war.

Weiner and Tashi drive to Bumthang, an eastern province, where numerous houses have penises painted on them. Tashi explains that they are there to ward off evil spirits. They visit a temple to the Drukpa Kunley, which couples often visit for fertility purposes.

Weiner visits the village where Ura came from. Ura’s mother describes the village before it had electricity or cars, saying that it’s become better since then. However, she criticizes both television and democracy.

Weiner considers that in the United States, cars, beds and other aspects of life have separate settings, so that people do not have to negotiate. In Bhutan, narrow roads and hard farm work require compromise.

Back in Thimphu, Weiner visits Ura, who notes that both Bhutanese and American people have irrational beliefs. Ura also says that happiness is in relationships; money can improve relationships, but does not itself bring happiness. Trust, however, does.

Weiner and Tashi drink beer. Tashi admits that he worries about himself and his country; he gifts Weiner a large wooden penis. Weiner feels calm. Because of its strangeness, Bhutan lets him have a better view of happiness.

In 2001, a mysterious Qatari Sheikh bought over a billion dollars of art from European galleries, showing that his country has large amounts of money. Weiner takes interest, arguing that maybe money can buy happiness, and flies to Qatar. In business class, Weiner does not encounter any Qataris, who fly exclusively in first class.

Qatar is a small desert country with the world’s third-highest reserve of natural gas. Until recently, the country was much poorer. Sudden wealth has increased longevity and travel, but not necessarily happiness. The royal family fights over money. The country is conservative—women wear hijab.

Weiner’s luxurious hotel does little to improve his mood: “here in this oh-so-nice hotel, where my every need is attended to instantly, sometimes before I even know I have such a need, I am not happy. What’s wrong with me?” (101). Describing the hotel as too somber, Weiner checks out early. At a less expensive hotel, he enjoys the swim-up bar.

Weiner calls Lisa, an American in Qatar. The two discuss life in the country. Lisa points out that most of Qatar’s residents are not Qataris—they are servants. The country has little public life, since people stay in air-conditioned areas to avoid the heat. Weiner compares Qatar to an airport terminal: air-conditioned and with shopping. Stephen Ulph, an academic from Britain, contrasts the country with more historical Arabic locations, which makes Weiner wonder whether a sense of history might contribute to happiness by connecting one to larger entities.

After several days, Weiner still has not met any Qataris, which is not surprising since the Qatari tribe is small enough to be a large extended family. Weiner argues that since socializing increases happiness, money can make people less happy by isolating them.

At the museum, Lisa argues that Qatar lacks culture—the emir has paid for all the museums, so they lack diversity of opinion. Still, the Qatari state pays for electricity, education, and more.

Weiner finally meets some Qataris at the offices of Al Jazeera, a state-funded news channel. When Weiner asks them if they are happy, they respond with discomfort, saying that they are as happy as is appropriate, and that Weiner should become a Muslim.

Weiner references a statistic that religious people are often happier. However, people in less religious countries in Northern Europe are also happier. Belief, rather than its content, may produce happiness, Weiner contends.

Weiner compares Qatar to a lottery winner: The oil and gas money made the country rich. Although happiness has long been tied to luck, psychologist Philip Brickman, who has studied lottery winners, has determined that after a while, they reverted to their previous levels of happiness.

When Weiner tells Lisa at a hotel restaurant that he is unhappy in Qatar, she argues that he is addicted to sadness. Scientists have discovered that wanting and liking happen in different brain parts: People can want things that they do not like.

As he watches idle men receive paychecks for their tribal connection at a Starbucks, Weiner points out that countries can suffer from either insufficient or excess money. Scientists find that people who have too much work are happier than those who do not have enough work. Scientists also find that materialistic people are less happy. Weiner admits to an addiction to bags and buys an expensive pen.

Moza al-Malki, a woman activist, argues that money can increase happiness; hwoever, social science and western philosophy show limits to this.

Weiner meets Abdulaziz, a Qatari who says that the oil boom made Qatar less happy: Money can produce basic dignity, but not happiness.