> 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.<p>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."<p>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.<p>I'm headed to Bhutan in a month and will report back if I learn anything interesting on this topic.<p>[1] <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moksha" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moksha</a><p>[2] <a href="http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier" rel="nofollow">http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-m...</a>
I've been contemplating death a lot lately - from this HN comment thread with @sago<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9260286" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9260286</a><p>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.<p>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.<p>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.
Reminds me a bit of this book on a modern take on stoicism:<p><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0195374614" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0195374614</a><p>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.
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.<p>[1] <a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/america-tonight/articles/2014/6/19/bhutanese-refugeessuicide.html" rel="nofollow">http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/america-tonight/art...</a>
[2] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutanese_refugees" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutanese_refugees</a>
[3] <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e487646.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e487646.html</a>
That is basic buddhist thinking. However, there is much more than just meditating death in buddhism.<p>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".<p>One interesting thing: Have you noted that Buddha is almost always laughing or smiling?
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."<p>I soon realized why such a comment would make people unhappy.<p>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).<p>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.<p>Peace!
"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."<p><a href="http://www.nickbostrom.com/fable/dragon.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.nickbostrom.com/fable/dragon.html</a>
> 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.<p>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.
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.<p>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.
Fearing death is utterly irrational.<p>One simply transitions from being to non-being. In a state of non-being one cannot worry, influence, toil, think, experience, or suffer.<p>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.<p>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?".<p>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.<p>Hare today, goon tomorrow, and the world will keep turning.
I quite liked the article until the part that talks about self-deception:<p>> If you know you’ll get another shot at life, you’re less likely to fear the end of this particular one.<p>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.
"Rich people in the West, they have not touched dead bodies, fresh wounds, rotten things"<p>1. Grandma's funeral. You stole her glasses. Tee Hee. Boy was she cold.<p>2. Soccer. But you bit the other guy too.<p>3. That sandwich in the rucksack, left over the weekend. Eww.