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An Analysis of Psychological Wellbeing Indicators of GNH

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An Analysis of Psychological Wellbeing Indicators of GNH An Analysis of Psychological Wellbeing Indicators of GNH Through a Buddhist Perspective by Tashi Wangmo Bachelors of Commerce, University of North Bengal, 2003 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MPhil Policy Study (PPE) in the Graduate Academic Unit of School of Graduate Studies Supervisor: John Valk, PhD, Renaissance College, UNB Emery Hyslop-Margison, PhD, Faculty of Education, UNB Ellen Rose, PhD, Faculty of Education, UNB Examining Board: Linda Eyre, PhD, Faculty of Education, UNB, Chair Ian Methven, PhD, Director of the Property Studies, UNB Jennifer Pazienza, PhD, Faculty of Education, UNB This thesis is accepted by the Dean of Graduate Studies THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK September, 2010 ©Tashi Wangmo, 2010 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du 1+1 Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-87611-4 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-87611-4 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distrbute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. Canada ABSTRACT Measuring wellbeing is an important task in determining whether people's lives are improving or becoming worse over time. Gross National Happiness (GNH) is the central development philosophy of Bhutan. This philosophy aims at maximizing human wellbeing and minimizing human suffering by balancing economic needs with spiritual and emotional needs of the people. The Centre for Bhutan Studies in 2008 developed the Gross National Happiness Index as a tool to measure the overall wellbeing of the Bhutanese people and to track the performances of government policies. The index comprises of 72 indicators grouped under nine domains: psychological wellbeing, cultural resilience, education, health, time use and balance, good governance, community vitality, ecological diversity, and living standard. The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of Buddhist principles of happiness on the indicators of psychological wellbeing domain, and the coherence of indicators with the concept of GNH. Although conducting an in-depth analysis of each of the indicators under the nine domains would be most beneficial, due to the vastness of the indicators, this study focuses only on the indicators of psychological wellbeing. Since Buddhism has long played an important role in the political, economic, and social lives of Bhutanese, the Buddhist principles of happiness provides the framework to analyze the indicators. Each indicator is determined to what extent they reflect Buddhist principles. Findings from this study reveal that the core teachings of Buddhism find a place in each of the indicators. The study thus concludes that the indicators of psychological wellbeing are influenced by Buddhism and consistent with the concept of GNH. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people to thank for the successful completion of this study. I would first like to thank my supervisor Dr. John Valk for his continuous support, guidance, and encouragement. I would also like to thank my co-supervisors Dr. Emery Hyslop-Margison and Dr. Ellen Rose for their guidance and time which helped me complete my study on time. I would also like to thank the University of New Brunswick especially the Graduate School Unit for partially funding my study. My sincere thanks also go to the Royal Government of Bhutan for granting me study leave. I would also like to thank Ms. Tshokey Zangmo, Researcher at the Centre for Bhutan Studies for providing me with information on GNH Index and for clearing my doubts. I am also thankful to Ven. Lama Mepham, a Buddhist meditation teacher, at the University of Arkansas for guiding me and sharing his knowledge on Buddhist principles. Lastly, I am very thankful to my family and friends for their continued love and support. iii Table of Contents ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii Table of Contents iv List of Tables vi List of Figures vii List of Abbreviations viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 The Bhutanese Economy and Culture 3 1.2 Political History and Transition to Democracy 5 1.3 Gross National Happiness the Development Philosophy of Bhutan 7 1.4 Explanation of Gross National Happiness Index 8 1.5 Research Questions and Objective of the Study 13 1.6 Methodology 14 1.7 Limitations and Significance of the study 17 1.8 Summary 18 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 20 2.1 Buddhism and Gross National Happiness 21 2.2 Evolution of the Concept 29 2.3 GNH Discourses and Debates 33 2.4 Quantifying Gross National Happiness 37 2.5 Summary 39 CHAPTER THREE: THE BUDDHIST PRINCIPLES OF HAPPINESS 41 3.1 Buddhist View of Happiness 42 3.2 Key Mahayana Buddhist Principles 45 3.2.1 The four noble truths 45 3.2.2 The Law of Karma, Principle of Interdependence, and Compassion 47 iv 3.3 The Buddhist Happiness Framework 50 3.3.1 Generosity 55 3.3.2. Ethics 55 3.3.3. Patience and Tolerance 57 3.3.4. Perseverance 58 3.3.5. Meditative Concentration 59 3.3.6. Wisdom 60 3.4 Summary 61 CHAPTER FOUR: ANALYSIS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING INDICATORS 63 4.1 Psychological Wellbeing Measures 64 4.2. Emotional Balance 66 4.3 Spiritual Practices 80 4.3 General Mental Health (GMH) 87 4.4 Summary 89 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMMENDATIONS 92 References 99 Appendix 1 110 Appendix 2 Ill Curriculum Vitae v List of Tables Table 1: Relating the Indicators with Buddhism VI List of Figures Figure 1: Map of Bhutan (Source: CIA Fact Book) 4 Figure 2: Suffering and its causes 53 Figure 3: Overcoming Suffering 54 vii List of Abbreviations CBS Centre for Bhutan Studies CIA Central Intelligence Agency DPT Druk Phuensum Tshogpa FYP Five Year Plan GDP - Gross Domestic Product GHQ General Health Questionnaire GNH Gross National Happiness GNHC Gross National Happiness Commission GPI Genuine Progress Index HDI Human Development Index MoA Ministry of Agriculture MoHE Ministry of Health and Education NEC National Environment Commission NSB National Statistic Bureau RGoB Royal Government of Bhutan TCoB Tourism Council of Bhutan UNDP United Nation Development Programme viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Measuring the wellbeing of people is important in determining whether people's lives are improving or worsening over time. Many countries in the world today focus on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a basis to measure the economic wellbeing of the people. Although GDP mainly measures market production, it has been treated as if it measures economic wellbeing. The focus on economic growth measures fails to capture fully the overall wellbeing of the people (Kusago, 2006; Stiglitz, Sen, & Fitoussi, 2009). Due to the failure of GDP to measure the non-economic aspect of human wellbeing, alternative measurements such as Genuine Progress Index (GPI) and Human Development Index (HDI) have been introduced. GPI and HDI include many important factors that contribute to healthy living, but they are still calculated based on monetary values (Hargen, 2002; Kusago, 2006), and do not capture the Bhutanese concept of Gross National Happiness. Gross National Happiness (GNH) is the central development philosophy of Bhutan (Planning Commission, 1999). This unique philosophy aims at maximizing human wellbeing and minimizing human suffering by balancing economic needs with the spiritual and emotional needs of people. Bhutan's fourth king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, coined the term "Gross National Happiness" in the late 1980s when he stated that "Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross Domestic Product" (as cited by Ura, 2008, para.1). His vision was to create a GNH society, which means "the creation of an enlightened society in which happiness and wellbeing of all people and sentient beings is the ultimate purpose of governance" (as cited by Ura, 2008, para.2). Since it was difficult 1 for the government to list every factor that contributes to the happiness of its people, four major areas were identified as the pillars of GNH: cultural promotion, equitable economic development, good governance, and environmental conservation (Planning Commission, 1999). These four pillars constitute the broad strategic framework through which national development processes are actualized for the maximization of GNH. Since the adoption of the concept of GNH, the government has consistently sought to address development beyond income or economic growth. The country lacked, however, a specific and relevant development index that takes into account the core principles and dimensions of GNH.
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