Final Glimpses of Bhutan
Brief encounters, a sign, a number: small glimpses of Bhutan – to make you smile, reflect and keep asking.
Ruth & Urs Bolter
Our ideas and texts are born in lively dialogues - while hiking, over a cup of coffee, during a break - or with a simple question. Inspiration can be found everywhere - it is a matter of putting it into words and sharing it.
Becoming Bolder in Bhutan
Lunch in Thimphu with Ugyen Tenzin, CEO of Business Bhutan: on a high hurdle, a small population, the courage the country needs – and a book as a gift.
Bhutan: Honouring Limits, Embracing Change
Two encounters at two colleges: with a lecturer who takes carrying capacity seriously, another who speaks openly about how Bhutan is changing, and with young people between family home, a government job and Gelephu.
Divine Madman – or how a lunch became a takin
Before Drukpa Kunley performed his miracle, he asked for lunch – and from the leftovers the takin was born. On our journey through Bhutan we met the 'Divine Madman' and the Atsaras, the clowns of the temple festivals. They show why a country that has made happiness a national goal honours its mockers – and what organisations can learn from this about dissent.
Progress and Happiness: What Bhutan’s Farmers Teach Us
Chillies controlled by smartphone, bean paste from the family garden and a farmer for whom progress means one thing above all: life becoming easier. What organisations can learn about change and happiness.
The Temple Conversation at Gangtey Monastery
In the middle of the temple at Gangtey Monastery, Dorji Lopen Ugyen Sonam talks to us about letting go, about the same framework for all and about our book. What organisations can take from this is not so much the teachings as the questions they raise.
Down to Earth, Mindfully
Five hours of hairpin bends, a UN speech in our ears and, at the end, a cold farmhouse in the Phobjikha Valley: a night in which our long-trained flexibility meets its limits – and the question of how we deal with expectations nobody has voiced.
Factbox: Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC)
With Gelephu Mindfulness City, Bhutan wants to chart its own path of development: a new city in the south that combines Bhutanese values with innovation and gives young people a future at home. The key facts at a glance.
Happiness that includes peace – two conversations in Thimphu
In Dzongkha, Gross National Happiness means both happiness and peace. Two conversations in Thimphu – with Lhatu Lhatu of the GNH Centre and with the two young Karmas of the Loden Foundation – show how values take effect when they are lived.
Driving in Circles – Thinking in Circles?
At Thimphu's famous roundabout, in the only capital in the world without traffic lights, we watch a traffic officer at work – and see how a brief glance is enough to bring collaboration into flow.
From Vessel to Vessel – Gentle and Simple
An aha moment at Cheri Monastery: rainwater trickling quietly from vessel to vessel.
The four harmonious friends: teamwork in Bhutan
At Rinpung Dzong in Paro, Karma shows us an image you encounter everywhere in Bhutan: four animals at a fruit tree. For him it stands for teamwork – for us, it raises the question of how something lasting emerges when responsibility is shared.