The proposed Mindfulness City in the south of Bhutan, endorsed by the king of Bhutan and attracting worldwide financial interest, achieves credibility from its connection to Bhutan. The promotional material describes a city incorporating Bhutan's historic and continuing "green," ecologically sound design and philosophy touted, though missing from the increasingly chaotic and dysfunctional major cities of the world. There is buy-in from international quarters, but if Mindfulness City were proposed for any other location, its emphasis on IT and vast sums of investment could inspire much skepticism and sarcastic characterization as a billionaire's paradise. I might have joined in such skepticism, but as I near the end of a ten-day tour of Bhutan, I find it hard not to feel that Mindfulness City deserves a chance. Bhutan is unlike any other country in the world. Nestled in the Himalayas between India and China, and subject to potential political pressure and conflict on a par with the tectonic forces that squeeze the Himalayas towards the heavens, the culture and, dare I say, the spirits of the land have evolved to deal with often uncaring forces of the cosmos.
One feels as well a surprising unity here between working people and all levels of management, up to the king. There is also a unity of religion, through the mystical thoughts of Buddhism. Within that one religion are a variety of perspectives. Yesterday we pondered a statue of "Wealth Buddha," seated in deep meditation, a cluster of currency in his hand. Making money is not "bad" in this morality, necessarily.
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