不丹:幸福的祕境 Bhutan:Hidden Lands of Happiness大綱

在20世紀的大部分時間，喜馬拉雅山下的不丹王國幾乎完全爲世界遺忘。誠然，對一個到1999年才允許使用電視和網絡的國家而言，20世紀已經與不丹擦肩而過。這是一片佈滿深谷與宗堡（當地一種相當於要塞的建築）、落在搖搖欲墜的山巔上的土地，是世界上最隔絕、最不發達的國家之一。今天它依然與世隔絕，然而這不再是一種偶然——不丹的傳統文化受到嚴格保護，遊客受到細緻的管理。這是世界上唯一禁止出售菸草、連首都也找不到交通燈的國家；在這裏體驗一個被時間遺忘的地方，這種機會不是一次尋常假期，而是一種特殊禮遇。

Once upon a time in a country far, far away lived a most unusual king who proclaimed that in his tiny Himalayan kingdom, "Gross national happiness is more important than gross national product." Although most of us give lip service to the cliché, "Money can't buy you happiness," in our hearts we believe a big pile of cash can make a sizable down payment and put smiles on our faces. To us, if a country's economic development isn't measured in dollars, it doesn't make sense. So the story of Bhutan sounds like a fairy tale.

從前，在一個很遠很遠的國家，住着一位不同尋常的國王。他在那個小小的喜馬拉雅王國宣佈：“國民幸福總值比國民生產總值更重要。”雖然我們大多數人口頭上認同這樣的老生常談——“金錢不能買到幸福”，但我們心裏仍然相信一大疊鈔票可以讓你付清一筆相當金額的首付款，從而讓我們面露笑容。一個國家的經濟發展不以金錢來度量，這對我們來說根本說不通。因此，不丹的故事聽起來就像天方夜譚。

Even Bhutan's nicknames—Land of the Thunder Dragon, the Kingdom in the Clouds, the last Shangri-la—evoke a fantasyland. I've come here for a reality check, to immerse myself in Bhutanese culture, to see if fairy tales do come true and people can live happily ever after.

僅僅是不丹的綽號——“雷龍之境”、“雲中王國”、“最後的香格里拉”——已經能讓我們聯想起仙境。我來這裏驗證事實，讓自己沉浸在不丹文化裏，看看童話故事是否成真，人們能否真的“從此過上幸福的生活”。

It's not Sunday, but I'm in church, or rather, a Buddhist temple inside our hotel in the city of Paro. The monk is conducting a ceremony, offering us blessings for a safe journey and giving us packages of prayer flags to take along. Their significance becomes clear a couple of days later when I arrive at Dochula Pass just above 10,000 feet on a fog-shrouded, narrow, no-shoulder highway. Religion isn't just "A Sunday Kind of Love注" for the Bhutanese. Buddhism is part of daily life, the foundation of the culture.

雖然今天不是星期天，但我身處教堂，或者更確切地說，是帕羅市內我們所住酒店裏的一座佛寺。僧人正在進行一種儀式，祈願我們旅途平安，還給了我們一包包經幡隨身攜帶。幾天後，當我來到位於10000英尺（3048米）高處、雲霧繚繞、沒有路肩的狹窄的多奇拉隘口時，經幡的重要性開始顯現。對不丹人而言，信仰不是一種“星期天的愛”；佛教是不丹人日常生活的一部分，是不丹文化的根基。

Isolation from the outside world used to shelter Bhutan's unique culture, but that's changing. A 94-year-old local tells me, "When I was younger, I kept hearing stories about big powerful machines called trains that could carry people quickly over long distances. I wanted to see one for myself, so I walked six days to the Indian border. There I hitched a ride on a truck, which was the first motorized vehicle I'd ever seen, and rode ten hours to see my first train."

過去，不丹的與世隔絕庇護了其獨特的文化，但現在這種情況逐漸發生改變。當地一位94歲高齡的老人告訴我：“我年輕時經常聽說火車的故事，這種強大的機器能很快地將人帶到很遠的地方。我想親眼看看火車，於是徒步走了六天去到印度邊境。我在那裏搭上一輛卡車，這是我平生見過的第一輛機動車。坐了十個小時的卡車之後，我看到了人生的第一輛火車。”

Bhutan still doesn't have its own trains, but in 1962 it got its first road and in 1983 its first (and only) international airport. Now I'm one of only about 25,000 tourists who find their way here each year. Far greater outside influence arrives via satellites and computers thanks to King Jigme Singye Wangchuck—the fourth Dragon King of Bhutan—having lifted the ban on television and the Internet in 1999. Will this new technology "bring good things to life," as the TV commercial goes? I can only report that for the half hour I spent watching people watch TV, the crowd was mesmerized by the latest episode of Bhutanese Idol.

雖然不丹現在仍然沒有火車，但這個國家在1962年建成了國內第一條道路，1983年建成國內第一個（也是唯一一個）國際機場。每年僅有大約2.5萬名旅客能到此遊玩，我便是其中之一。更大的影響來自衛星和電腦，這要感謝不丹第四世國王吉格梅·辛格·旺楚克在1999年解除了對電視和互聯網的禁令。這樣的新科技是否能像廣告所說的那樣“帶來美好生活”？我只能這樣彙報：我花了半個小時觀察人們看電視的情形，人們都被最新一集的《不丹偶像》迷住了。

Traveling the country, I visit the village of Kingathang, where a local farmer invites me to try some fresh- brewed arra, the local spirit. He gives me a tour of his home and introduces me to the 12 family members, covering four generations, who live together under one roof. It is a scene I will see repeated again and again—old caring for young, young helping old, and all regarding it as the natural order. While visiting people in their homes, I also visit monasteries and temples to try to understand the philosophy that shapes the culture and inspires the national policy of Gross National Happiness.

在這個國家旅行時，我探訪了金加桑村。一位當地農民邀請我品嚐當地新鮮釀造的“阿拉酒”。他還帶我參觀了他的家，向我介紹了他的12位家庭成員——他們四世同堂，住在同一屋檐下。這是我後來反覆看到的一個畫面——長護幼，幼助老，所有人都視之爲自然秩序。除了到當地居民家中拜訪，我還遊覽了各大寺院，試圖理解這種塑造了不丹文化、啓發了“國民幸福總值”這一國家政策的哲學思想。

I save the best temple for last, the Tiger's Nest Monastery, nestled 10,200 feet high on the side of a cliff. According to legend, Guru Rinpoche, who is credited with bringing Buddhism to Bhutan, was carried here on the back of a flying tigress. The monastery followed in 1692, built to mark one of the most holy sites in Bhutan. Fortunately, given today's shortage of flying tigresses, I can follow a foot trail to the top. I planned to ask a monk some grand question about the meaning of life. Instead, once I arrived I had more pressing concerns and simply requested a new set of knees so I could make it back down the mountain. I'm not sure I gained any insights into the secret of Gross National Happiness up here, despite the great view.

我把最好的寺院——虎穴寺留到最後。這座寺院嵌在10200英尺（3109米）高的懸崖壁上。據傳，將佛教帶到不丹的蓮花生大師騎着一隻會飛的雌虎來到此地。1692年，此地修築了虎穴寺，以紀念不丹最重要的聖地之一。雖然今天沒有會飛的雌虎，但幸運的是我還可以沿着一條小徑登上山頂。本來我打算向僧人提一些關於生命意義的宏觀問題，但是最後，當我終於到達那裏時，我卻有了更爲迫切的問題：我只求一對新的膝蓋，好讓我下山。我不確定自己在這裏得到了什麼關於“國民幸福總值”之奧祕的啓發，不過此地風光確實絕美。

Who knows whether the people in the faraway Kingdom of Bhutan will live happily ever after, but for now it's official government policy to foster that goal. And according to people who measure such things, the Bhutanese are in fact the happiest people in Asia and among the happiest in the world. My advice: See this country before it changes. There aren't many places like it. Some of the contentment here may be contagious. A bit of it even rubbed off on a cynic like me—at least for the time I was in Bhutan.

誰也不知道這個遙遠的不丹王國裏的人們是否能夠“從此過上幸福的生活”，但至少現在促成這一目標已經成爲當地政府的官方政策。另外，據衡量這些指標的人說，不丹人實際上是亞洲乃至全世界最幸福的人羣之一。我的建議是：在這個國家改變之前來看看吧。世界上像這樣的地方不多了。這裏的滿足感也許具有傳染性，甚至像我這樣憤世嫉俗的人也被感染了些許——至少當我身在不丹時是這樣。

不丹趣聞

不丹王國，簡稱不丹，是位於中國和印度之間喜馬拉雅山脈東段南坡的一個內陸國，首都爲廷布。該國的國名在當地語言叫“竺域”，意爲雷、龍之地。梵語中，“不丹”解作“吐蕃的終結”。不丹人口67萬，不丹族約佔總人口的50%，其餘爲尼泊爾族等。西部不丹語言“宗卡”和英語爲官方用語，南部操尼泊爾語。不丹的教育、醫療等社會服務都是免費的。爲了保留傳統文化，民衆上班、上學必須穿着傳統服裝，建築必須遵從傳統的風格。射箭是不丹的國術。

不丹於英國萊斯特大學的“世界快樂地圖”（World Map of Happiness）獲得全球排名第八。2004年12月17日，不丹政府宣佈全國禁菸令，這是世界上第一個全面禁菸令。不丹也是世界上最後一個開放電視與互聯網的國家。注：《星期天的愛》（A Sunday Kind of Love）是一首1946年的經典流行曲，後被多次翻唱。