“Many times family and friends are not ready for you to become a nun,” Ma Su Nawe told my guide. “They fear that they will lose you and wonder how you can live without working. Sometimes they think that you are selfish, and that you have made a decision that will bring them suffering. They may think that this is just an escape from your responsibilities.” Ma Su Nawe followed her calling and faith. She still visits with her family.
China’s economic transformation has brought wrenching social change. Young people have abandoned ancestral villages, leaving their parents in the countryside – a generation now struggling with solitude even as its health deteriorates and its economic circumstances languish. Their animals are their saving grace. The connection between them is inseparable. They are both survivors. One wears the traditional cultural revolution clothing; the other keeps warm the old-fashioned way.
Bhutan’s philosophy of Gross National Happiness is all encompassing. Families are united and all members respected. I met these grandparents and grandchildren in a remote village. On their daily visit to the general store, I was astounded by their attire and their ease in taking care of the grandchildren. There was no crying, everybody was at peace.
