Bhutan’s economy of agriculture and monastic life remained self-sufficient, poor, and isolated until recent decades, when a series of remarkable monarchs began to guide the country toward technological modernization (roads, power, modern health care, and education), international trade (notably with neighboring India), and political democracy. What is incredible is the thoughtfulness with which Bhutan is approaching this process of change, and how Buddhist thinking guides that thoughtfulness. Bhutan is asking itself the question that everyone must ask: how can economic modernization be combined with cultural robustness and social well-being?
不丹的农业经济和宗教生活一直维持着一种自给自足，贫穷且与世隔绝的状态，直到近几十年来数位杰出的君主开始带领国家走向技术现代化（公路，电力，现代医疗卫生服务和教育），国际贸易（尤其是与邻国印度）以及政治民主，情况才有所改观。不可思议的则是不丹在推行这一系列变革时所采用的思维方式，而佛教思维又是如何引导这种思维方式的。不丹正在用每一个人都应该自问的问题扪心自问：经济现代化如何才能跟深厚文化和社会幸福结合在一起？