Myanmar citizens disregard wealth as a
main source of happiness
Thin Yee Mon Su 06 April 2016 Myanmar
Times
The World Happiness
Report 2016 reported Myanmar as one of the least happy countries
the planet in March, ranking The Golden Land 119th out of 156
countries – but some in Myanmar have taken issue with the
parameters.
The report
measures happiness
using metrics such as GDP per capita, perceived freedom to make
life choices, government corruption and access to medical care.
Although generosity also factored into the report, Myanmar’s
international reputation as one
of the most charitable countries in
the world failed to raise it higher than any other Southeast Asian
country save Cambodia (140th).
In a
letter to the editor sent March 24, six days
after The Myanmar
Timesreported the news, long-time reader Dominique
Savariau expressed discontent with the ranking.
“If
money makes people happy, then the index is right,” she wrote. “But
if you have been here a few years you will agree with me that
Myanmar people are generally happy, unstressed … Time has no real
impact on them, nor money.”
Daw
Ohnmar Shwe, the owner of an antique shop near Bogyoke Market, both
countered and confirmed Savariau’s sentiments. Though she expressed
some stress about money and business, she insisted that her
happiness was more focused on charity.
“Charity has always
been my largest source of happiness,” she said. “In terms of
business, I am not happy at all as the demand for my goods is
declining recently. But festivals lighten up my mood whenever I
think of donating.”
Near-monthly
festivals – often corresponding with full moons and Buddhist
holidays – are occasion for people here to make merit and support
monasteries. More than 90 percent of the nation practices Theraveda
Buddhism, which encourages dana, or generosity, to help erode
craving and desire. No wonder the World Giving Index ranked Myanmar
first in the world for giving in 2015: 91pc of survey respondents
reported having donated in the past month.
“I am
not wealthy enough to contribute to charity every month but I still
donate often with the little money I earn and I am satisfied with
that,” said drinks seller Daw Cherry.
She’s
not alone. Myanmar’s GDP per capita is roughly US$1200 per year,
making it one of the poorest nations in the world. This fact,
combined with decades of harsh military rule, would seem to make
the people of Myanmar as unhappy as the World Happiness Report
suggests. But every person we asked refuted the claim that Myanmar
people are somehow less happy than the rest of the world, pointing
to donations or meditation as indicators of happy
living.
A
20-year-old gem shop worker in Bogyoke Market, Ma Ngwe Ngwe Win,
said, “The meditation centre is a place of peace and joy to me. I
am now working just to earn money but money does not offer as much
happiness as meditation would. A lot of people at the meditation
centre feel the same way.”
Regardless of poor
or rich, family is also a source of joy for many people. Many
Yangon residents live with their parents even as they begin their
own families.
“For
less wealthy people like me, we work just to earn money,” said U
Than Myint, a parking attendant at Bogyoke Market. “The only true
happiness I enjoy in my life is when I am back at home, eating a
meal and playing with my three-year-old daughter.”
The
recent shift to democracy and overwhelming election of Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy may soon be giving people
even more to smile about. Bike taxi driver U Thit Lwin said people
seem happier now that NLD loyalist U Htin Kyaw has been elected
president.