Le Moine et le fusil

In 2006, Bhutan embraced modernization, discovering the internet, television...and democracy. To teach its people how to vote, the government organized mock elections. But in the land of Gross National Happiness, where religion and the king matter more than politics, the inhabitants seemed uninterested. - However, in a remote mountainous province, a monk decides to hold a mysterious ceremony on election day and puts one of his disciples in charge of finding him a rifle... - 'Throughout modern times, the existence of the tiny nation of Bhutan has depended on its ability to remain aloof, resolutely clinging to the safeguards of the past, with the king as its sole authority figure and the 2,500-year-old teachings of the Buddha as its sole guide to life. Bhutan is doubtless one of the few countries in the world to have introduced democracy not through popular demand or revolution, but simply when the king voluntarily abdicated so that his country and people could find their own place in the world.' Pawo Choyning Dorji