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The Art of Happiness by The Dalai Lama
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The Art of Happiness by The Dalai Lama
Introduction
The Art of Happiness is a guide to Eastern spiritual traditions for a Western audience. This book covers all facets of the human experience, including how to solve everyday problems so that you can live a happy life. Plus, how you can remain peaceful during highly stressful and challenging times. The Art of Happiness is a collaboration with a psychiatrist, Dr. Howard C. Cutler. It utilizes Tibetan Buddhist principles to help busy Western individuals gain greater balance and spiritual freedom in their lives.
The Purpose of Your Life Is to Seek Happiness
“So let us reflect on what is truly of value in life, what gives meaning to our lives, and set our priorities on the basis of that. The purpose of our life needs to be positive. We weren’t born with the purpose of causing trouble, harming others. For our life to be of value, I think we must develop basic good human qualities-warmth, kindness, compassion. Then our life becomes meaningful and more peaceful-happier.”
– THE DALAI LAMA
The Dalai Lama explains we all have the same purpose in life. Your purpose is to seek happiness, irrespective of your religious, cultural, or social background. There are differences, though, in individual cultures’ beliefs that happiness is attainable. In the West, there is a general belief that happiness cannot be developed and sustained by training the mind. Buddhism challenges this view and suggests happiness is an attainable goal.
Success will not bring you sustainable happiness, nor will failure bring you sustained depression. Sooner or later, we all return to our baseline happiness. The Dalai Lama explains that psychologists call this effect hedonic adaptation. It does not matter what is happening in your external events as you will eventually return to your baseline. Therefore, the benefit of Buddhism is that it shows you how to set this baseline to a higher level of happiness.
Do Not Place Joy on the Suffering of Others
It can be easy to fall into the trap of wanting the worst for our enemies. However, the unhappiness of your enemies will not help you sustain long-term happiness. Buddhists spend a considerable amount of their time paying attention to individuals they don’t necessarily like. They spend this time fighting these feelings, as hatred is a stumbling block to happiness. Therefore, the Dalai Lama recommends practicing patience and tolerance when you encounter individuals you don’t like. Plus, you should be grateful for the moments you have with enemies. These moments are when you can effectively practice patience.
Universal Compassion Cultivates Happiness
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”
– DALAI LAMA
Compassion is a common feature in this book and the Dalai Lama’s broader teachings. Compassion is a foundation of Buddhist principles, and the Dalai Lama believes we have to be universally compassionate to be truly happy.
The Dalai Lama defines compassion as a state of mind that is non-aggressive. It is based on a wish to see all other people free from suffering. This feeling should not be attached to how you feel about particular individuals or circumstances. Instead, universal compassion means compassion for all living creatures in all situations.
The importance of compassion is that one individual being compassionate leads to more compassion in others. Living a life free of anger and grudges is automatically a happier life. Your thoughts will be more positive.
The Dalai Lama suggests harnessing your empathy towards others by attempting to understand others’ backgrounds better. Once you have mastered this, you can identify and focus on the things you have in common. For example, if a waiter misses one of the items off your order, you can try to understand why this might be the case. The waiter, like you, might be working to provide money for their family. However, the stress and exhaustion from working hard might have momentarily interfered and pushed them to make a mistake.
We Must Make Connections Other Than Western Love
“I think that if one is seeking to build a truly satisfying relationship, the best way of bringing this about is to get to know the deeper nature of the person and relate to her or him on that level, instead of merely on the basis of superficial characteristics.”
– DALAI LAMA
The Dalai Lama believes that intimate relationships are essential for our physical and mental wellbeing. However, this does not mean that the Western view of relationships is ideal. The Dalai Lama sees the West’s over-emphasis on romantic relationships as problematic. This approach makes those who struggle to find a romantic partner or do not wish to have a problematic partner feel marginalized. Plus, romantic relationships often do not last as they have the wrong principles. They are built on societal ideas of relationships rather than respect and appreciation for the other person.
Introduction
The Art of Happiness is a guide to Eastern spiritual traditions for a Western audience. This book covers all facets of the human experience, including how to solve everyday problems so that you can live a happy life. Plus, how you can remain peaceful during highly stressful and challenging times. The Art of Happiness is a collaboration with a psychiatrist, Dr. Howard C. Cutler. It utilizes Tibetan Buddhist principles to help busy Western individuals gain greater balance and spiritual freedom in their lives.
The Purpose of Your Life Is to Seek Happiness
“So let us reflect on what is truly of value in life, what gives meaning to our lives, and set our priorities on the basis of that. The purpose of our life needs to be positive. We weren’t born with the purpose of causing trouble, harming others. For our life to be of value, I think we must develop basic good human qualities-warmth, kindness, compassion. Then our life becomes meaningful and more peaceful-happier.”
– THE DALAI LAMA
The Dalai Lama explains we all have the same purpose in life. Your purpose is to seek happiness, irrespective of your religious, cultural, or social background. There are differences, though, in individual cultures’ beliefs that happiness is attainable. In the West, there is a general belief that happiness cannot be developed and sustained by training the mind. Buddhism challenges this view and suggests happiness is an attainable goal.
Success will not bring you sustainable happiness, nor will failure bring you sustained depression. Sooner or later, we all return to our baseline happiness. The Dalai Lama explains that psychologists call this effect hedonic adaptation. It does not matter what is happening in your external events as you will eventually return to your baseline. Therefore, the benefit of Buddhism is that it shows you how to set this baseline to a higher level of happiness.
Do Not Place Joy on the Suffering of Others
It can be easy to fall into the trap of wanting the worst for our enemies. However, the unhappiness of your enemies will not help you sustain long-term happiness. Buddhists spend a considerable amount of their time paying attention to individuals they don’t necessarily like. They spend this time fighting these feelings, as hatred is a stumbling block to happiness. Therefore, the Dalai Lama recommends practicing patience and tolerance when you encounter individuals you don’t like. Plus, you should be grateful for the moments you have with enemies. These moments are when you can effectively practice patience.
Universal Compassion Cultivates Happiness
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”
– DALAI LAMA
Compassion is a common feature in this book and the Dalai Lama’s broader teachings. Compassion is a foundation of Buddhist principles, and the Dalai Lama believes we have to be universally compassionate to be truly happy.
The Dalai Lama defines compassion as a state of mind that is non-aggressive. It is based on a wish to see all other people free from suffering. This feeling should not be attached to how you feel about particular individuals or circumstances. Instead, universal compassion means compassion for all living creatures in all situations.
The importance of compassion is that one individual being compassionate leads to more compassion in others. Living a life free of anger and grudges is automatically a happier life. Your thoughts will be more positive.
The Dalai Lama suggests harnessing your empathy towards others by attempting to understand others’ backgrounds better. Once you have mastered this, you can identify and focus on the things you have in common. For example, if a waiter misses one of the items off your order, you can try to understand why this might be the case. The waiter, like you, might be working to provide money for their family. However, the stress and exhaustion from working hard might have momentarily interfered and pushed them to make a mistake.
We Must Make Connections Other Than Western Love
“I think that if one is seeking to build a truly satisfying relationship, the best way of bringing this about is to get to know the deeper nature of the person and relate to her or him on that level, instead of merely on the basis of superficial characteristics.”
– DALAI LAMA
The Dalai Lama believes that intimate relationships are essential for our physical and mental wellbeing. However, this does not mean that the Western view of relationships is ideal. The Dalai Lama sees the West’s over-emphasis on romantic relationships as problematic. This approach makes those who struggle to find a romantic partner or do not wish to have a problematic partner feel marginalized. Plus, romantic relationships often do not last as they have the wrong principles. They are built on societal ideas of relationships rather than respect and appreciation for the other person.
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