The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living

by Dalai Lama XIV

The purpose of our existence is to seek happiness.

survey after survey has shown that it is unhappy people who tend to be most self-focused and are often socially withdrawn, brooding, and even antagonistic. Happy people, in contrast, are generally found to be more sociable, flexible, and creative and are able to tolerate life’s daily frustrations more easily than unhappy people. And, most important, they are found to be more loving and forgiving than unhappy people.

happiness is determined more by one’s state of mind than by external events.

sooner or later our overall level of happiness tends to migrate back to a certain baseline.

one’s level of life satisfaction can be enhanced simply by shifting one’s perspective and contemplating how things could be worse.

the greater the level of calmness of our mind, the greater our peace of mind, the greater our ability to enjoy a happy and joyful life.’

The demarcation between a positive and a negative desire or action is not whether it gives you an immediate feeling of satisfaction but whether it ultimately results in positive or negative consequences.

The true antidote of greed is contentment. If you have a strong sense of contentment, it doesn’t matter whether you obtain the object or not; either way, you are still content.’

Another internal source of happiness, closely linked with an inner feeling of contentment, is a sense of self-worth.

True happiness relates more to the mind and heart. Happiness that depends mainly on physical pleasure is unstable; one day it’s there, the next day it may not be.’

inner transformation begins with learning (new input) and involves the discipline of gradually replacing our ‘negative conditioning’ (corresponding with our present characteristic nerve cell activation patterns) with ‘positive conditioning’ (forming new neural circuits). Thus, the idea of training the mind for happiness becomes a very real possibility.

it is scientifically incorrect to say that we have an inherited tendency to make war or act violently. That behavior is not genetically programmed into human nature.