The Dalai Lama's Cat and the Art of Purring (The Dalai Lama's Cat, #2)

by David Michie

“That, my friends, is one reason why we are all so poor at guessing how we’ll feel about certain things in the future—in particular, about what is likely to make us happy. It’s because we imagine that everything in our lives will stay just the same except for the one thing that we’re focused on.

it is sometimes better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission.

“As that psychologist said the other day, sometimes it’s hard to predict what will make us happy.”

“There’s something very fulfilling when you can do what you really care about, and it’s appreciated by others.”

Don’t aim at success,’” he read. “‘The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue … as the unintended side effect of one’s dedication to a course greater than oneself.’”

Breath by breath, subtle change is possible. Each breath is a step to transformation.”

“The problem,” observed a tall Indian man sitting next to Serena, “is that we get stuck in our comfort zone, even when it isn’t very comfortable.” “Clinging to the familiar,” Serena agreed. “To things that used to give us such happiness but don’t anymore.”

“I sometimes think the past is a dangerous place to go looking for happiness,”

“We create our own superstitions and then persuade ourselves to believe in them.”

It can be useful to have goals. Purpose. But we should never believe that our happiness depends on achieving them.

We can’t be happy in the future; it doesn’t yet exist.”

Pregoal attainment—the positive feeling people get working toward a goal—is more intense and enduring in terms of brain activity than postgoal attainment, which elicits a short-lived feeling of release.”

Geshe Wangpo raised a hand to his heart. “I wish that all of my students could nearly die. There is no better wake-up call on how to live.

I understood with stark clarity that for a truly happy and meaningful life, it is necessary first to face death. Authentically, not just as an idea. Because after that, the twilight skies are never so resplendent, the curls of incense never so mesmerizing, the smoked salmon morsels garnished with Dijonnaise sauce down at the café never so lip-smackingly, whisker-tinglingly, tail-swishingly delicious.

“The formula is H equals S plus C plus V,” said the man, as he keyed it in and it came up on the screen. “Happiness equals what’s called your biological set point, or S, plus the conditions of your life, C, plus V, your voluntary activities.

“Interesting how through the ages, when people have shown mystical powers they’ve been either revered or reviled. A much more sensible reaction, you’d have thought, would be to wonder, how can I, too, develop those powers?”

“And we’re not just human beings capable of spiritual experiences,” added Serena, “but also spiritual beings capable of human experiences.”

self-control is a better indicator of future success than even intelligence.”

“I have learned recently that one of the main factors affecting willpower is how much glucose we have in our system,” Lama Tsering said. “Low levels of glucose lead to less self-regulation, less ability to control thoughts, emotions, impulses, and behavior. When it is a long time since they have eaten, most people feel stressed and can’t think as clearly.”

“First: impermanence. Never forget: this, too, will pass. The only thing you know for sure is that however things are now, they will change. If you feel bad now, no problem. Later you will feel better. You know this is true. It has always been true, correct? And it is still true now.”

“Second: what is the point of worrying? If you can do something about it, fix it. If not, what is the point of worrying about it? Let go! Every minute you spend worrying, you lose sixty seconds of happiness. Don’t allow your thoughts to be like thieves, stealing your own contentment.

“Third: don’t judge. When you say ‘This is a bad thing that’s happening,’ how often are you wrong? Losing a job may be exactly what you need to start a more fulfilling career. The end of a relationship may open more possibilities than you even know exist. When it happens you think bad. Later you may think the best thing that ever happened. So don’t judge, no matter how bad it seems at the time. You may be completely wrong.”

“Fourth: no swamp, no lotus. The most transcendent of flowers grows out of the filth of the swamp. Suffering is like the swamp. If it makes us more humble, more able to sympathize with others and more open to them, then we become capable of transformation and of becoming truly beautiful, like the lotus.

“I think it is actually the other way around. Happiness comes first, then success.”