The Art of Happiness by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler

“I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness” – Dalai Lama

That is the fundamental premise of the book and a topic that Howard Cutler and the Dalai Lama together explore and explain to the reader.

Happy people are found to be more loving, forgiving, sociable, flexible, creative and able to tolerate life’s daily frustrations more easily than unhappy people. They are also able to rebound quickly from health issues.

Making the right choice in daily decisions involves choosing happiness and sacrificing some pleasure. Identify what makes you happy in life (purpose of your life) and use that as the criterion for making daily decisions.

Happiness is a state of mind that remains, despite life’s ups and downs and normal fluctuations of mood, as part of the very matrix of our being. That is what we are all ultimately seeking.

Do not compare with others who have more. It is important to be contented and appreciate what we have.

Identify and cultivate positive mental states. Identify and eliminate negative mental states.

If it is natural to want to gain happiness, why aren’t we human beings innately learning to reject negative behaviors and naturally becoming happier as our life progresses? The Dalai Lama alludes that this will be true only if we educate ourselves and learn from our experiences.