THE ART OF HAPPINESS
10th Anniversary Edition by His Holiness The Dalai Lama & Howard C. Cutler, M.D.
(A Synopsis by Vimal Kodai)
THE ART OF HAPPINESS
(Written by The Dalai Lama & Dr. Howard Cutler)
His Holiness,
Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet, and Dr. Howard C. Cutler, an
American psychiatrist--the co-writers of The Art of Happiness, provide herein
marvellously set perspectives on true happiness. Genuine happiness, everlasting
happiness, happiness and pleasure, the reasoning behind true happiness and true
pleasure, the source of true dignity; warmth and affection, happiness on
compassionate grounds, the developing of inner sense and growth, inner
discipline, spiritual depth and wisdom; and the stage of liberation—all the
ideals that pervade across this written masterpiece are hereby the main themes
and the targeted subjects of The Dalai Lama and Dr. Cutler. Some of the
questions asked and answered in this book are as follows:
- What are the benefits of
happiness?
- How has Buddhist wisdom bridged
the eastern and western world?
- Why give a scientific or medical
perspective to happiness in addition to that of the Buddhist’s?
- What is the true source of
happiness?
- Why are human beings tied to the
knots of confusions and depression?
- What distinguishes a happy man
from an unhappy one?
- How can a man live with himself
while highly valuing the pros and cons to real happiness?
- What is greater happiness and
greater pleasure?
- How does science perceive
happiness?
- How is happiness truly formulated?
- What are the philosophical
speculations behind happiness and what does it imply?
- How can one train the mind to
derive fresh joy and happiness?
- How and why should one eliminate
suffering from ones life?
- What materialistic pleasures
effectively compare to the finding of true happiness?
THE ART OF HAPPINESS
(Written by The Dalai Lama & Dr. Howard Cutler)
In this
particular book by The Dalai Lama and Dr. Cutler, the reader will find
himself/herself travelling from the pathways of attachment to materialistic
pleasures to the acceptance of stable and everlasting happiness. These pathways
formulate complete distinctions between these two realms of worldly
satisfaction as it further explains how and why they completely differ. Thus,
the writers tackle the issue of the acceptance of true happiness as something
which requires a much broader understanding on the part of all humans. The two
writers also believe that without this seeking for happiness (true happiness) in
its entirety, human life and human existence dwell totally useless. While the
reader pursues his/her reading of The Art of Happiness, he/she is surely
following a trend of realistic approaches to deriving true joy and absolute
satisfaction in his/her daily life. While comparing the spiritual point of view
of happiness to that of the medical or scientific, both co-writers examine very
effectively the main differences which derive from each of them. Cutler states, “So the first step in seeking happiness is learning. We first have
to learn how negative emotions and behaviours are harmful to us and how
positive emotions are helpful. And we must realize how these negative emotions
are not only very bad and harmful to one personally but harmful to society and
the future of the whole world as well. That kind of realization enhances our
determination to face and overcome them. And then, there is the realization of
the beneficial aspects of the positive emotions and behaviours. Once we realize
that, we become determined to cherish, develop, and increase those positive
emotions no matter how difficult that is. There is a kind of willingness from
within.” (p. 38)
The Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler both have
worked collaboratively and in close partnership in the writing of The Art of
Happiness—they have asked questions and they came up with answers that dictate
and prove their efforts’ worth. However, it is clearly indicated that
the answers from the Dalai Lama reflect the most ideal, the most simplistic and the most
realistic approaches to the fulfilling of happiness in a man's life. According to the Dalai Lama, the mental state of lust, hatred,
anger, jealousy, ego and envy are the most considered harmful conditions which
lead to destructive, tumultuous, depressive, confused and unhealthy lifestyles. The Dalai Lama believes that these sources develop hostile behaviours and
negative feelings in humans. These eventually destroy their relationships with
anyone or everyone. Dr. Cutler admits that the views taken by the Dalai Lama
strike as being more open-minded and most appealing in the achieving of complete
happiness in one’s life. The only genuine happiness which conforms to a human
being’s ideal mental state truly abides by the two following quotes: “Greed is
a sin” or “Hatred is evil”—thus by familiarizing oneself with these two
different factors and directions, one would be able to shed compassion
and loving kindness in one’s life. The Dalai Lama suggests that it is an
obvious factor to foresee happiness coming on one’s pathway while one gradually
introduces sustained efforts in order to face reasonable expectations towards
one’s realistic attitudes. As such, he states that “full Enlightenment is your
ultimate goal” and he even adds that “So you need a realistic approach in order to
achieve such an enlightened position." Both writers reflect on suffering and
they tackle with this issue while taking the Buddhist paradigm which recognizes
the possibility of purification of the mind; it is as such: “by eliminating
afflictive states of mind such as craving and hatred, one can perceive a
completely purified state of mind, free from suffering.” (p. 143) Finally, from what I have gathered as being some of the other main themes taken up in the book, I took note of the notions of pain and suffering, depression
and mental isolation, anger and hatred, and, the blaming and criticizing of oneself which are all very easily eliminated by the practice of meditation and by
fully engaging in dialogues that are self-centred towards the enhancement of
altruistic thought.
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