Hi, this is Darren with Philosophize Now!
Do you want to be happier?
Silly question? Of course you do. I've never heard anyone say they've been too happy lately.
Well today, we look at a book by one of the most famous spiritual leaders
the Dalai Lama as he tries to help us lead happier lives
This is the Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler
This is a short five minute summary of the main concepts of this book
To see a more in-depth summary and my review of this book, please check out my other video
I've placed a link over here and in the description below
So this book has four distinct sections
the first section is the Purpose of Life
In the first few pages of the book the Dalai Lama states that the purpose of life is happiness
No matter what a individual seeks the ultimate goal is a better and happier life
and that this happiness can be achieved through training the mind
the first step in training the mind is to identify the sources of happiness
and then cultivate these factors which create happiness such as kindness, compassion and friendship
and eliminate the factors which create unhappiness such as anger, hatred and envy
he also says that happiness can be affected by one's state of mind
and then secondly training the mind for happiness
So how do we go about training the man for happiness?
Well, firstly we have to learn how our emotions and behaviors affect us
and see that negative emotions and behaviors harm us
and positive emotions and behaviors benefit us and then we apply the causal principle
This is the relationship between events and emotions and then we practice increasing the events which create happiness
Such as events which cause you to be compassionate or kind and then we decrease events which create unhappiness
such as those events which cause you to be angry selfish or envious
and because this process can take a bit of time the Dali Lama suggests reviewing each day
so that you can see your progress daily and over the long run
Okay, so let's move on to the next section of this book human warmth and compassion
In this section the Dalai Lama talks about intimacy and compassion as these factors have shown to improve overall well-being
So, how do you create intimate relationships?
T he Dalai Lama gives three aspects which you can follow
Firstly you have to establish compassion
here, you see how the other person is suffering and then you try and put yourself in their shoes and show that you care
Another way to develop compassion is to often experience other people's suffering
or by practicing compassion meditations as these two things help remind you how common suffering is
and then the next aspect is to respect the other person's backgrounds and views
and finally be honest, open and try and find common ground
Let's move on to the third section of this book
Transforming Suffering
the Dalai Lama gives many different ways to deal with suffering
The first way is to accept suffering as a natural part of life and something that we share with all other living creatures
secondly, to confront problems which cause suffering and look for solutions
And thirdly, be aware of self created suffering
we can often cause unnecessary suffering by overreacting or taking things too personally
and fourthly that all things change and one must be aware of this and not try resist it
because if you resist change this creates suffering,
The fifth way is to find meaning in suffering.
This can help make the suffering feel less overwhelming
and one way to do this is as a religious or spiritual practice
and then the sixth way is specifically relating to dealing with physical pain
here you have to understand that pain is essential to life as it prevents injuries and is important learning tool
and knowing pains purpose can help you manage it
and finally, he talks about how Buddhism sees suffering
In Buddhism there are three root causes of suffering
Ignorance, craving and hatred
and now for the last section of this book
Overcoming Obstacles
Here the Dali Llama is talking specifically about negative emotions and behaviors and the process of change
This is a three-step plan
the first step involves education and learning
here, you have to see why you want to change and what are the positives and negatives of making this change
and then the second step is
determination and enthusiasm
here, you remind yourself of why you wanted to change
you use a long term view to help create perspective
and you remind yourself of your own impermanence
these three things will help motivate you and create a sense of urgency to create the change
and then the third step is action.
here, you use a habituation to your advantage
consistent effort over time will develop habits
Next the Dalai Lama talks about dealing with specific negative emotions
In Buddhism one of the main ways to combat negative emotions is with their corresponding positive emotions
So in dealing with anger and hatred he says you should cultivate patience and tolerance
This can be difficult at first but when anger arises try and take at a timeout and then analyze the situation
This is not an easy process and at times you may not be able to stop yourself,
but it will happen eventually
Secondly, dealing with anxiety and building self-esteem
the corresponding positive emotion here
is Sincere motivation,
but the Dalai Lama also gives a simple approach to fear and worry
the approach involves asking this question
Can the problem be solved?
if it is such that it can be remedied then there's no need to worry about it
Alternatively if there's no possible solution, then there's no point in being worried about it anyway, because you can't do anything
Even after knowing this concept you might still find yourself worrying just keep reminding yourself of this question
Thanks for watching
And if you prefer the shorter summary let me know in the comments below and I look forward to seeing you in future videos