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PART III. TRANSFORMING SUFFERING 131

Chapter B Facing Suffering 133

Chapter 9 Self-Created Suffering 149

Chapter 10 Shifting Perspective 172

Chapter 11 Finding Meanhtg in Pain and Suffering

PART IV. OVERCOMING OBSTACLES 217

Chapter 12 Bringing About Change 219

Chapter 13 Dealing with Auger and Hatred 246

Chapter 14 Dealing wit/1 Anxiety and Building Self-Esteem

PART V. CLOSING REFLECTIONS ON

LIVING A SPIRITUAL LIFE 291

Chapter 15 Basic Spiritual Values 293

Acknowledgments 316

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PREFACE TO THE lOTH

ANNIVERSARY EDITION

by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

•

l am very happy to learn that the publisher of The Art of

Happiness-which I cowrote with my old friend, the Ameri-

can psychiatrist Howard Cutler-is bringing out a tenth anni-

versary edition of the book. Those who have read the book will

know that it was the result of many hours of discussion, with

Howard representing the current scientific perspective and me

representing the Buddhist understanding of the issues pertain-

ing to mental health and human well-being. So when the book

was received well by the general public, I felt a deep sense of

satisfaction since this indicated that our labor had made some

contribution towards others' happiness and well-being. Though

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PREFACE TO THE lOTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

each of us, the two authors, came from different perspectives,

we always endeavored to bring our discussion to the basic

human level, the level where distinctions between people-

gender, race, religion, culture, and language-break down.

At this fundamental level, we are all the same; each one of us

aspires to happiness and each one of us does not wish to suf-

fer. This is our most fundamental reality. And on this level, the

problems that we each face as human beings remain the same.

Given this belief, whenever I have the opportunity to engage

with the general public, I always try to draw people's atten-

tion to this fundamental sameness of the human family and the

deeply interconnected nature of our existence and welfare. I

also share my belief that as a species we need to ground our

interaction with fellow human beings and the world around us

on recognition of these profound yet simple truths.

Today, a decade after the publication of The Art of Happi-

ness, I am heartened to see that the topic of human happiness

is attracting increasing levels of interest and serious research, even from the scientific community. There is also a growing

recognition within the wider community, as well as a growing

body of scientific evidence, that confirms the close connection

that exists between our own states of mind and our happiness.

Many years ago I wrote: "If you want others to be happy prac-

tice compassion; and if you want yourself to be happy prac-

tice compassion." The Buddhist tradition has, like many of the

world's great spiritual traditions, exhorted us to live our lives

compassionately. These spiritual traditions teach us to feel con-

nected with our fellow beings and with the world we live in.

They celebrate service to others as one of the highest virtues.

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PREFACE TO THE lOTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Today, growing scientific data confirm this insight. Researchers

on human happiness identify compassionate service to others

as one of the key characteristics shared by many of the world's

happiest people. To me this makes perfect sense. When we help

others, the focus of our mind assumes a broader horizon within

which we are able to see our own petty problems in a more

realistic proportion. What previously appeared to be daunt-

ing and unbearable, which is what often makes our problems so

overwhelming, tends to lose its intensity.

The question is: Can we cultivate ourselves to be more

compassionate? If so, how do we do it? Again, here I believe

that profound recognition of the fundamental sameness of

the human family and the deeply interconnected nature of

our well-being are crucially important. When you feel con-

nected with others you are able to open your heart, which I

often call our "inner door/' and reach out to others. In doing so,

you acquire a deep sense of security and trust and a true sense

of freedom. A key element of this process entails cultivating

some degree of greater awareness with respect to one's own

mental states, especially one's emotions and moods. With these

practices you can lay a strong foundati~n within you, a kind

of anchor that provides a true inner home. This is the basis of

true inner happiness, a genuine wellspring of joy. Researchers

often wonder about the causal sequence between compassion

and happiness. They ask: Is it the case that compassionate peo-

ple are happier or are happy people more compassionate? On

a practical level, I suppose, which comes first does not really

matter. What matters is that we can cultivate both. In my own

Buddhist tradition, numerous mental trainings are offered to

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PREFACE TO THE lOTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

systematically cultivate greater compassion and well-being.

Today, with new insights fr~m the field of neuroscience, espe- cially with the discovery of brain plasticity, we know that the

human brain is highly amenable to change and adaptation,

even at advanced ages, as in one's seventies, as I am now. The

revered thirteenth-century Tibetan master Sakya Pandita once

said, "Seek learning even if you were to die tomorrow."

In The Art of Happiness, we attempted to present to the reader

a systematic approach to achieving greater happiness and over-

coming life's inevitable adversities and suffering. Our approach

combines and integrates the best of East and West-that is,

Western science and psychology on the one hand and Bud-

dhist principles and practices on the other. Our aim has been

to share with others the conviction that there is a lot each of

us can do to achieve greater happiness in our lives and, more

important, to draw attention to the tremend9us inner resources

that are at the disposal of each of us. Given these central aims,

the main approach in this book has been to explore ways and

means towards greater happiness and joy in life from the per-

spective of an individual human being.

Over the last ten years, Howard and I have continued our

conversations, taking the discussion to the level of wider soci-

ety and how the external environment impacts our happiness.

In the course of these conversations we have explored a number

of the key principles and practices that can play an important

role in one's personal quest for happiness. And more important,

we have explored some of the challenging questions pertaining

to how one can best apply these principles and practices in the

context of the wider society. How can one maintain happiness

I'Tt"'''.""''····' ""'··'""""'· ""·% ·

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PREFACE TO THE lOTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

in today's troubled and challenging world? How can one apply

the principles of The Art of Happiness in dealing with problems

and suffering in the world? What are the roots of violence, on

both the individual level and the societal level? How can one

learn to undo these sources of violence? How can one sustain

hope in humanity in the face of human violence and suffering?

These are a few of the questions we strove to address in our

discussions. During this decade, I have also continued with my

ongoing dialogues with scientists, especially from the fields

of cognitive and affective neuroscience as well as psychology,

so that a greater convergence could be brought between the

age-old insights of my own Buddhist tradition and modern sci-

ence. I hope the fruits of this exploration as well as my ongoing

conversations with Howard will evolve into a new book so that

others can share in these exchanges, which I have personally

found deeply enriching.

~

xiii

INTRODUCTION TO THE

lOTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

The Art of Happiness: Looking Back and Looking Forward

by Howard C. Cutler, M.D.

+

THE BEGINNING

A full decade has now passed since The Art of Happiness was first published. As I reflect on the course of events lead- ing to the book's publication, I think back to the beginning of

the nineties, when I first conceived of collaborating with the

Dalai Lama on a book about happiness. The Dalai Lama's name

was familiar to most Americans by that time, but beyond the

Buddhist community, few had any sense of him as a real human

being. The general public's image of him was often little more

than a vague sketchy caricature, marred by misconceptions: the

jolly giggling Buddha, "the Pope of Buddhism/' "the god-king

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INTRODUCTION TO THE lOTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

of Tibet." In fact, if you mentioned the Dalai Lama's name at

that time, the most likely image to surface in the mind of an

average American was probably Carl Spackler, the disheveled

golf course groundskeeper in the film Caddyshack, describing his

brief stint as the Dalai Lama's caddy: ": . . So we finish the eighteenth

and l1e's gmma stiff me! And I say; 'Hey; Lama! Hey; how about a little

sometl1ing, you know, for the effort.' And he says, 'Oh, uh, there won't be

any money; but wl1en you die, 011 your deatl1bed, you will receive total con-

sciousness.' So I got that goin'for me-which is nice."

Of course, there were some whose mental portrait of the Dalai

Lama was more finely drawn, those who recognized him as a

Nobel Peace Prize laureate, a tireless advocate for human rights,

one who remained committed to nonviolence despite living fifty

years in exile as a result of the brutal invasion of Tibet by Chi-

nese forces. But even among the more knowledgeable, percep-

tion of him was often one-dimensional-some people saw him as

essentially a political figure, for example, unaware of his stature

as one of the world's leading Buddhist scholars, a teacher with

profound spiritual depth and wisdom. And many people at that

time would have been surprised to learn that far from consider-

ing himself to be a great world leader, the Dalai Lama's personal

identity was most closely tied to his role as a· simple Buddhist

monk-one who rose each morning at 3:30 to spend four or five

hours in prayer and meditation.

So by the early 1990s, I began to think about a book that

would dispel these misconceptions and add some human flesh

to the cartoonlike image of him in the popular imagination.

But that was not the main purpose of the book. The far more

important objective was to present his ideas about how to find

happiness.

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INTRODUCTION TO THE lOTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

PUBLICATION

I vividly recall the meeting when I first proposed the idea of the

book to the Dalai Lama. I was feeling far from confident. Over

the years I had noted his skill at deflecting such proposals-

so, fully expecting that he would turn down my request, I had

come prepared, ready to argue my case.

"Your Holiness, I know that you have already written two

dozen books," I began, "but this book will be quite different.

The objective is to distill the essential principles that you live

by, which have enabled you to achieve a happy life. And even

though these underlying principles may be based on Buddhism,

I hope to present your beliefs in a way that can be applied by

individuals from any background or tradition, showing how to

apply these principles in their daily lives to cultivate greater

happiness .... "

"Ah, very good!" he said with enthusiasm.

"And then from my perspective as a psychiatrist," I con-

tinued, 'T d like to examine your views on happiness, on what

makes life worthwhile, within the context of Western psychol-

ogy, even looking for scientific evidence that might support

your views."

"Yes. Okay!" the Dalai Lama said decisively, nodding his

head in agreement to my proposal.

Without taking a breath, I pressed on, driven by my precon-

ceived belief that he would not readily agree. My mind was so

focused on convincing him, so intent on dazzling him with my

arguments, that I had no attention left over to actually attend

to what he was saying or to register his response.

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INTRODUCTION TO THE lOTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Looking a bit perplexed, the Dalai Lama suddenly inter-

rupted me.

"Howard," he said, starting to laugh, "I already agreed. Why

are you still arguing the case?"

Finally grasping that he had agreed to my proposal, I felt

a surge of elation-among my objectives and reasons for pro-

posing this book, there was a more selfish motive that I had

conveniently forgotten to mention: I wanted to learn from him

how I myself could become happier.

We began work on the book in 1993, during the Dalai Lama's

first visit to Arizona, my home state. That week he had an inten-

sive teaching schedule, delivering a brilliant commentary on a

classic text by Shantideva, the great eighth-century Indian Bud-

dhist scholar. Despite his long daily teaching sessions, we man-

aged to carve out some time to meet, aided by the fact that he

was staying at the same place where his public teachings were

being given, a resort hotel in the Sonoran Desert, outside T uc-

son. So every morning after breakfast, and in some late after-

noons as well, we met in his suite, as I posed question after

question, soliciting his views about life, about the things that

truly make life worthwhile, the vital questions related to human

happiness and suffering.

Over the months prior to our conversations, I had spent a

great deal of time preparing a list of questions, carefully arrang-

ing their sequence according to a tightly organized outline that

filled a thick three-ring binder. So when I showed up for our first

meeting, I was ready. And it took only minutes for the Dalai

Lama to relieve me of any illusions I might have had about con-

trolling the direction of the discussion. I had planned on sticking

with my set agenda in an orderly fashion, breezing through the

questions one by one like knocking down a row of dominoes .

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' INTRODUCTION TO THE lOTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION INTRODUCTION TO THE lOTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Strangely/ however/ it was right at that point that the mother of a

friend happened to make an offhand remark to a stranger

;,ori a New York subway-a stranger who turned out to be in the

} publishing industry-which initiated a series of connections that

But I quickly discovered that he apparently felt no compulsion

follow my agenda. His answers to my questions were often

ticipated/ suddenly turning the conversation in a completely

direction. I might be following a certain train of thought 1

suddenly that train would become derailed as he went off on

unexpected tangent. So I found our discussions to be ... uaHcll!J'

ing at times. At the same time 1

the Dalai Lama1s quick mind

robust sense of humor kept the conversations lively/ and rivPtPrlt•

my attention throughout.

Those conversations/ supplemented with material from his

lie talks/ provided the core material for the book 1 which was

led to agreements with both a literary agent and a good

instream publisher. And S01 with a small first printing and mod-

expectations/ the book was at last released.

UNEXPECTED SUCCESS

expanded by additional discussions at his home in India. Quicklyifi:.That was ten years ago. And the Dalai Lama1 the publisher/ and

becoming absorbed in the project1 I decided to temporarily give~~!<(could never have imagined the subsequent course of events . . c\h::,:·

up practicing psychiatry in order to devote my full attention to'f.~f Awareness of the;: book grew rapidly/ spreading more by word

exploring human happiness/ seeking an approach that bridged~~-:~of mouth than by advertising or publicity. Not expecting such

East and West. I estimated that it would take perhaps six monthsk~;; an overwhelmingly positive response1 I watched with wonder to complete the book/ and with the Dalai Lama as a coauthor{!~~, a~ the book soon appeared on the New York Times bestsellers list1 figured that finding a publisher would be easy. \~;·.where it remained for the next two years. It wasdt long before

As it turned out1 I was wrong. Five years later I was stilll}'' we started to see evidence that the book was truly becoming

working on the book. And the thick stack of reje~tion letters'~;·~ part. of the cultural milieu in America1 spontaneously showing accumulating on my desk from literary agents and publishers~'~' up on TV sitcoms/ game shows/ even MTV-the very icons of

was a growing testament to the prevailing wisdom in the pub:lli:( popular culture in America at the time: Friends, Sex and the City,

lishing industry at that time: t~e belief that ~ooks by the ?_alal'ir.·i;.yeopard:.J, Wh~ Wants to Be a Millionair~, MTV Cribs-and even the Lama held no appeal to a mamstream. audtence. In addttwn; !j> seasons opemng game on Monday Ntgbt Footba11

1 when one of the

. .'·J:~\'· they claimed/ the public simply diddt seem to be interested in~1J'quarterbacks attributed his preseason success1 in part at least1 to

the topic of human happiness. ~:~¥!:TbeArtofHappiness. Jh·.'· ·.

By 1998 1 after years of continual rejections/ and with my~; · Oearly1 there was a kind of universal appeal to the Dalai

financial resources finally depleted1 it seemed I had few option~~L; Lama 1s'basic message: Yes

1 happiness is possible-in fact1 we can

left. Still/ determined to see that at least a few new readers could~/ train in happiness in much the same way that we train in any otl1er skill1 .!><:::·:

benefit from the Dalai Lama's wisdom1 I planned to use the lasttBJ:directly cultivating it through effort and practice. Explaining

of my retirement savings to self-publish a small number of copies.R1; how happiness can be achieved by reshaping our attitudes and

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INTRODUCTION TO THE lOTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION INTRODUCTION TO THE lOTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

outlook, the Dalai Lama shows us how the key to happiness l human happiness started to become a subject of intense inter- is in our own hands. No longer do we need to rely on luck odj' est to the scientific community and the general public alike, as

chance to achieve happiness, waiting for the day when all thel;, people began to abandon their previous notions of happiness as

outer conditions of our lives finally fall into place-the day we f·: elusive, mysterious, and unpredictable, replacing that view with finally lose weight, get rich, get married (or divorced!), or get{!; the perception of happiness as something that could be scientifi-

that coveted promotion. fi:. cally investigated. And over the past decade, as more and more

His fundamental message of hope seemed to strike a chord int§. people have rejected the idea of happiness as something that

people, resonating deep in the hearts of individuals not only in~~:· is merely a by-product of our external circumstances, in favor America but throughout the world-people from diverse back- ~L of seeing happiness as something that can be systematically grounds, perhaps, but who all shared the fundamental human.~';: developed, we have witnessed the exponential growth of a new .,. aspiration for happiness! a yearning for something better in life. ~~ ... movement-a Happiness Revolution.

Ultimately, the book we~t .on to be translated into fifty Ian- ~1': .· Th~ watershed event :or this new move~ent w~s the formal guages and was read by mtlltons around the world. ~:: establtshment of a new field of psychology mvolvmg the study

A HAPPINESS REVOLUTION

. of human happiness. The formal birth of this new branch of psy-

. chology took place in 1998, when a highly influential psycholo-

gist, Dr. Martin Seligman, the newly elected president of the

American Psychological Association, decided to dedicate his

The concept of happiness as an achievable goal, something we cantH term as president to the establishment of this new field, which

deliberately cultivate through practice and effort, is fundamental'~}: he dubbed "positive psychology." Pointing out that for the past to the Buddhist view of happiness. In fact, the idea of training the~; half century clinical psychology had focused· exclusively on

mind has been the cornerstone of Buddhist practice for millennia.~{ mental illness, human weakness, and dysfunction, he called on Coincidentally, shortly after the publication of The Art of Happiness, ~f:his colleagues to expand the scope of psychology to include the

'"\:study of positive emotions, human strengths, and "what makes

,.._ma• Jf life worth living." tion-as a "new" scientific discovery-leading to a shift in many people's perception of happiness.

When I first began work on The Art of Happiness in the e

1990s, I discovered that there were relatively few scie

studies on happiness and positive emotions. These were

popular subjects for research. Although at the time there

a handful of researchers studying human happiness and

tive emotions, they were the mavericks. But then,

9

XX

';:;r~"''

. Seligman teamed up with another brilliant researcher,

;.Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, to lay the groundwork for this new

field. They were soon joined by a core group of top research-

from universities in America and Europe, and positive psy-

·:nology took off with tremendous momentum. For the first time in

history, happiness had finally become a legitimate field of scientific

9

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INTRODUCTION TO THE lOTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION INTRODUCTION TO THE lOTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Since that time, the Happiness Revolution has had a growing f' vi duals live up to ten years longer than their less happy peers! impact on all levels of society. Feature stories on happiness have f In addition, happiness leads to better mental health, greater inundated the popular media, while academic courses on' positive I( resilience, and an increased capacity to deal with adversity and psychology have been cropping up on college campuses across~~C trauma. the United States and throughout the world. At Harvard Uni- ti There are some who believe that happy people tend to be versity, for instance, "The Happiness Course" has now replaced

Introductory Economics as the most popular undergraduate

course, with enrollment quickly soaring to well over 1,400 stu-

dents each semester. The impact is even being seen on the gov-

ernmental level in nations around the world, with the country of~/

Bhutan, for instance, replacing GOP with GNH (Gross National

Happiness) as its most important measure of success as a nation.

Policymakers in many nations are now even exploring the idea

shallow and a bit stupid, a notion shared by the French novelist

Gustave Flaubert, who once wrote: "To be stupid, selfish, and

have good health are three requirements for happiness, though

if stupidity is lacking, all is lost." Recent research, however, has

proven this idea to be nothing but a myth, finding that happiness

leads to greater creativity and improved mental functioning.

The benefits of happiness extend to the workplace, as well,

with happy individuals performing better and enjoying greater

of shaping public policy based on happiness research. As one f.~· personal success on every level, including higher income. In fact, governmen~ official i~ Scotland e~~berantly asserted, "If we can ~.l:.; · studies show ~hat higher incom~ is more directly ~elated to o~e's embrace thts new sctence of postttve psychology, we have the [.• level of happmess than to ones level of educatton. Extenstve

opportunity to create a new Enlightenment."

THE BENEFITS OF HAPPINESS

research has also shown that organizations with happy employ-

ees are more successful, consistently demonstrating greater prof-

itability; this isn't surprising considering that happy workers are

more productive, more loyal to the company, take fewer sick

days, show up to work more consistently, have fewer conflicts

One of the factors fueling the Happiness Revolution has been.·.f·'·{·· with coworkers, quit their jobs less frequently, and generate the startling research in the past decade revealing the many ft greater customer satisfaction. benefits of happiness, benefits extending far beyond merely { So there is no question that happiness brings tremendous

"feeling good." In fact, cultivating greater happiness can be~;. personal rewards. But it is also critical to point out that cultivating seen as "one-stop shopping" for those seeking greater success~f greater l~appiuess benefits not only oneself, but also one's family, community, in every major life domain. Scientific studies have shown that~· · a11d soctety. In fact, this is one of the key principles underlying happy people are more likely to attract a mate, enjoy strongerf:c The Art of Happiness, a principle supported by a growing body of

and more satisfying marriages, and are better parents. Happy 10 scientific evidence. For example, a stunning recent study has people are also healthier, with better immune function and lessfJi. shown that happiness is highly contagious, spreading in social

cardiovascular disease. There is even evidence that happy indi- rii networks just like a virus. Other lines of evidence have found

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INTRODUCTION TO THE lOTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

that happiness and. positive emotions act as an antidote to prej-

udice, causing changes in the brain that prevent the instinctual

bias against those we perceive as different, ultimately break-

ing down the barriers between Us and Them! The beneficial

effects of happiness extend to the broadest level of society;

another study, for instance, found that increasing the average

level of happiness among the population of a nation will result

in an increase in freedom and democracy in that country!

The Happiness Revolution has led increasing numbers of im#-

viduals to seek happiness in a more systematic and direct way.

There have been some critics of the positive psychology move-

ment who have characterized their efforts as being nothing more

than a self-absorbed, self-indulgent luxury, concerned only with

personal gratification. In view of the above evidence, however, it

could be argued that if you are truly concerned about the welfare

of others and building a better world, it is your duty to be happy, or

to do what you can to become happier.

BUDDHIST WISDOM AND MODERN SCIENCE: BRIDGING EAST AND WEST

The comi11g of Buddhism to the West may well prove to be the most impor-

tant event of the Twentiet/1 Cmtury

-The influential British historian Arnold). Toynbee

One of the goals of The Art of Happi11ess is to present an approach to achieving human happiness that combines the best of East

and West, integrating traditional Buddhist wisdom with mod-

ern Western science. Following a recent talk in which I spoke

about this approach, an audience member asked:

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INTRODUCTION TO THE lOTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

"If scientists have conducted research on happiness and stud- · ies have now proven how to become happy, what do we need

the Buddhist theories or the Dalai Lama's views for? Shouldn't

the scientific proof be enough?"

Good questions. And as a great admirer of the scientific

approach to happiness, I think it is safe to say that the checks

and balances of the scientific method generally result in highly

reliable and useful information. At the same time; however, all

scientific findings are not some kind of Absolute Truth or Eternal

Law. Scientific knowledge is a dynamic, living thing-and sci-

entific theories are always being refined, modified, or revised as

we gather new data. And in evaluating the validity of any study,

there's always the possibility of methodological errors, flaws in

experimental design, statistical analysis, and so on. One also

needs to consider how many subjects were studied and whether

the study has been replicated. With this in mind, it's important

to recognize that the science of human happiness is still in its

infancy. While we have learned a great deal, there is a lot that we

still don't know.

The key question is: Does Buddhism have anything to con-

tribute to the scientific investigation of happiness?

In considering this question, it is important to understand

that Buddhism is not a faith-based system in the traditional

sense. In fact, when the Buddha first began to teach, he advised

his disciples not to blindly accept his teachings out of faith,

but rather to investigate the validity of his theories and test

his methods for themselves. This reliance on empirical inves-

tigation, the uncompromising commitment to truth, and a

total dedication to discovering the nature of reality are things

that both Buddhism and science have in common. In fact, the

Dalai Lama has demonstrated his total commitment to these

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INTRODUCTION TO THE lOTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

principles, stating, "If science was to conclusively prove that

some part of the Buddhist scriptures or basic beliefs turned

out to be untrue, then the Buddhist scripture or belief would

have to change." Such a shocking statement would seem to be

almost inconceivable coming from any other religious or spir-

itual leader in the world!

For 2,500 years, Buddhists have been practicing techniques

to "train the mind" and develop their inner resources. And one

would guess that after more than two millennia, ineffective tech-

niques and methods would have been gradually abandoned,

while only the most effective and reliable methods would have

survived. It would seem reasonable to assume, therefore, that

Buddhism might have much to contribute to our understanding

of happiness and how to achieve it, and sor.ne remarkable recent

developments certainly suggest that this is the case. When TIJe Att of Happi11ess was first published, there was little scientific research available that related to the Dalai Lama's fundamental

views on human happiness. It has been very gratifying for me to

see that since that time there has been an explosion of research

on happiness, and even more gratifying to discover that the

growing body of scientific evidence has consistently supported

the views expressed by the Dalai Lama in this book. One exam-

ple that illustrates this is the research on happiness and compas-

sion discussed below.

Another fascinating line of evidence is based on some

cutting-edge research conducted by Dr. Richard Davidson, a

highly regarded neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin

in Madison. Using the latest technology, Dr. Davidson and col-

leagues identified a specific area in the left prefrontal cortex of

the brain that is associated with states of happiness: He then

measured the average level of activity in this "happiness" region

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INTRODUCTION TO THE lOTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

among a large group of ordinary Americans. Later, he invited

some Tibetan Buddhist monks into his lab and performed the

same studies. He was astonished to find that their levels of

activity in the happiness area of the brain were the highest he

had ever seen, and by a huge margiu-so far above the others that they were essentially off the chart! Of course, this may not be

proof of anything, but nevertheless such extreme findings are highly suggestive of the potential value of Buddhist practices

in the quest to find effective methods of increasing individual

happiness.

KINDNESS, COMPASSION, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

If there is a fundamental principle in TIJe Art of Happimss with the greatest potential to make a significant contribution to the

new science of human happiness, it is this:

There is an inextricable link between one's personal happiness

and kindness, compassion, and caring for others. And this is a

two-way street: increased happiness leads to greater compassion,

and increased compassion leads to greater happiness.

In other words, studies have found not only that happier

people tend to be more caring and more willing to reach out

and help others, but that by deliberately cultivating greater

kindness and compassion, a person will experience increased

happiness.

It is easy to see how such principles could have a profound impact on any society if people adopted them on a widespread

scale. However, since it is unlikely that most people in the West

will"convert" to Buddhism as their primary spiritual path, if these

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INTRODUCTION TO THE lOTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

principles are to be widely adopted in Western society they need

to be presented in a secular context, which generally means

investigating them from a scientific perspective. Thus, in the fol-

lowing pages you will find experimental evidence showing that

happy people tend to be kinder and more compassionate. At the

time I was writing the bookr however, I could find no research

showing the reverse principle, that cultivating greater compas-

sion makes people happier-one of the Dalai Lama's most cher-

ished beliefs. But today such evidence exists, showing that the

practice of kindness and compassion is a powerful strategy to

increase personal happiness.

In one of my favorite experiments, Dr. Davidson brought

a French Tibetan Buddhist monk into his lab to study the

effects of compassion. This monk was a highly trained adept

who had spent many years in the Himalayan region, meditat-

ing on compassion (and who acted compassionately, as well,

dedicating his life to charitable activities in the regi.on). Dav-

idson began by monitoring the monkrs brain function in a

resting state to measure baseline brain activity; then he asked

him to perform an intensive Buddhist meditation on compas-

sion. The results showed that during his meditation on com-

passion, there was a dramatic leftward shift in his prefrontal

function, lighting up the "happiness region" of the brain.

Davidson concluded: "The very act of concern for others'

well-being creates a greater sense of well-being within oneself."

What could be more conclusive evidence of the link between

personal happiness and compassion?

In another study, conducted in "the real world" outside the

laboratory, Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky at the University of Cali-

fornia at Riverside asked a group of subjects to choose one

day each week in which to perform five "random acts of kind-

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INTRODUCTION TO THE lOTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

ness." After six weeks, the subjects in the study experienced a

significant increase in their overall levels of happiness and life satisfaction.

THE FUTURE OF THE ART OF HAPPINESS

For me, one of the most rewarding aspects of this book's success

were the many wonderful and moving letters we received from

readers describing how the Dalai Lama's words helped them,

and the positive impact The Art of Happiness had in their lives. In some of the letters, readers expressed interest in a sequel, point-

ing out various topics that had not been included in the book.

After hearing how the first book had been of such benefit to

some individuals, the Dalai Lama agreed to collaborate on a

sequel; so after reviewing the readers' requests, I prepared a list

of topics. We quickly realized, however, that there were more

topics than could be covered in a single volume, so we divided

the topics into a series of volumes. Our first follow-up book,

The Art of Happiness at Work, was published in 2003. Like the first volume, it was very well received and became a bestseller-and

more important, feedback from readers indicated that it was of

practical value in helping them find greater happiness at work,

the activity occupying the greatest part of our waking hours.

Focusing on the theme of inner development, the first two

volumes were generally directed atthe level of the individual.

We realized, however, that individual human beings do not live

in a vacuum-we interact within a community, a society, and

the world. And our world has many troubles: violence, terror-

ism, war, prejudice and hatred, poverty-the list is long. So the

question arose: How can we live in such a troubled world and

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INTRODUCTION TO THE lOTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

still remain happy? And what can a single individual do to try

to overcome these vast problems? These were the questions we

sought to answer in the next volume of the series, The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World.

It seems that The Art of Happiness is every bit as relevant today as when it was published a decade ago. In the interven-

ing years we have seen some dramatic developments in the sci-

ence of human happiness. And as the body of research grows,

it appears that Buddhist principles are beginning to converge

with Western science in many ways. But in the following pages,

no matter whether the approach to happiness is seen through

the lens of traditional Buddhist wisdom or the lens of modern

scientific research-the purpose is the same: it is our hope that

you can apply the ideas presented in this book to your own life,

and thereby discover a way to transcend suffering and adver-

sity, and find a life of genuine and lasting happiness.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

•

I n this book, extensive conversations with the Dalai Lama have been recounted. The private meetings with the Dalai Lama in Arizona and India, which form the basis of this work, took place

with the express purpose of collaborating on a project that

would present his views on leading a happier life, augmented by

my own observations and commentary from the perspective of

a Western psychiatrist. The Dalai Lama generously allowed me

to select whatever format for the book I felt would most effec-

tively convey his ideas. I felt that the narrative format found in

these pages would be most readable and at the same time impart

a sense of how the Dalai Lama incorporates his ideas into his

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