The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living

Here's a narrative based on conversations between the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler, a Westerner and psychiatrist.

How to be happy? Well, happiness stem from within, a state of mind where one is able to ward off negativity and, instead, condition himself for positivity. Simple? Certainly not! This sharp yet accessible read is, in fact, a stark reminder of how tough such a recipe for a fulfilling life is to apply.

Now, sure, it's so accessible it may seem cliches. At times indeed, the Dalai Lama may come across, willingly or not, as a bit naïve. For example, acknowledging our closeness to all sentient beings he seems to be trapped in wishful thinking, believing gentleness to be a natural drive stronger than aggressiveness... Biology show more teaches us that it's more complicated than that. Empathy is certainly one of our strongest feature, yet it has its own limit; and it doesn't mean nature is not 'red in teeth and claws' too! His view on romantic relationships are, also, frankly basic common sense with not much insight. I understand this was to be expected from a celibate monk, of course, but then why grant him a whole chapter on the topic? Well…

These few reservations asides, though, there is no denying that 'goodness, kindness, compassion, caring' are powerful values to abide to, undeniably leading to inner contentment and peace of mind. Not only that, but it takes dedicated and never ending training and practices 'to get' such an outlook upon our condition. Lack of satisfaction, cravings, pain, suffering, anger and hate… Life is tough for all of us, and so all of us can benefit from the strength to be drawn out of his teaching. Here's therefore a great book if you want to roughly familiarise yourself with the Buddhist ethos. It's especially relevant to anyone, since it's NOT a book about Buddhism, but an insight into a way of going through life as inspired by Buddhism. Hence, no matter your background (religious or unbeliever) if you are strong enough in mind and heart to be open and undertake such journey, then this read might be powerfully life changing - or at least put you on the path of a new awareness.

Personally, what I particularly found striking (and it's a pity the author doesn't delve more on it) is the contrast in between how such ethos (or 'spirituality', if you prefer) is more often than not in plain contradiction with the values fuelling the West, to a point where such emphasis on gentleness is often completely misunderstood as a weakness, a fatalism, or, even, selfishness. It's none of that, but our differences has an impact on how we deal with the hazards of life; and so I firmly believe that we Westerners have a lot to learn in looking up at what Eastern philosophies have to offer. These 'conversations' may be just a very rough overview, but they can serve as a nice introduction to it all.

All in all, a very nice handbook. show less

DNF @ 15%

I mistakenly thought this was a book by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who is listed as one of the authors - or the only authors in some book databases - but it is not. This book was written by Howard C. Cutler, a psychiatrist, who spent one week with the Dalai Lama, and then used his interviews with the Dalai Lama as a basis for this book.
Now, once I found out that I was mislead by the book, I still wanted to read on and see what the author had to say. Unfortunately, I was quickly put off by two - in my opinion major - logical flaws in the construction of the book's premise:

1. The author provides the following motivation behind writing the book:

"When I initially conceived of this book, I envisioned a conventional self-help show more format in which the Dalai Lama would present clear and simple solutions to all life’s problems. I felt that, using my background in psychiatry, I could codify his views in a set of easy instructions on how to conduct one’s daily life. By the end of our series of meetings I had given up on that idea. I found that his approach encompassed a much broader and more complex paradigm, incorporating all the nuance, richness, and complexity that life has to offer."

You see, my problem is that the Dalai Lama's books, speeches and other communications are pretty easy to understand. He has a particular skill to explain complex issues in simple terms, but then simplicity is one of the essential elements in his way of life.

The other issue I had with the author's statement is that I find the approach of trying to create a dogma from a Buddhist point of view a rather ridiculous idea. If there ever was a spritual teaching whose essence is that it is wholly un-dogmatic and un-codified, it would be Buddhism, but then maybe I am just getting the wrong end of the stick.

2. The author's approach in this book is to try and combine Western science with the Dalai Lama's interpretations/teachings. Again, this is a flawed approach when early on in the book, the author includes the following quotation:

"In trying to determine the source of one’s problems, it seems that the Western approach differs in some respects from the Buddhist approach. Underlying all Western modes of analysis is a very strong rationalistic tendency – an assumption that everything can be accounted for. And on top of that, there are constraints created by certain premises that are taken for granted."

Basically, the Dalai Lama tried to explain that a Western approach which is mostly based on science is restricted in its understanding of the human condition. So, why the author tries to combine, or back up, the topics discussed from a Buddhist perspective in this book with references to Western scientific research (for which he often does not cite sources!!!) is totally beyond me.

Can't recommend this at all. show less

The way to achieve happiness is a vague, seemingly impossible path that many avoid simply because they do not believe that they can reach this goal. Before reading The Art of Happiness, I wasn’t convinced that a book could tell me how to be content with my life—and I was right. Every human being, I believe, has a separate path leading to the same satisfaction and it takes a lot of mistakes, risks, and lessons to get to it. What I found while reading this book, however, was that the Dalai Lama feels the same. Throughout his conversation with Howard Cutler, which is what this “handbook” is comprised of, he taught many lessons that can apply to all—but there was no arrogance included. He did not try and dictate, and quite show more frankly, though this can be considered a “self help” book by more technical standards, there is no doctrine present in this except for what the reader gets out of it by individual interpretation. The Dalai Lama states his opinions about happiness with a very gentle firmness and confidence that doesn’t come across as anything but sage.

I enjoyed reading this because it was new for me—I don’t read nonfiction very often, particularly books with a message like this one, but I think that now I am going to look into them more. I took a lot of lessons out of this book that I can apply to my own life, and it was a pleasure to discover new depths of happiness that I had never ventured into before. It was also a great read along with Siddhartha, Herman Hesse’s novel, because I could follow the themes in the novel more closely with the help of the teachings of the Dalai Lama, and pick out the aspects of Buddhism long before they were fully introduced. I would definitely recommend this. show less

Having just seen the Dalai Lama teach at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, I wanted to pick up one of his books and read further after being reinvigorated at his wonderful teaching. I picked this up partially because it was the only one available at the library I work at, and also because I bought it for my mother years ago and she'd never read it. It works as a secular meditation on the method to improve your relationship with yourself and the people around you through cultivating happiness and compassion, but of course comes from a Buddhist perspective. It was written from interviews that Howard Cutler, a psychologist, had with the Dalai Lama over the course of a few years, and Dr. Cutler brings to the table not only his professional show more background but his experience as a human trying to integrate the Dalai Lama's teachings into his life. At points Dr. Cutler portrays himself as being impatient and a little peevish, which is great because it provides opportunities for him to recount that it's not always easy to cultivate this type of compassion, and serves to ground the work and make it more approachable. show less

The Art of Happiness combines the calm words of the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet with the trained observations of an American psychiatrist. Howard Cutler relays conversations, stories, and meditations in such a way that he brings an understanding analysis of Tibetan Buddhism, and its leader, to the reader without clinically removing its peaceful soul.

The enduring image of the Dalai Lama is that of his beautiful smile. This Nobel Peace Prize winner's smile lights up his entire face—and it quickly spreads to the faces of those nearby. The book's subtitle, A Handbook for Living, is apt for a book that tells of the purpose of life--happiness. The Dalai Lama has the ability to connect easily with most everyone with whom he comes in show more contact. He focuses not on the differences that separate us, but to see what it is that we all share. One story that has stayed with me is one of a hotel maid who runs into the Dalai Lama on his way to an “important” meeting, but he stops and takes the time to speak to her. Each day that follows, as the spiritual leader is being lead to other meetings, the maid waits in the same location, and brings more and more of her fellow maids. And, each day, the Dalai Lama takes the time to bow and speak with each of the maids, including many who can' t speak the same language. He's made a spiritual connection with these people as important as any he will make that day. The Dali Lama's smile and laugh are the very definition of contagious.

(4/99) show less

At first, I felt like I wouldn't read the whole book. The co-author didn't seem like a good fit with the Dalai Lama, but he grew on me the more I read. The DL supplied a lot of practical wisdom, and for that alone the book was worth reading to the end. My favorite chapters cam at the end with the discussions around anger, then around anxiety.

This was a pretty interesting read and a good, light introduction to the philosophy of the Dalai Lama that doesn't lean too heavily on the more religious or mystical elements of Buddhism. At times it felt like the interviewer got in the way a bit, and to be honest, his own examples didn't really add that much to my understanding of what I felt were concepts that were clearly explained in the Dalai Lama's own words. A lot of the philosophical ideas discussed were really interesting, and, moreover, practical too - I definitely found the chapters on anger and anxiety helpful in framing my attitude towards these emotions. Worth a look - and I'll be reading more in this area.