I've been reading a book called "Happiness"... (I know, so far my posts have mainly been about books, but really, I was thinking what I should write about - Technology, Mumbai Roads, Indian Politics etc. and I realized that the best thing I could write about today is "Happiness" - and that also happens to be the name of the book I am currently reading. I do sincerely hope that sometime soon I should get to write about an encounter with a wonderful person, just as I have written about my encounters with some wonderful books).
I am reading "Happiness" by Matthieu Ricard. Matthieu is a Buddhist monk who is French by origin but has been living in the Himalayas for the last thirty five years. He was a scientist in his younger days when he lived in Paris and then found that the life of a monk resonated with him, was inspired by some of the great Tibetan masters and decided to follow in their footsteps. He currently lives in a monastery in Nepal.
"Happiness" is a an amazing piece of literature. The book is suffused with Matthieu's heart-warming writing style. The book talks about the causes of suffering at an individual level (and let me mention here that there is no ideology/religion in the world that has done more work on the causes of individual suffering and how to alleviate them than Buddhism has). The book is not a treatise on Buddhism, however. It does borrow Buddhist thoughts and highlights them wherever relevant. However, the book is more about understanding the mental toxins in form of negative emotions, that people suffer from. The book talks about the transmutation of suffering into happiness by understanding and relieving ourselves from our negative emotions and disturbing discursive thoughts. At the end, it is about understanding the nature of mind and attaining "inner freedom" free of mental conflicts.
Matthieu says ' There exists a *way of being* that underlies and suffuses all emotional states, that embraces all the joys and sorrows that come to us. A happiness so deep to quote George Bernanos - that nothing can change it, like the vast reserve of calm water beneath a storm. The Sanskrit word for this state of being is Sukha'.
And the book is about teaching us that way of being.
The book also talks about the positive emotions like altruism, kindness, optimism, compassion and such that generate Happiness and an optimal state of being. It talks about using time wisely and to relish the richness of each passing moment, rather than living in the past or the future. To experience "flow" in every passing moment such that the mind is relaxed and joyous as well as focused on the task at hand.
I will leave you here with what I think is one of the most beautiful lines from the book -
'Happiness is above all a *love of life*. To have lost all reason for living is to open up an abyss of suffering. What mental conditions will sap our joie de vivre and which conditions will nourish it?'
Here's a typical Gujarati blessing - "Sukhi Raho"!! (be happy :))
I am reading "Happiness" by Matthieu Ricard. Matthieu is a Buddhist monk who is French by origin but has been living in the Himalayas for the last thirty five years. He was a scientist in his younger days when he lived in Paris and then found that the life of a monk resonated with him, was inspired by some of the great Tibetan masters and decided to follow in their footsteps. He currently lives in a monastery in Nepal.
"Happiness" is a an amazing piece of literature. The book is suffused with Matthieu's heart-warming writing style. The book talks about the causes of suffering at an individual level (and let me mention here that there is no ideology/religion in the world that has done more work on the causes of individual suffering and how to alleviate them than Buddhism has). The book is not a treatise on Buddhism, however. It does borrow Buddhist thoughts and highlights them wherever relevant. However, the book is more about understanding the mental toxins in form of negative emotions, that people suffer from. The book talks about the transmutation of suffering into happiness by understanding and relieving ourselves from our negative emotions and disturbing discursive thoughts. At the end, it is about understanding the nature of mind and attaining "inner freedom" free of mental conflicts.
Matthieu says ' There exists a *way of being* that underlies and suffuses all emotional states, that embraces all the joys and sorrows that come to us. A happiness so deep to quote George Bernanos - that nothing can change it, like the vast reserve of calm water beneath a storm. The Sanskrit word for this state of being is Sukha'.
And the book is about teaching us that way of being.
The book also talks about the positive emotions like altruism, kindness, optimism, compassion and such that generate Happiness and an optimal state of being. It talks about using time wisely and to relish the richness of each passing moment, rather than living in the past or the future. To experience "flow" in every passing moment such that the mind is relaxed and joyous as well as focused on the task at hand.
I will leave you here with what I think is one of the most beautiful lines from the book -
'Happiness is above all a *love of life*. To have lost all reason for living is to open up an abyss of suffering. What mental conditions will sap our joie de vivre and which conditions will nourish it?'
Here's a typical Gujarati blessing - "Sukhi Raho"!! (be happy :))
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