Happiness : A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill

by Ricard, Matthieu; Goleman, Daniel

• ISBN13: 9780316057837
• ISBN10: 0316057835
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-04-12
• Publisher: Little Brown & Co

Summary

Never has happiness as an emotional and physical state of being been so widely discussed. Matthieu Ricard is one of the most compelling voices on the subject, and one of the few who can bring together the teachings of Eastern and Western thought. In this accessible new work, Ricard provides a straightforward assessment of how to create true and lasting happiness. He addresses the pursuit of a meaningful life at its most fundamental levelthe strengthening of the inner conditions that lead to genuine happiness. Ricard helps readers form new patterns of interaction with themselves and with the larger world, working toward happiness step by step, starting with 20 minutes of daily mind training and meditation.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
Introduction	3	(14)
Talking About Happiness	17	(9)
Is Happiness the Purpose of Life?	26	(7)
A Two-Way Mirror: Looking Within, Looking Without	33	(7)
False Friends	40	(9)
Is Happiness Possible?	49	(10)
The Alchemy of Suffering	59	(21)
The Veils of the Ego	80	(17)
When Our Thoughts Become Our Worst Enemies	97	(11)
The River of Emotion	108	(12)
Disturbing Emotions: The Remedies	120	(17)
Desire	137	(9)
Hatred	146	(11)
Envy	157	(3)
The Great Leap to Freedom	160	(9)
A Sociology of Happiness	169	(17)
Happiness in the Lab	186	(16)
Happiness and Altruism: Does Happiness Make Us Kind or Does Being Kind Make Us Happy?	202	(9)
Happiness and Humility	211	(4)
Optimism, Pessimism, and Naivete	215	(12)
Golden Time, Leaden Time, Wasted Time	227	(6)
One with the Flow of Time	233	(6)
Ethics as the Science of Happiness	239	(14)
Happiness in the Presence of Death	253	(5)
A Path	258	(11)
Notes	269