A Monk's Guide to Happiness: Meditation in the 21st century

Product Information

Because when we are searching for happiness, “there is a sense of hunger, of incompleteness; we are wrapped up in the expectation of getting what we want and the fear of not getting it; we feel trapped by uncertainty.”

Mnohí pravidelne meditujú, no zabúdajú integrovať svoju meditačnú prax do bežného života. Nechajú ju na meditačnom vankúši a odídu do práce. Výsledok potom nie je bohvieaký, keďže desať až pätnásť minút meditácie oproti mnohým hodinám rozptýlenej pozornosti nemá veľkú šancu navodiť zmenu. Sú ako dvaja ľudia, ktorí sa nikdy nestretnú: ten, kto medituje, a ten, kto nemedituje. Potrebujeme však oboje. Každodenná meditácia nám poskytne intenzívny tréning pre myseľ - a teda mnoho zručností, aby sme mohli efektívne narábať so svojimi myšlienkami." (str. 81) This book provides readers with a philosophically insightful and practically useful manual on how to break free of suffering and achieve inner peace. But how do we get there? By meditating. Not just in the morning, but throughout the day by introducing micro moments so we never drop the mindfulness ball, even when we’re busy. Meditation is more than just a stress-reduction tool or a relaxation therapy, it is the key to finding long-lasting happiness.

More in Books

That’s because meditation does a perfect job of helping us experience fullness, freedom, and anchoring to the present. And you can do it every day, even right now. But the very existence of this mechanism which protects us from negative influences is evidence enough that our body is programmed to know what is right and what is wrong in the first place. Interestingly enough, therein lies the problem. And this state of uncertainty is overwhelming: it causes stress and discontent since we feel that our life at the present moment is not enough and that we can only be happy when our goals are completed.

It’s important to remember that your mind is going to stray. When this happens, you simply need to recognize it without judgment.No matter how good you feel, you’ll never be happy if you think of happiness in terms of external things and circumstances.

At no point does Thubten compare meditation directly with other activities or denigrate them, but the way he presents the place, benefit and effects of a daily meditation routine makes it clear that this is the only "Master Key" to happiness and lasting change. Gelong Thubten is a Buddhist monk, meditation teacher and author from the UK. He ordained as a monk 26 years ago at Samye Ling Tibetan Monastery in Scotland, and he has spent over six years in intensive meditation retreats, the longest of which was 4 years long. He is now regarded as one of the UK's most influential meditation teachers, with pioneering work in providing non-religious mindfulness programmes to businesses, hospitals, schools, universities, prisons and addiction counselling centres. He works with major global companies such as Google, Accenture and LinkedIn, and has lectured at Oxford University and for the United Nations. Thubten teaches mindfulness to medical students at the National University of Ireland, and he trained Benedict Cumberbatch and Tilda Swinton in meditation techniques during the filming of Marvel's Dr. Strange. In Thubten’s opinion (and, more importantly, experience), happiness is much less temporary and much less linked to external circumstances. It is something we have inside, and something into whose power we can easily tap in if we understood its nature. Vybavte si v mysli tri skutočnosti, za ktoré ste vo svojom živote vďační. Môžu to byť predmety, ľudia, situácie - čokoľvek. Dôkladne o nich premýšľajte - prechádzajte jednu po druhej - a skúmajte, prečo ste, alebo by ste mohli byť, za ne vďační. Precíťte ocenenie a vďačnosť. Usilujte sa pochopiť, že všetko závisí od všetkého ostatného. Naše prežitie závisí od mnohých faktorov, ľudí a vecí okolo nás. Ak si uvedomíte, akou láskavosťou vás zahŕňa svet, pocítite hlbokú vďačnosť. Ďalší krok je cítiť radosť zo šťastia iných." (str. 138)In conjunction with all of this, we also feel a sense of freedom. This is the third component of happiness. We don’t become captivated by the negative emotions and disquieting desires that come with dredging up the past, anticipating the future or wishing the present were different. Instead, we feel liberated from all of these sources of unhappiness. A Monk’s Guide to Happiness explores the nature of happiness and helps bust the myth that our lives and minds are too busy for meditation. The book can show you how to:

Normally our minds don’t feel free. Thoughts and emotions create a storm inside us, and we easily become their slaves. Moment to moment we might find ourselves in an “argument” with reality, constantly wishing things were different. Happiness involves mastering our thoughts and emotions and embracing things just as they are; it means that we relax and stop trying to manipulate our circumstances. If we can learn how to rest deeply in the present moment, even when facing difficulties, and we train our minds not to judge, we can discover within us a tremendous source of happiness and satisfaction. We might start to notice how much we usually look for nourishment from “outer” things instead. There is the other argument of the Buddhists, who are concerned about the notion that we keep Craving – which is the problem that keeps us from achieving Nirvana as the nec plus ultra, the ultimate Joie de Vivre – but not in the French, epicurean way, which has no problem with it, indeed, it can be the catharsis we can achieve – the position in which we do not crave for anything anymore – and even when we are – let us say humanely, transitory, as mere mortals – happy, we fear that this will go away and thus we do not enjoy the benefits of what the Buddhists know and teach us – one of them being this monk – the problem being that even the peaceful Buddhists can go astray – I was reading recently about Myanmar, former Burma, and the Buddhists that have sided with the military junta and even worse, an important number of the supposedly peace loving monks have been involved in violence against the Rohinga, Muslim minority, because of religious conflicts, perhaps a touch of nationalism too. Scientists have recently coined the term “neuroplasticity” to describe this phenomenon, which simply means the potential for mental change through training, such as meditation, leading to the creation of new neural pathways. We can imprint a multitude of new habits, unlearn negative ones, and achieve lasting benefits. Compelling to read, yet full of profound wisdom, this wonderful book rationally describes how our mind functions and how we can cultivate the habit of happiness.' Finally, he puts things into perspective. If we are not training our mind, the very fundament of our universe (because our whole world is how we perceive the world!) - what else actually IS there to do?Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/feelbetterlivemore. For other podcast platforms go to https://fblm.supercast.com. Gelong Thubten's book is as warm, wise and generous as the man himself. We've never needed a voice like his more.' The main brain chemical involved in that kind of happiness “hit” is dopamine, and interestingly this hormone surges before we get what we want and then it drops away. When we are about to have the bite of cake, or when we’re getting ready for the party, we are caught up in the excitement of the chase, and when we actually eat the cake the dopamine drops away; and so our lives are about anticipation. Animals get a big dopamine hit when they think they are about to get fed; “about to happen” is always the exciting part. “When I am rich”; “When I meet the right person”; “When I achieve the body I want.” We never actually get there, as the anticipation leads to a habit of looking for the next thing, which means we never feel we truly arrive. There is always an “if,” “when,” or “because” to our happiness. Now, the reason that beginner-level meditation exercises start with anchors like the body and breath is that these are very immediate, noticeable things to focus on. But in theory, your anchor could be anything. With that in mind, you can start broadening your meditation practice by implementing mindful moments. A] powerful debut... it succeeds as a highly accessible and jargon-free introduction to meditation."