The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness

the true nature of all living creatures is already completely free from suffering and endowed with perfect happiness: In seeking happiness and avoiding unhappiness, regardless of how we go about it, we’re all just expressing the essence of who we are.

Because he’d learned to practice simply without concern for the results, after a few years he became a mahasiddha himself.

Most of us regard pain as a threat to our physical well-being. On one hand, when we worry or allow ourselves to become preoccupied by this threat, the pain itself almost always increases. On the other hand, if we consider pain or discomfort as an object of meditation, we can use such sensations to increase our capacity for clarity, simply through w

But it takes great patience to learn how to see such possibilities. In fact, it takes great patience to see.

There’s also a short, two-point meditation posture, which can be adopted at times when it may be inconvenient or impossible to settle fully into the more formal seven-point posture. The instructions are very simple: Just keep your spine straight and the rest of your body as loose and relaxed as possible.

The more we allow ourselves to be guided by compassion—to pause for a moment and try to see where another person is coming from—the less likely we are to engage in conflict. And even when problems do arise, if we take a deep breath and listen with an open heart, we’ll find ourselves able to handle the conflict more effectively—to calm the waters, s

You can also bring your attention to the physical sensation of walking, to the feeling of your legs moving, your feet touching the ground, the rhythm of your breathing or your heartbeat. This works even if you’re in a rush, and is actually a great method of combating the anxiety that generally accompanies trying to get somewhere in a hurry. You can

Alternatively, you can practice objectless meditation in any of these situations, allowing your mind to rest simply and openly as you go about any activity, without attachment or aversion.

While doing so may open up possibilities we might never before have imagined, it’s still hard to give up the familiar habit of being a victim. On the other hand, if we began to accept responsibility for our experience, our lives would become a kind of playground, offering innumerable possibilities for learning and invention. Our sense of personal l