"Our relationship with ourselves and how much beauty we find in life ultimately depends on how our minds filter and interpret our daily experiences. Our happiness comes from our inner harmony, not from our ability to control the mighty forces of the universe." .

***
While we seek happiness for its own sake, all our other goals - be it health, beauty, money or power - are only important because we assume they will make us happy."
Mihály Csíkszentmihályi

In this ground-breaking book, Matthieu Ricard passionately argues for happiness as a goal that deserves at least as much energy as any other goal in our lives.
Drawing from the world of scientific research and philosophy, as well as the wisdom of Buddhist traditions, his lines are woven into a single offering. His insights are both inspiring and practical. The happiness he evokes questions our ordinary notions of joy, convincingly arguing in favor of contentment and altruism, against the accumulation of "good experiences" and self-centered satisfaction. It gives advice on how we can rethink our reality and how we can develop our capacity for true happiness.
He doesn't offer a quick fix because he knows very well that training the mind takes energy and time. It examines the root mechanisms behind suffering and happiness, offers refreshing insights into the workings of the mind, and offers strategies for dealing with our most difficult emotions. The result is a reliable map on which the development of the conditions for real well-being can be based.
Matthieu Ricard is a Buddhist monk, bestselling author, translator and photographer. He obtained his doctorate at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, in the field of molecular cell genetics. He left France at a young age to learn from his masters in the Himalayas. He is an active participant in scientific research examining the effect of meditation on the brain, and he is the title of "the happiest man in the world" thanks to the outstanding results achieved here. He lives in Tibet and Nepal, where he participates in many humanitarian projects.