The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living

I appreciated the book’s format—a thoughtful dialogue between the Dalai Lama and psychiatrist Howard Cutler aimed at translating ancient insight into modern life. The premise of “how to be happy” sounds simple, yet the conversation quickly becomes deeper and more nuanced. Through stories and reflection, the book shows how suffering, compassion, and perspective shape our experience far more than circumstances. The Dalai Lama’s guidance is spiritual without drifting into abstraction, while Cutler grounds the ideas with relatable, real-world examples. Their exchanges feel human, even funny at times, which keeps the insights accessible. The book dismantles two persistent myths: that happiness is something life delivers to us, and that peace comes from avoiding discomfort. Instead, it frames happiness as a skill—one built through empathy, resilience, and intentional mental training. If you value books that linger in your mind long after you close them, this one earns the space. It doesn’t promise perfection; it offers a way to live more lightly with imperfection. I’m happier for having read it.

His Holiness has the amazing ability to say things that are both simple and profound. After listening to the XIV Dalai Lama or reading his words, I often find myself saying, "Why didn't I think of that?" Why not indeed? A previous reviewer states that this is a wonderful book but that it's hard to "get" the idea of being compassionate to ALL beings regardless of their own actions. It IS hard to "get" that. The Dalai Lama has been a Buddhist monk for the last 71 years, and HE works at it every single day. The Buddha himself, after his Enlightenment, didn't say, "Well, since I'm one with all that is I guess I can retire now." Nope. Shakyamuni began teaching. And he kept practicing, whether through sitting meditation or through workaday tasks. His practice matured him. He may have come up with the Four Noble Truths on Day One and he may have taught them throughout his life, but there's a great deal of evolution between those original thoughts and the Parinirvana Sutra uttered on his deathbed. He would have heartily endorsed the Dalai Lama's call to Happiness and accepted Tenzin Gyatso as a worthy Dharma successor. But, I digress. Unlike many of the Dalai Lama's earlier books this one is geared specifically toward and for the general public. Just as you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy Levy's Rye, you don't have to be a Buddhist to appreciate this book. As a matter of fact, although every idea in this book is quintessentally Buddhist, every idea in this book is, more importantly, quintessentially human. The Dalai Lama's basic thesis is that we are all born to be happy. Reading this, I kept being reminded of Jefferson's words, "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." It's too bad that our modern culture conflates "Happiness" with "Pleasure" (which is far more fleeting) and that "Pleasure's" main attribute is "Money" and lots of it, or the things that "Money" can buy. Not that "Money" is unimportant, but the idea that "Money can't buy Happiness" is a core idea here, and is proven over and over again. This book and its sequels grew out of a series of personal interviews between the Dalai Lama and noted Psychologist Howard C. Cutler, who has become an important exponent of the Positive Psychology Movement of the last decade. Positive Psychology focuses not on what's wrong with an individual but on what's right and how to reinforce what's right through positive practices---essentially, Cutler's approach amounts to a primer on classical Buddhist Psychology. The Dalai Lama speaks here, but it is Cutler who amplifies and expounds on the Dalai Lama's core ideas in a Western idiom. His Holiness does detail certain meditative practices as well. According to the Dalai Lama (and most Positive Psychologists), Happiness is not the end result of a thought process but is the process itself. Acting kindly, compassionately, mindfully and with awareness result in a person being, in effect, happy, even in the face of the day-to-day toxicity of much of our culture. His Holiness also believes that Happiness is highly contagious, and that it will spread virally if only we maintain our positive practices. Yes, it is hard to remain "happy" in the face of dealing with obnoxious bill collectors or dishonest repairmen, but that is where compassion comes in. Compassion is not a form of blind forgiveness---I don't have to say, "It's okay" to the mugger who's just stolen my wallet---but, rather, it is a form of understanding that bad things do occur, that although they may occur to me, the universe is not personally out to get me, and that the mugger who mugged me, the bill collector who cursed me or the repairman who overcharged me, is acting out of their own unhappiness. I don't have to turn any cheeks or allow it to happen ever again. I don't have to embrace them as misguided souls. I don't have to let it fester and make me sick and angry either. I just have to grasp the idea that the mugger, the bill collector and the repairman are all human, like me, and all subject to the same faults and foibles that I am. Sound tough? It sure is. That's why it's a lifelong practice. Anybody coming here for a bullet-point approach to solving all of life's problems or to be reassured by pop-psychology tripe will be disappointed in this book. This is a substantive popular work that gives back to the reader exactly what the reader puts in.

A practical way to achieve happiness based on Buddhist principles with the scientific backing of psychology by Dr. Cutler. I really liked this book. Highly recommended.

In terms of its effect (that is, the evocation of happiness), I'd have to give this book five stars plus. The reading of it, however, was a bit of a chore until I found the adventure humorous. Howard Cutler is obsessed with scientifically validating the Dalai Lama's very simple (but not simplistic), practical, common-sensible observations of human nature and potential. That happy people tend to be healthier, for example, seems self-evident, an assertion not begging for research and statistical justification. Cutler is reminiscent in moments of the young Carlos Casteneda, whose occasional obtuseness served to make Don Juan's teachings all the more clear and luminous. I often have the feeling that the Dalai Lama is patiently instructing a small child, simplifying and simplifying again till the tike finally gains purchase. Yes, relationships based solely on sexual satisfaction, for example, are less likely to endure than those which combine physical attraction with genuine affection and respect. Imagine that. Actually, in his dialogs with the Dalai Lama, psychiatrist Cutler is a worthy representative of science-worshipping westerners. One gets the feeling that he'd sooner trust the results of a remote clinical study than believe what's before his own eyes and defer his own immediate, real, personal experience to the results of research. I reckoned years ago that science is the REAL religion of our culture, what we truly believe and live by on Friday night and Monday morning. Now I begin to see that our dependence on objective, detached, remote validation of reality is not merely our religion; it's also in substantial measure superstition. And the Dalai Lama, bless him, is as patient and compassionate with his American friend as a kind-hearted anthropologist might be in explaining the workings of a technological gadget to an isolated "primitive" tribesperson. I'm not accustomed to seeing technically proficient, well-educated Americans, particularly doctors (who are surely our high priests with the perceived power to induce or alleviate pain, to kill or cure, even perhaps one day to achieve something like immortality for the species), as primitive, and this was the amusement. To Cutler's immense credit, he routinely "busts" himself. And to my own credit, just after I stifle a smirk at his dunderheadedness, I frequently find myself busted as well, as some long-held perceptual bias breaks down and the light shines through. All in all, the journey of this read has so far been immensely worthwhile though often tedious and plodding in the going. Perhaps this is altogether fitting. The pursuit of happiness is indeed arduous, like walking 359 degrees round a circle towards an illusory end point. Surrendering to it is deceptively simple; could be as simple as stepping backward one little click.

HH has a way of presenting concepts that make them feel attainable and applicable to daily life. You don't need to be Buddhist to find value in this book, just have an interest in living a happier, less stressful, life.

Having been a student of Mahayana Buddhism for the past couple years, I had been meaning to read a book by the fourteenth Dalai Lama, and was overjoyed to purchase this one after being alerted that the Kindle edition had gone on sale by the excellent ebook deal-alerting service Bookbub. Since it was the first book by the current Dalai Lama that I ever read, I wasn't sure what to expect but I did expect it to be of high quality—especially since it is his most well-known book. Fortunately, it did not disappoint me in the slightest! The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living was co-authored by psychiatrist Howard Cutler, who posed questions to the Dalai Lama over the series of many interviews. Cutler provides the setting and context for their meetings and also incorporates his own reflections on the issues raised in their discussions. In addition, transcriptions from several of the Dalai Lama's teachings are scattered throughout the book. It was first published in 1998, and I read the ten-year anniversary edition that was published in 2008 which includes a new preface and introduction. The book delves into the concept of using various techniques to train the mind in order to achieve true happiness. In the preface, His Holiness the Dalai Lama states, "If you want others to be happy practice compassion; and if you want yourself to be happy practice compassion." This focus on developing compassion is consistent throughout the book and is a main focus in many of the answers that the Dalai Lama gives to Cutler's questions. It seems that this is a sort of prerequisite for cultivating happiness, a foundation upon which all of the other advice is based upon. Another point that is made time and time again is that happiness comes down to one's state of mind more than by external events. There are a plethora of examples provided in the book, such as how lottery winners do not sustain their initial delight over a longterm period and instead return to the level of moment-to-moment happiness they were accustomed to prior to winning the lottery. Or how studies have shown that people who are struck by tragic events like cancer and blindness typically recover to their normal level of happiness after a reasonable adjustment period. Psychologists label this process "adaptation", which simply refers to the tendency of one's overall level of happiness to migrate back to a certain baseline. From a Buddhist perspective, the root causes of all suffering are ignorance, craving, and hatred. The book fleshes out this idea and suggests methods for one to overcome them. For example, the Dalai Lama advises, "We cannot overcome anger and hatred simply by suppressing them. We need to actively cultivate the antidotes to hatred: patience and tolerance." Overall, I was very impressed by this book. When I first started reading it I wished that the Dalai Lama had been the sole author, however I eventually grew to appreciate Cutler's additions. That's mainly because I did not realize that the book was co-authored until after I started reading it, so I had unknowingly and unintentionally set an improper expectation for myself. However, by the end of the book I had overlooked the co-authoring aspect entirely and focused more on the book's content, which is excellent. I would advise this book to anyone who is interested in the Dalai Lama, Buddhism, mindfulness, or becoming truly happy. Namaste.

First off I will say I am a Christian and I believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, but I wanted to read more about the Dalai Lama and how he sees things that we might miss no matter your religion and I’m glad that I have. I own quite a few of his books now after this one.This book is absolutely fabulous. It’s about finding the joy that you might be overlooking or that is right in front of you and you just don’t see it. It will change the way you think or you look at things as well. You can just feel the joy as you read the book he has such a positive attitude, and it comes through in the words. There is nothing pushy about religion.I’m really glad I took the plunge and started digging in to his books because they’ve always been Something that I have wanted to start reading because we all are different but all the same . I just really liked and loved looking through his eyes in his words. The reason I started to really consider reading his books was because I knew there was joy in them because you can see it in him and plus the last three years have been super hard with breast cancer, stahp, three blood infections, foot surgery from cancer medicine, hurting for five years and finally figuring out I had thoracic outlet syndrome and I had surgery, complex, regional pain syndrome, and cervical dystonia so my body has been through a lot in 3 years of surgeries, medicines, and all kinds of stuff, and eventually it take a toll on my thinking . So I was absolutely delighted to look at life at a different angle than what I was. I think his books are fantastic. Like I said I own several of them now and you don’t have to be a Christian or it be a sin to read his words because he just wants you the reader to be happy and find that happiness and he just shows you. I would buy all of his books and I might have all of them I don’t know, but this is a great buy if you are going through or have been going through some very rough ordeals for a very long time or even if you just need something to help nudge you out of that spot, you’re at to look at things differently, so you can find the happiness in you this book is an absolutely must have. It has changed how I look at things now instead of the demon gloom that I have dealt with for so long and all the pain that goes along with it. Please, if you are dealing with anything by this book give it a try it will help you. Excuse the video I have lots of books and this is not even close to how many I have but I do own seven of his books and they have all been great so far.

This book helped me so much and opened my eyes to the pleasure of simple living and brought me great peace. Definitely plan on getting it on kindle so I can gift the tangible copy to a friend