Mindfulness of Happiness

According to the Dalai Lama (1999), all sentient beings seek to be happy and not suffer. Clearly, however, a lot of people fall short of achieving this. Based on current research, in spite of global wealth increasing, happiness is declining, although not evenly across countries (Sachs, 2017). In this paper, we offer reflections on happiness from a contemplative viewpoint, including discussing how certain ways of seeking and relating to happiness can result in suffering. We then advocate the merits of moving beyond dualistic notions such as happiness and suffering, as well as outline contemplative principles that can facilitate such a shift in perspective. …