To say this book is written by the Dalai Lama is an exaggeration. The author interviews and I’m sure paraphrased him. But paraphrasing causes change in meaning and also sounds unnatural. It felt meaningless to me. I put the book away when he describe how he realized as an art student that art helped no one. So he became a doctor. As a side note he said he now respects and appreciates the arts. Well. If he doesn’t understand how essential the arts are to the existence of humanity then he didn’t get anything at all from the Dalai Lama and I had to stop reading right there.

From the esteemed brains of the His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, paired with the intricate introspection and psychological musings of Dr. Howard C Cutler comes ‘The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living.’

Through introspective, open-minded conversation and personal anecdotes – the pair provide a beautifully written manual for understanding, finding and securing your own personal happiness, as well as methods for producing a feeling a oneness with your external world, however chaotic or calm it may be.

As the world spins, we have a choice of either spinning with it or pushing against it, creating friction – throughout this fantastic read, I found bits and pieces of advice, much like the bread crumbs left by Hansel and Gretel, on how to live a more personally sound and fulfilling life. For anyone who is on that spiritual, personal journey – or is curious to delve into it, this book is a fantastic starter manual for a healthier, happier way of life.

https://bouncykitty.com/2020/11/17/reading-is-sexy-find-solace-in-your-soul-with-the-art-of-happiness/

I wanted to like this book so much more. I was always interested in having a peek into the Dalai Lama's mind but this was just an okay-ish read. Most parts were quite boring and repetitive to me without a clear structure.
Giving it 3 stars though as I did learn a few things and it picked my interest on Tibetan Bhuddhism.

294.3444 Bst; must be requested

The book is really good, but practicing the methods which is mentioned here is very difficult but not impossible.

This book is valuable and thought-provoking. However, the psychiatrist, who is the author of the book, comes off as a pompous jerk and, at the very least, is overly cynical. I'm sure he positioned himself that way to juxtapose his "rational mind" against the Dalai Lama's non-western worldview, but it falls flat. I don't like being this person, but I wish he stayed more objective and unbiased. His negative outlook stood in the way of a book I otherwise loved. The sections where he didn't insert his opinions were gold, though.

SN: I wasn't able to finish this book after I lost it in a move, so I've re-shelving it to-read.

Book Club - Colleen, ?