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mspriceisright's review against another edition
3.0
I’m a big fan of most things Dalai Lama and love listening to his thoughts and learning about Buddhism, but this was a bit repetitive and had a lot of narration from the author (who is actually NOT) the Dalai Lama.
pratizsta's review against another edition
1.0
I found The Art of Happiness to be repetitive and somewhat dull. Unfortunately, I couldn't finish it. The content felt superficial, leaving me with more questions than answers. Some concepts seemed too idealistic, more fitting for saints than for the average person.
perkyrusalka's review against another edition
2.0
This got very repetitive, and ultimately I think the issue is Dr. Cutler was trying to get the Dalai Lama to opine on a subject he isn't an expert on. The Dalai Lama doesn't know how to be a happy cog in a capitalist wheel, anymore than Dr. Cutler knows how to be a Buddhist monk. I think if they'd leaned into that and explored that more, this might have been a satisfying book - but it would have needed a different title entirely.
aussiegirlinuk's review against another edition
2.0
After reading this book, I'm a little reluctant to be completely honest about it. I don't want to put 'negativity' out there (feels like it defeats the purpose of reading a book called "The Art of Happiness") but I was a little disappointed!
It must be said that I adored every snippet, sentence, reading and philosophical thought by the Dalai Lama within this book. I also loved the idea of then re-interpreting these musings to relate to the Western world and non-Buddhists. However, sadly, somewhere along the way, it lost some of its impact. At times I found the book to be more about Cutler than the actual art of happiness. As a result, I laboured to finish it.
Unsatisfied.
It must be said that I adored every snippet, sentence, reading and philosophical thought by the Dalai Lama within this book. I also loved the idea of then re-interpreting these musings to relate to the Western world and non-Buddhists. However, sadly, somewhere along the way, it lost some of its impact. At times I found the book to be more about Cutler than the actual art of happiness. As a result, I laboured to finish it.
Unsatisfied.
alfaisalkanon's review against another edition
4.0
দালাই লামা ধর্মীয় গুরু হিসেবে পৃথিবীখ্যাত। তিব্বতের রাজনীতিতে প্রভাব এবং বৌদ্ধধর্মের মূল্যবোধ প্রচার করে থাকেন বলে তাদেরকে শ্রদ্ধার চোখে দেখা হয়। এই বইটা লিখেছেন চতুর্দশ দালাই লামা। আসলে তিনি লিখেছেন বললে ভুল হবে, মনোবিদ Howard Cutler তার সাথে বেশ কিছু ইন্টারভিউ নিয়ে বইতে রূপ দিয়েছেন।
সুখের পিছনে ছুটছে সবাই, কিন্তু পাচ্ছে কজন? এই বইতে সুখ কীভাবে পাওয়া সম্ভব সেটাই লেখক খুজতে চেয়েছেন নানাভাবে। মূলকথা হলঃ বস্তুকেন্দ্রিক জিনিষ দিয়ে সুখ সম্ভব না, এটা আসলে মানসিকতার উপর। আমরা যে সবসময় অসুখী থাকি এর প্রধান কারণ আমরা সবসময় তাদেরকে নিয়ে তুলনা করি যারা আরো ভালো অবস্থায় আছে। উপরে না খুজে আমরা যদি নিচে খুজি তাহলেই আমরা অনুভব করতে পারব যে, আমাদের জীবনটাও সৃষ্টিকর্তার নানান আশীর্বাদ দিয়ে ঘেরা, আর সেগুলোর জন্য সন্তুষ্টি প্রকাশ করাতেই আসলে সুখ নিহিত।
বইয়ের কয়েকটা উক্তিঃ
-- If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
-- A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.
-- Happiness is determined more by one's state of mind than by external events.
- The more honest you are, the more open, the less fear you will have, because there's no anxiety about being exposed or revealed to others.
- In accepting that suffering is a part of your daily existence, you could begin by examining the factors that normally give rise of feelings of discontent and mental unhappiness.
- if you can, serve other people, other sentient beings. If not, at least refrain from harming them.
- The highest happiness is when one reaches the stage of Liberation, at which there is no more suffering. That’s genuine, lasting happiness. True happiness relates more to the mind and heart. Happiness that depends mainly on physical pleasure is unstable; one day it’s there, the next day it may not be.
- The secret to my own happiness, my own good future, is within my own hands. I must not miss that opportunity!
সুখের পিছনে ছুটছে সবাই, কিন্তু পাচ্ছে কজন? এই বইতে সুখ কীভাবে পাওয়া সম্ভব সেটাই লেখক খুজতে চেয়েছেন নানাভাবে। মূলকথা হলঃ বস্তুকেন্দ্রিক জিনিষ দিয়ে সুখ সম্ভব না, এটা আসলে মানসিকতার উপর। আমরা যে সবসময় অসুখী থাকি এর প্রধান কারণ আমরা সবসময় তাদেরকে নিয়ে তুলনা করি যারা আরো ভালো অবস্থায় আছে। উপরে না খুজে আমরা যদি নিচে খুজি তাহলেই আমরা অনুভব করতে পারব যে, আমাদের জীবনটাও সৃষ্টিকর্তার নানান আশীর্বাদ দিয়ে ঘেরা, আর সেগুলোর জন্য সন্তুষ্টি প্রকাশ করাতেই আসলে সুখ নিহিত।
বইয়ের কয়েকটা উক্তিঃ
-- If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
-- A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.
-- Happiness is determined more by one's state of mind than by external events.
- The more honest you are, the more open, the less fear you will have, because there's no anxiety about being exposed or revealed to others.
- In accepting that suffering is a part of your daily existence, you could begin by examining the factors that normally give rise of feelings of discontent and mental unhappiness.
- if you can, serve other people, other sentient beings. If not, at least refrain from harming them.
- The highest happiness is when one reaches the stage of Liberation, at which there is no more suffering. That’s genuine, lasting happiness. True happiness relates more to the mind and heart. Happiness that depends mainly on physical pleasure is unstable; one day it’s there, the next day it may not be.
- The secret to my own happiness, my own good future, is within my own hands. I must not miss that opportunity!
cclawson77's review against another edition
I wanted to like this book and gave it a good try. But I did not finish it. I have found other authors to be more helpful.