I can imagine reading this book at some other life juncture and thinking "ah, that's nice" and moving on. That is, I can imagine reading it and not taking it seriously, and not getting very much out of it. But a number of things have come together just at this point in my life to cause me to pay special attention to this idea. It's very scientific and it's very simple.1. Brains are quite plastic. Just as we might completely rewire the brain/nerve/finger connection by practicing guitar for 10,000...

It's hard to write a review about this one. While I liked the general idea that happiness is a skill that can be learned and would agree with it, the book itself doesn't seem to helpful with that. Ricard has an interesting biography, but he seems pretty oblivious how this might have shaped him. In the introduction he gives a brief overview on his youth as the son of a renowned philosopher, doing his PhD in mol. genetics at the Pasteur Institute under a Nobel Laureate and how he left for Tibet af...

This is a sort of holistic look at happiness from the perspective of a Buddhist monk who was originally formally trained as a scientist and grew up around philosophers. There's a lot to wade through, here, but at its heart, the main goal seems to be to convince us that meditation is really what we should all be doing to improve our general wellbeing. I, for one, am totally sold on this. Ricard details various studies done where scientists are able to measure brainwaves of trained meditators vs.

Well, this book did change my life - I ended up going to a somewhat intensive meditation retreat of 9 days as a consequence of events that were triggered from this book. And this is an activity I look forward to doing every year. I wasn't sad or depressed with my life - things were normal in the normal meaning of the word and neither was I looking forward to "happiness".I'm happy this book found out me as it was an accidental book that I picked up from library simply because the author looked in...

I have put this book aside for the meantime.It's good to remind yourself that happiness has very little to do with what society says it does, however, the author keeps patting himself on the back for being so awesome(at least so far).

If i picked up this book earlier in my life , i would have left it unfinished , because I used to think i'm such a happy person.But after being through a lot , picking this book up and reading it couldn't get any better .This book is not addressed only to people suffering from mental illness , it could be read by anyone , litterally any one who's searching for a better , happier and healthier life .I loved how he made complicated explanations seem easy and simple and how he managed to change my

My longer term flirtations with buddhism led me to finally try to read a book on this topic. I picked Ricard because of his scientific credentials, he is an ex-molecular biologist gone monk, interfacing now with scientists on studies of meditation. Unfortunately the book didn't really grab me on any level. It mixes basics of buddhist teaching and metaphors with little bits of (western, analytic) psychology, some anecdotes and entry level introduction into meditation practice. All however feels f...

This has to be one of my favourite books on happiness and positive psychology. Covering such concepts as seeking happiness within/without, the alchemy of suffering, egoism, managing our thoughts and disturbing emotions, compassion, altrusium, happiness set point and the impact positive thinking and mediation has on the neuroplasticity, Ricard's coverage of the topic is comprehensive without being too heavy or technical. Being happy is a skill which can only be acquired through practice, and this...

A very thorough and life-changing book, I will certainly re-read it to fully absorb all the concepts and understand the complex ideas, it has already changed the way I think about quite a lot of things.

This is the most inspiring book I have read recently. I picked it up when I was feeling depressed and I was starting to get into learning about Buddhist thought. It is amazing and inspiring and I have started to re-read it. I also sent it to my sister who seemed rather down and is "searching" for happiness right now. As a side note, the brain activity which signals someone is happy was tested in the author and he scored off the charts. They also tested others who meditate and practice loving-kin...

I appreciate the mix of science and spirituality. I devoured this book in a matter of days. I like the feeling of empowerment Ricard wants his readers to leave with, but I do sense a bit of preaching from time to time. He claims that the book is not Buddhist, but it is. Ricard even chooses sometimes to compare Buddhism with monotheistic religions, outlining, in his opinion, the clear superiority of the Buddhist philosophy in leading a happy life. Aside from these few instances, Ricard makes a tr...

Without succumbing to his arguments in favor of pacifism, or his simplistic exaltation of places like Tibet and Bhutan, I think Ricard has written a brilliant treatise on human flourishing. This is a great read. And it will challenge the way you think.

Ricard strongly emphasizes that diligent practice is the key to happiness, that we confuse pleasure and desire with happiness, and that true happiness is constant and maintained from within, not reliant on external circumstances. Also emphasized are that the positive emotions need to be cultivated and that they don't simply arise out of the absence of the negative amotions such as anger or hatred. Some good practices are given to handle the more difficult emotions and to cultivate the more posit...

Easily the worst book of the quite thriving buddhist/meditation/happiness subgenre. The guy's a buddhist monk, but he's also french and he used to study at the Pasteur Institute (a fact he repeats ad nauseam) and his dad was a philoso-pha, of the french stock, and he wrote about... those of you who've picked up a french philo book or two might have guessed it, Karl Marx... Somehow both of these facts make Mattieu really proud and very unbuddhistly proud as he peacocks his way through the introd...

Matthieu Ricard is very wise and clear in his articulation of philosophy--reading this I was inspired to change aspects of my own life, and truly believed in many of the things he shared. This was a book that prompted me towards deep self-reflection. It provided me with clarity on topics I have intuitively been in touch with. I think this book is particularly important because of its incorporation of compassion and empathy. The fact it outlines that personal change is possible is widely encourag...

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It touches on Buddhist themes, without getting too preachy or religious. Well worth the read for those aspiring to live a life at peace.

This book is a wonderful read for anyone interested in gaining an understanding of meditation, basic Buddhist thought, and non-western ethical thought. Ricard does a wonderful, thoughtful job at presenting the science behind mediation, or perhaps the justification for why you should bring it into your life. And as someone that already has, it was an enjoyable & informative read about something I already do. The 4 star rating is because I did find some annoyance in reading all of the rhetorical q...

This was good. The biggest take away is that you can choose to be happy. All else will fall into place. This was good, but the other Happiness book by Thich Nhat Hanh was better and more of a meditation guide.

One of the many things I love about Buddhism (and Buddhist practitioners) is that it's a practical religion. Matthieu Ricard's meditation on happiness shows that practicality. When defining happiness, he gets right to it, discussing what it might be and what it isn't in refreshingly simple, practical ways. Happiness, a state we all think we want, can't be dependent on external circumstances. If it's internal, then we all have to recognize what we conditions we need internally to be happy and "br...

I found this book to be just ok. I disagree with some of the assumptions that the author makes about human nature, but I can agree with some of the other parts of his philosophy. The book is thought-provoking.