The habits of happiness | Matthieu Ricard
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- Опубликовано: 14 апр 2008
- www.ted.com What is happiness, and how can we all get some? Buddhist monk, photographer and author Matthieu Ricard has devoted his life to these questions, and his answer is influenced by his faith as well as by his scientific turn of mind: We can train our minds in habits of happiness. Interwoven with his talk are stunning photographs of the Himalayas and of his spiritual community.
Наука
The Study of Happiness should be a main part in global education system.
Unfortunately there can be no happiness without morals and the global education system seems to be running away from those.
Totally agree
Agree
"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts."
― Marcus Aurelius
Said somebody, who threw people with a different belief system into his arena to be eaten alive or killed by Gladiators.
Like 20 seconds ago I was thinking of Marcus Aurelius and then I see your comment.
Marge719 the statement has substance regardless
Yes
@@Yogakshema_vahamyaham me too.
from 5:50 onwards, he said "well being is not just a mere pleasurable sensation. it is a deep sense of serenity and fullfillment. A state that actually pervades and underlies all emotional states, and all the joys and sorrows that can come one's way."
Excellent comment 🙏🧘♂️ 💭 🌱
My happiness is the most important thing to me, without happiness I am no good for for anyone. Meditation is the most important part of my happiness it has helped me to control my energy. I went from severe depression to feeling absolute love for life! If only everyone would meditate.
Incredible
Happiness comes from gratitude. If you’re satisfied and accept the outer and the inner conditions then you won’t be unhappy or sad. That’s how it is.
Lama Matthiew la, is no nonsense. Can't imagine how he mastered Buddhism which takes forever to practice & study - that even in Tibetan script. Man, he's French, speaks perfect English. Just awestruck with this great man. My prostration to you Lama la.🙏🙏🙏
Mind training can allow the happiness within us to flow more easily. Letting go of thought patterns to do with fear, anger, jealousy, blame, guilt, tension, stress, resentment, sorrow, irritation, frustration, criticism helps well being to flourish. We can all do this. We can all forgive past hurts and set ourselves free. We can accept this present moment as it is. We can celebrate our lives, trust our intuition to guide us on the path of consistent happiness. We can smile, hug, compliment, help, thank, praise, support, love, appreciate, respect every moment of every day and the beauty of this is that it all comes back to us. I wish for you all peace, love and harmony. I love you xxx :)
***** You are too! :)
cool Julius :)
but how do you do this when you live in a society based on those bad thought patterns?
Don't forget envious often confused with jealousy
I think M. Ricard was explaining to us NOT to look at the cause/catalyst/trigger of jealousy, but instead to look at jealousy itself. In looking at it, recognizing it, it dissipates. With practice this becomes easier to do - as it has taken some time to become afraid and even revering of jealousy - until it becomes less overwhelming and encompassing. Only by NOT looking at it from up close does it seem so threatening. I (and you probably do, as well) know wealthy people who are driven by wanting more. People who don't feel worthy so they blame others, people who receive advantages so they feel guilty and resent others. The list goes on and on. One needn't fall into these traps. However having fallen into any of these, M. Ricard wants us to look at the trap, itself - for we are trapping ourselves.
I smile at you, now, out of my being (that's who I am) without the thought of receiving a reciprocal action. If you do so, fine. If you smile to someone else, also fine. This has nothing to do with my smile to you. It's not a smile-business; it's just what I do. It's like a free gift. ☺️, howie.
Matthieu Ricard (Nepali: माथ्यु रिका, born 15 February 1946) is a French writer, photographer, translator and Buddhist monk who resides at Shechen Tennyi Dargyeling Monastery in Nepal.
Matthieu Ricard grew up among the personalities and ideas of French intellectual circles. He received a Ph.D. degree in molecular genetics from the Pasteur Institute in 1972. He then decided to forsake his scientific career and instead practice Tibetan Buddhism, living mainly in the Himalayas.
Happiness is to accept what is, not chasing possessions.
Re David stop seeking and you will see. You were not created and you were not sent here. The closer you look the less you will see.
+DJMikeron what??
So true you have to be happy with what is or at least ignore the negativity.
Accepting being unhappy is not acceptable.
Zatoichiable There is no happiness or unhappiness.
Look to Alan Watts lectures or Actualized.org channel here on RUclips.
I really like Ricard's comment about how we are so used to unhappiness that we have developed all sorts of philosophies to justify it. Everywhere I look online and in life I see an endless stream of complaining (from myself as well) about how everything sucks, and you just have to accept it.
When I suggest that things don't have to be that way, that the essential problem in a wealthy modern society is our mental perception and how our brains work, people have a hard time understanding it. They are just used to the idea that things are generally 'meh'. Sometimes they even get offended, like it's wrong of me to suggest that we could change things.
If I had a dollar every time my parents told me "That's just the way life is" or "Get used to it. That's life."
@@cricticalthinking4098 its just the way it is, I'm not-i'm just the messenger
No one said Buddhism or Buddhists are perfect. This is one man's particular views on happiness as a subject matter, and wisdom can be found in many walks of life. So do not insult him because some Buddhists somewhere else are not perfect, because the same statement can be said of many groups of people. All practices that teach tolerance, respect, love, kindness, and other morals are of good virtue. If one is truly wise, one will recognize good teachings no matter where they come from.
You want happiness?
Remove the "You". That is your ego.
Remove the "want". That is your desire.
Now, you are left with nothing but happiness.
Simple. Thank you. I am going to try so hard to take away my ego so I’m just happy. And hopefully it will make those around me happy xx
Elizabeth VR thank you for you advice. I will definitely look into the loving kindness videos. Thank you again, have a great day
Locke
Awesome! And that is what it is!
In metta to all sentient beings, contemplating your wisdom!
absurdo
Locke
There is no you to remove, that is an illusion.
Our mind likes to make us confuse, body and mind interare
boy, this guy is the man, dude
"Isn't it the mind that translates the outter conditions into happiness and suffering?"
When I'm through with this vacation here as a feeling, physical being, I'll get back to my office job in eternity. "So where did you go on vacation?", my colleague will ask. "I was a person for 74 years." "Oh, I did that, too my last vacation. I died from cancer - my goodness THAT was painful." (Everyone laughs) "What did you die from?", the spirit inquires. "I was hit by a truck," I explain. The people in the office shake their "heads" with disdain. "Well THAT'S not very satisfying! Why on earth did you take a vacation like that?"
Haluk hocaya selamlar.
@Donald J.Trump. he is a legend, he is a hero.. you can search on google..
@@talayhan1918 Donald Trump başkanlığı kaybedince yorumu silmiş çocuk 😂
... still watching, years later. And just today, passed it along in my writings on the web.
Happiness will automatically appear once we have the courage to face our fears and recognize our ego....
YES!!! ❤️
You can definitely find happiness just by smiling and laughing every day :)
I know from personal experience that what this man says is true. I began practicing meditation 11 years ago and it has completely changed my life. Many aspects are the same - but it is my mind that has changed. Crack on people, crack on!
You don't need to leave your life. There are many places where you can learn techniques to find inner peace and happiness in this life. Wonderful that you are seeking this!
i like this Man an his advice... very nice Ted talk.. I change more than two ideas in my mind... I love this talk.
Thanks for this inspirational happiness talk! I am in the middle of my own happiness experiment - harnessing endorphins and all sorts of other little things. So helpful!
What a beautiful soul. That you for sharing your great wisdom with us!
Christian, I am. So Happy that you are open to finding what will give you joy and true happiness I found my own gratitude and happiness at a strange time and place. You are brave and very smart to seek your own path and journey. Bless you my friend.
"Look at anger itself: It looks very menacing, like a bilowing monsoon cloud or thunderstorm. We think we could sit on the cloud but if go there it's just mist. Likewise if you look at the thought of anger, it will vanish like frost under the morning sun. If you do this again and again, the propensity, the tendencies for anger to arise again will be less and less each time you dissove it. And, at the end, although it may rise, it will just cross the mind, like a bird crossin the sky without leaving any track. So this is the principal of mind training."
Nature always provides a pair of everything to provide balance at any given time.
male vs female. peace vs war. good vs evil. black vs white
so is happiness vs sadness.
when we choose to be happy then we must work hard to be a member of this club.
truly it is very very difficult. but this is the only way
good luck for all of us
may we all be successful :)
You're probably right about nature "providing" a balance, but male and female are not opposites. Men and women are very similar in terms of their capacities, desires, etc. We're all human. Male and female reproductive organs differ in a way that allows for sexual reproduction, but you can't diminish us to our reproductive parts or our capacity for reproduction. We're much, much more than that.
I'm only mentioning this because people who talk about "male vs. female" as opposites aren't normally talking about just the difference between our parts and more the supposed differences in our mental states, with women supposedly being more peaceful, loving, empathetic, emotional, etc. and men more prone to being aggressive, powerful, unfeeling, rational, etc. Men are physically stronger in general, and this difference has been used to put their group in a position of power and has led to many erroneous beliefs about men and women, but that's all they are: baseless beliefs, social programming, etc. In reality, men are innately just as capable of learning empathy, care-taking, etc. as women, and women are just as capable of rationality, etc. We are not opposites in any meaningful sense; we are very much the same on most counts.
As a Taiwanese I found it is really compelling from his point of view to talk about meditation that is kind of reinforcement to deeper understanding buddhism!
This talk was incredible. Thank you so much for sharing🙏🏻
A excellent point that we spend comparatively very little time training our minds to handle all the emotions and experiences that are part of life. This has really opened my eyes to the necessity and benefits of such training. Thank you for sharing this talk.
happiness is a symptom !!
Great speech by Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard ...
Matthieu Ricard is absolutely right when he says, at the beginning, that french people view happiness as something totally useless. As a french woman, I like humor, wittiness, everything that makes life easier to live. Most of the people I meet are depressed, moaning and they hate upbeat stuff. Actually, they love to hear about how miserable people can be, they enjoy terrible books about depressed, anorexic, severely ill people, they cannot have enough ugliness, tragedies and so on.They are the world number one consumers of antidepressants, it's sooo sad ! Sometimes, I feel like an alien abandoned on a dull planet :))
+sherlockinaforever . In the land of the people addicted to being unhappy, a happy person appears to be insane.
I had no idea of that about the French. I thought Americans were the number one takers of antidepressants. I guess all addicts of pessimism need a quick fix.
sherlockinaforever Move to Canada. They even speak French there !
So true I a Frenchman living in Australia for 47 years , so my views of life have change so much a bite like Australian more relaxed and layered back, my family used to fi d it hard to understand.
Get out of there if you can. That's what I did. I moved to the UK where people are just as miserable haha, but they keep it for themselves so it doesn't affect my mood. In general English speaking countries are a bit more chill, they don't need to make themselves look very deep, so you won't have many intellectual conversations as you might in France but at least not many conversations will be depressing. Unfortunately, even though there are happy people in France, unhappy people are the loudest :p
"Unhappy people are the loudest", yes this is very true and must always be kept in mind when you observe people and society in general. Many studies have shown that people are something like 5x more likely to complain about something they dislike than to express positivity about something they like. This can really distort our view of things.
wonderful advice for Happiness
The World like minded people french monk Thank you for the talk
I Love This Guy!!!
Heart moving beautiful talk...
I love this. It takes time. It takes intention over years. Sometimes the harder a goal is, the more it's worth. Keep grinding.
Happiness is a habit, even in covid times. Sow the seeds of happiness within and you will grow into a great tree. Seek happiness in the world and your happiness will fleeting and temporary at best. Seek happiness within and you will court not just happiness, but wisdom, love, patience, joy, peace and all the riches of the heart.
Wonderful talk! Meditation is part of Hindu tradition as well as Buddhist and it has been known to bring about major shifts within the mind and body. Mind training? Yes, that's a perfect explanation for it. I believe one can even go beyond (not like the great souls shown in this video!) and control the inner working of our mind and body through mere inner, or auto suggestions. I find meditation most effective in panic attacks but mind training can work wonders for making deeper corrections. With so many diseases now being recognized as psychosomatic or even autoimmune, happiness can work as a super supplement by wiping out stress!
Great wisdom by this kind man! If we all listened, positivity would take over and poison in our world would drain out...
Fabuloso
back in the day in my social psychology class I told my teacher if a person isn't happy now, they may well never be. He told me he has never heard anything so negative! I was quite surprised, because I intended it in a very optimistically. In my experience happiness is not contingent with everything going your way or getting everything you want, therefore the potential is ALWAYS there to b incredibly happy when u change your perception and reaction to situations. I have spent a lifetime being clinically depressed and I rationalize if I can b sad for no reason, shouldn't I also b able to b happy for the same
You were very insightful Jessica...perhaps your professor did not want competition?...I had many like that..egomaniacs, threatened by bright students.
Ha, that would be awsome if reverse depression existed. However, we probably would never classify it because it wouldn't be recognized as a mental "disorder".
@@cricticalthinking4098 Yes we do. It's called unipolar mania.
We do appreciation for all TED Team, your videos always benefit so many people.
I have no words to tell you what I really think of this great lecture ...
beautiful video, just beautiful!!
Agradeço pela oportunidade que me foi ofertada e a disponibilidade de todos envolvidos. É reforçador escutar sobre algo tão importante, e aplicar diariamente entendendo que as emoções não precisam ser rotuladas ou julgadas, a dualidade nos atrapalha perceber o real e assim, distorcermos a lógica. Novamente, muito obrigado!
this man is really great so that he is capable of speaking that much longer without any break...................great speach
When I am in the mood of thankfulness of everything I have it , I experience happiness.
I WISH OSHO WAS ALIVE TO TALK IN TED!!! IT WUD HVE BEEN WONDERFUL....
😍😍😍
habit #1) live in reality, not isolate yourself from it.
I love the images and the research on the impact of meditation.
"we like our suffering because its so good when it ceases for awhile." lol
In the late 60s, early 70s, I wore shoes called "WAFFLE STOMPERS". They were heavy, short, suede boots with a thick rubber sole in the 3D pattern of the nooks and crannies of a waffle. One rather hot day my grandmother whom I lived with asked me why I chose to wear such a heavy and uncomfortable thing? I replied, "Because it feels soooo good to take them off!". I did not hear the end of that for decades. I wish she were here to laugh with me about this again.
Hmmm as much as he trained himself to be detached from feeling happy but his soul cannot help to feel happy looking at God's creations.. the sky..
How can anyone not happy to see the beautiful changing colours of the sky..
Cannot help it
Too powerful
Coz that's our soul's returning place .. to be one with the sky as a nano molecule
Lol 😆
Such a valuable talk, thank you!
Truthfully, it is exactly the same. I came to the teachings in New York City...try that on for a chaotic metropolis! I've been practicing for almost 9 years and it's changed my life profoundly. You don't have to make a big deal of it...we make something so simple so hard.
Without doubt the most peaceful happiest time of my life is when I'm asleep and my mind is calmest (preferably oblivious or at least a nice dream) & provided I'm not having that revolving dream trying to work out the answer or solution to the question that is "What is the question?". Solve that one Monko, or anyone please.
Mathieu Ricard is a really wise man, he made a difficult decision: to leave his privileged life in France and chose the wisdom of Buddhism and the loneliness, harsh life and cold air of high mountains in India. The first book that opened my eyes to a spiritual world was The Autobiography of a Yogui, by Paramahansa Yogananda. Great teachings and wonderful words full of truth.
Of course it doesnt hurt to jump on a jet to Monterey, occasionally.
Great to know the wonderful theory about happiness... please provide your email so that we can write to you.... regards
Happiness begins, yes only begins on the discovery of the absolute truth.
Because discovering truth will first give way to realization that you have been deceived for quite some time and that most are living in a lie.
So knowing you are in need of more truth will keep you learning on the road of the absolute truth.
+Tom BH (Musonik) So what is truth?
+DJZwart Broek. For the mechanic, truth is the knowledge of how to keep his automobile running well. For the philosopher, truth is COMMON SENSE which he gets from two sources, a) meditation and b)practicing Patience towards others (meaning, when people OFFEND you, you do not fall into the temptation to get angry). If the offense is painful, you should speak up so it doesn't happen again. You should speak up with firmness, kindness and patience.
Alejandro Lubbert For the philosopher truth is not common sense. To fall into common sense would mean for a philosopher to stop thinking. That something is common, does not mean that it is any good. If we would always use our common sense, it would mean that we don't progress and we would still live in the Middle Ages. I see that you believe in the Buddhist truth that Matthieu Richard is preaching. Thats a pretty good conviction but it is not the ultimate truth, the ultimate truth is that there is no truth.
+DJZwart Broek. For a person, his common sense is more valuable than all the gold in the universe. Only about 1 out of 5 people have it. It takes intuition and thought (NOT effort).
Love and Light
I got a lot of this talk and I'm sure I will come back to it and consider the words and perspective- and I would also like to hear somebody like him speak from the perspective of somebody living an everyday life- not primarily from the perspective of somebody dedicating their life to meditating- it's nice to know what's humanly possible- but it's also useful/helpful, i think, to have the perspective for the rest of us not doing that- how to apply and live these principles the best we can- there for increasing the experience of well-being
Haluk hocamm
I'm reading the book Happiness by this guy, it's an amazing book, I feel like it's actually changing me for the better the more I get into it.
how is it going?
Boddhisatva of present age, Lama Matthieu zhab la chak tshel lo
The habits of happiness...Very good !
Nice talk!
We love this! #happiness
There is a lot of truth in what you say. There are basic needs we must tend to or we will die. Also I think that Buddhism offers some great advice on how to live. What I am saying is that I have taken what I think I need or want from it and ignored the rest. Though I still have a lot more to learn.
Beautiful , mind opening!
Man is, in reality, a spiritual being, and only when he lives in the spirit is he truly happy. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
A mind that is free of illusions about the reality of its ego and the permanence of things is automatically happy. Why? Because believing in a separate existing ego running the mind is so tiring and heavy. And because believing things are real in an absolute sense is not the way reality really is. Once all that extra mental weight is lifted off the mind..the mind becomes naturally happy.. because that is what are minds really are. That is what all the Buddhas found.
What you say is the key to that inner happiness
What a wonderful talk, thank you!
i feel happiness comes from a devotion to something (ie. religion, career, another person, etc) that has beneficial qualities. while not forgetting the negative or conflicting feelings that arise from said devotion like guilt, stress, or worry. basically if you can convince yourself your doing good in everything you care about and not causing any problems without it being to stressful or difficult (takes practice) but then you shall be happy, just like matthieu ricard
Pour moi, le bonheur, c'est d'aimer. Il n'y a pas de bonheur sans amour. Ce n'est pas bête ce qu'il dit du plaisir. Rien n'est plus fugace que le plaisir.
"Serenity now" (Frank Constanza)
The 240p is genuinely distracting.
This will happen when a man of scientific mind turns into a Buddhism, marvellous mind.
He says - we can't love and hate at the same time, I don't agree. I think human mind is very complex and it can experience 2 (or even more) seemingly opposite emotions and attitudes at the same time (and our "I" can be fragmented with different parts of ourselves having different emotions, goals, patterns). That's what makes change difficult. But not impossible.
He refered to the same person or object...which makes sense. But who knows, maybe you know better.
OoJxShadow I was referring to the same person as well :) I'm pretty sure (and modern psychology supports this opinion) that our mind is easily capable of "conflicting" states.
Or you can switch back and forth from love to hate so quickly that on the surface it appears indecipherable. If you look closely however, and it is a skill that can be learned, you can dissemble all these rapid-fire reactions and see the spaces between them more easily.
I agree I am feeling both emotions to someone right now, however, I don't think I can feel them both at the same time. I am either thinking, I am upset with this person and she deserves no help from me, or I am thinking I love this person how can I help, I hope she is ok. So I think he is saying to replace the bad emotions I feel towards someone, with the positive emotions I feel towards them. Although this is tricky I can only influence not control the world so the negative emotions are easier to have..
Great video, but would someone please get this guy a glass of water??
Seriously. Homeboy is dry as hell! Haha.
Happiness is what you make it. We can choose to be happy today. Great talk!! :)
Thank you for a very insightful talk. Really appreciated and a privilege to hear.
I think he's 100% right. . .if you look to outer conditions to be happy, you're setting yourself up for unhappiness. Material possessions don't make a person happy, it's your thoughts on these possessions that make you temporarily happy, but then that doesn't last, does it. . .Isn't this what Jesus taught also?
Chris Kavanagh Jesus also was cool with thousands of people being drowned soo..
I loved his example of the second and third piece of cake.
To all those saying Jesus or God or some other mechanism is the only way out, how have you reached these conclusions? How do you know what others are saying is false? What effort have you made to verify the reality? Why do you want others to believe you if they don't want to?
What looks real to you is an illusion to others.
I believe in God (I'm muslim) but nobody can tell who's right and who's wrong... all we can do is behaving well and acknowledge the wisdom of other "ways"... and here I am, listening to a buddhist monk because I've read one of his books and I loved his teachings.
Don't pay any attention to those who criticize you for who you are... Gob bless. ;-)
Well said. Thanks
Ssookawai so true 💜❤💚💙💛
Rohit Pathak ni ko
Some religions are, by design, that way. To doubt is to commit the greatest sin, which is to not believe. It is your duty in life to save other people from the terrible fate that awaits them in life and death by not following the faith.
If you're genuinely curious to see inside the mindset of a particular religion, read their books and listen to their lectures. It's always been a fascination of mine.
thank u sir.. ur voice n speech is so great 2 me.. kindles the thought process.. worthy for having a life..understandable... my regards
THANK YOU...... FOR YOUR UNIVERSAL TRUTH.... OFFERED IN A VERY UNDERSTANDABLE MANNER.... ALOHA, TOM MORELLI
應如是生清淨心，不應住色生心，不應住聲香味觸法生心，應無所住而生其心。
sir , extremely beautiful video , ragards from india ..
regards
Amazing.. Really true..hit bulls eye
"Our control of the outer world is limited, temporary, and often illusory." Such a powerful statement. - Posted via Vusay.com
Haluk Hocadan gelenler😍
I want to do a ted talk. I got a lot to share on self acceptance.
+backslash75 I need to learn about that... would you teach me? pedrobetterman@gmail.com
self acceptance in what sense? being whom you truly are? accepting your place in this world?
Sorry if this seems abit egoistic but most of the people that talk about self acceptance only scrape the barrel of actual term behind it.
🙏🏻❤️- Thank you very much 💐
14 minutes into and I am bored senseless. This guy puts me to sleep. I am completely missing his point because of it. I may be the only one who feels this way since this made a best list.
What is the internal antidote to the nightmare of being blood-sucked to death by $150,000 in un-payable, unforgivable student loan debt?
Gratitude for everything in your life. Keep in mind all of the positive things in your life right now.
treat the loan as a life mortgage.. i also have a student loan, but money is the last thing on my mind.. before we pay the loan we have to gain acceptance..
we have a mortgage on our souls and if we don't seek deliverance from 'debt', by determinedly choosing to do god's will (not the bible's written word, more like a recognition that we are a fellowship under one source/god) then we're not thinking about the bigger picture (nirvana, inspiration, peace of mind) and only worrying about money.. give all you can, and just give up looking at the debt as a weight on your shoulders x
that might not help so i will tell you what helped me in short (the starting point to my true search for health and happiness) youtube:
Dr Hew Len (interview 1 of 9)
Don't ruminate over it and obsessively worry when there's nothing you can do. Much easier said than done, of course, but the principle is solid. Essentially we need way more powerful and easier technologies than 2000 year old meditation practices to do this.
If I may ask, how did you accumulate $150,000 in student loan debt? PhD?
Capitalism is a crime. Every child born this very second in the US already owes the government over $100,000. What's wrong with that picture? The money system and federal reserve is a crime that too many people just accept.
*sigh* the comments on TED talks on RUclips are like listening to the chatter at $2.00 at the Opera.
thanks for these teachings
Absolutely right,you should not ignore emotions ever,respect and love it as you would the feeling of joy,for we are every possible feeling and all possibility. If something is not loved,you deny that it is part of you.
The captions on this video...
Ha!
Like the " I just wrote an essay on my penis and there was a lot of controversy..." at 1:49.
Brittany Randall Lol thank you now I've managed to find some happiness in this video ;) My happiness involves a childish sense of humor and a lot of laughter.. because life is absurd.
I can inform you that it's a lot better now (well not as funny I guess) 4 years later :)
The Speech was powerful...
The only thing is that draws my attention away is that saliva/spittle/slobber sound (I'm Dutch, I don't know what the usual word is, we call it "smakken")
Happiness is a habit, cultivate it ✨
Love this man!(The Buddhist monk.)
I applaud his efforts to relieve suffering. However, maybe we are living in a deterministic universe, where free will is an illusion?
Who says that we are not predetermined to become happy? Our species has already advanced so much in every other way, and we are starting to make inroads here as well.
+valar Happiness is a vague term. What do you mean by it?
*****
Not being under the dominance of negative emotions like fear, anger, perpetual sadness, jealously, greed etc. that constantly have a stranglehold on many of our minds and prevent us from feeling joy at just being alive and having the space in our minds to feel compassion for people who are suffering, and to help them.
Thank you. That is a complete answer.
*****
I've suffered a great deal, but also had access to a great deal of help and wisdom, so I've had a lot of time and the resources to think about this :) Many people are not so fortunate.