The Buddhist approach to happiness

A partial recording of a talk given at the MacBuddhi Buddhist students' group at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia on June 10, 2015.

  • There are values shared by all religions that are essential to human beings
  • The Buddhist path is not a path of worship but of reasoning and experience, looking at what works to have a happy and peaceful life
  • We live our lives as if we are the most important and our happiness is most important
  • What we focus on determines our experience
  • The outlook on life based on I, me and mine doesn’t lead to happiness, but actually leads to unhappiness

The Buddhist approach to happiness (download)

Venerable Thubten Chodron

Venerable Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners. She is well known for her warm, humorous, and lucid teachings. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1977 by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche in Dharamsala, India, and in 1986 she received bhikshuni (full) ordination in Taiwan. Read her full bio.