Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness - The Joy of Living

This is a wonderful offering by a truly wise, young teacher. I found it inspiring, affirming, encouraging and informative. We can be more open to all that presents itself in our everyday lives and find joy moment to moment. This is a great book for everyone and will be of benefit to all who read it.

Fantastic book about meditation and the power of clearing the mind for better understanding of the world. Especially useful are strategies for dealing with negative emotions and day to day annoyances. Well organized and progresses from basic physiology of the meditating brain to strategies for meditation with many variations. So far the best of 6 other books I have on meditation for self discovery and joy.

As coming from a science background, this book has been very helpful in learning how to use knowledge and science to gain an understanding of self, and what that feels like. This book is like a bridge to connect science and feelings.

This may be the clearest most readable volume written to date not only regarding meditation practices, but also how to balance one's meditation practice.

This book is accessible to beginners and an excellent summary for more advanced students. It deals with concentrative, emptiness and compassion practices. Swanson's translation is excellent.

Rinpoche's introducing some basic neuroscientific principles into his discussion is a first and a harbinger of what we will see more of in the future. I recommend The Dalai Lama's Stages of Meditation Stages of Meditation

So why only 4 stars???

The reason is this: 1.) The Buddha began his teachings with the 4 Noble Truths and the 8 Fold Path aka the Way to lay a foundation. Within The Eight Fold Path are basic ethical principles to which we should aspire. Without them our meditations, especially Dzochen can lead us into misunderstandings and misapprehensions. 2.) The Buddha introduced emptiness in the Second Turning of the Wheel of Dharma because beginners don't have the basis to understand the concepts and the teachings can be easily distorted. (I found the emptiness teachings lacking in the clarity that the rest of the book possesses.) 3.) There is no mention of analytical, reflective or contemplative meditation practices which are essential for incorporation and integration of insights. (Perhaps if this goes into another edition Rinpoche will add and subtract in that manner.)

I would recommend Ethics for the New Millennium as a foundation.

Another book the reader should consider is Real Meditation in Minutes a Day: Enhancing Your Performance, Relationships, Spirituality, and Health (This volume is directed toward beginning students and a religiously mixed audience.)

Despite the above concerns, I strongly recommend this book.

This book is definitely not for everyone as portions of the book are pretty boring... I'm a science nerd and studied quite a bit of anatomy and physiology, so I can kinda get into it... Rinpoche talks at length about neuroscience and the connection between the brain's function (how it takes in stimuli and how it process that information to create emotions) and the perception of happiness. Not very practical in daily life. For me it was enjoyable, but I can imagine it's not for everyone. If you're looking at this book to improve your perspective and increase your satisfaction, this might not be the right book for you.

For those looking for a book that is more applicable to everyday living, I would recommend The Art of Happiness by Howard Cutler & the Dalai Lama. A very enjoyable and worthwhile read.

The book is very enlightening to read. Contrary to some other Buddhism books I have read, it doesn't tell you what to believe or to convince you by citing all the supernatural power processed by Buddhism masters. Instead, the author has a unique way of using analogies, questions and reasoning to lead you to your own answer to happiness. He shared his wisdom, his practice and his own struggles without any preaching.

The book has 2 parts: 1st half on how the brain works, the nature of our mind, and how it is related to the Buddhism philosophies; 2nd half on how to meditate, and various ways and phases of meditation. Both my husband (a physicist and atheist) and I enjoyed reading the book a lot.

After reading the book, I tried meditation using the various methods mentioned in the book. I find meditating over pain or discomfort particularly helpful. Following the book's instruction, I focus on breathing, and bring my awareness to pain or discomfort. The approach seemed to stop the pain whether it was from injection or from surgery. I am not sure whether it was because the pain was temporary or my meditation indeed stopped it, but what I am sure about is that the meditation relieved me from the grip of pain and scare, calmed me down and made me feel in control. So, I am very grateful for Rinpoche's teaching.

In short, I highly recommend the book whether you are interested in Buddhism. It is enlightening and practical. I find it hugely beneficial for achieving a calm mind.

Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche shares with readers his life story starting at the age of 13 when he suffered from an extreme panic disorder. When I was 13 year old, my father was murdered by the German invaders of my hometown Chrzanów in Poland. I had my extreme panic disorder.

According to Budha, the basic nature of mind can be directly experienced by allowing the mind to rest simply as it is. "Unhappiness you feel is based on a mentally constructed image (p 122).We make our own problems seem much bigger than they really are (p 178)." I can see the benefits from meditation. However, as a captive in Nazi concentration camps, the problems were indeed bigger than the mind can imagine. How could my mind be calm when worries about my family and my own survival were at stake? How could my mind rest or function when the body was starving? The author writes, p.118: "survival requires a certain amount of physical nurturing. We need to be touched; we need to be spoken to." In camps which had been the bane of my life, where I spent three years, my school years, there was no one to touch me affectionately or to be touched by me. "Being human means having power, specifically, the power to accomplish whatever we want (P 179)." What power could I have when I was subjected to starvation, sickness, sadistic terror and systematic murder? The Nazis starved my body and kept my mind in a blind alley. I did not live; I could hardly exist; the only right I had was to die (as reflected in my autobiography From a Name to a Number)

THE JOY OF LIVING is very well written and brings freshness and clarity to meditation. The author is explaining, in an understandable vernacular how the mind works. This book is a helpful manual for those individuals who contemplate meditation as a panacea to overcome anxiety I am just wondering how I could have meditated, and how helpful could it be if I would have been able to meditate in concentrations camps. Regretfully, I found no references in the book applicable to the kind of situation I was subjected to.

Having come from much personal trauma, anxiety, panic, depression, and physical ailments, but also being of a skeptical scientific mind, I began searching philosophy for something that would answer pressing issues in my life. Being depressed about the state of my health, my past and my life in general, I picked up the book without much expectation, almost sure that I would be disappointed. I was very wrong. Instead, this book, in a brilliantly simple way, changed my life profoundly, by giving me the root answers to my problems and the tools to manage these issues. Learning about the author's own anxiety was uplifting to me as I identified. I'm not fully recovered, but I am much more advanced than I have ever been. This book put me on that path.

Update 08/08: I actually read the book in autumn 2007, writing my review in 04/08. I plan on reading the book again sometime soon to "redigest" all the information and teachings, and then posting an additional appended review. I do want to say that this is still my #1 book I recommend to others who are struggling with some kind of issue that results in a lack of happiness. In the past, I've gotten nothing from the fluffy feel-good new-agey self-help books as I am very scientific-oriented. Yongey Mingyur's text is definitely not fluffy. It's concise and mature, speaking to you as an intelligent person. I look forward to reading again and sharing more detailed thoughts.

These pages sing with wisdom from the voice of the Happy Monk as Yongey is fondly called; his humorous compassionate vignettes will also have you smiling. He is a wonderful youthful story teller for modern day using his experience about Tibetan Buddhism, science and the human condition, woven like the humble master he his with the ability to help and heal others. This book is for the practitioner and non-practitioner alike but after reading it you must practice! He busts the myths surrounding meditation from a life of having done so with a host of stops and starts and having guided others in the process He reminds one that "The expectations you bring to meditation are often the greatest obstacles you encounter"

His description of emptiness as infinite possibilities, neuronal plasticity, a process to unlearn the habit of fear and affirmation of the biological basis for kindness are just some of the realizations herein to help us live in active hopefulness. His conviction of these and many life enhancing ways are spelled out for us in almost Hemmingway simplicity such that you too will find many jewels and joy herein.

Let me end this with an ancient prayer that Yongey shares with us:

May all sentient beings have happiness
And the cause of happiness.
May all sentient beings be free
From suffering and the causes of suffering.
May all sentient being have joy and the causes of joy.
May all sentient beings remain in great equanimity,
Free from attachment and aversion.

I was very intrigued by the Author's personal childhood experience with childhood anxiety and his transformation to a healthier state of mind. While reading the book wont instantly heal others with mental illness, it does provide the methods towards healing and scientific validation that Buddhist practices are quite powerful and deserve close consideration for personal practice. Before finishing the book, I started a journal to document my own journey, and in which I wrote a statement for my objective in beginning Buddhist practice and committing to it's further study for the enrichment of my mind and freedom from my own afflictions with depression and anxiety.

I first opened this book at the bookstore and the random place I opened it to just happened to be where i was at that moment which made me smile. His message is so joyful and light yet full of true substance. Although he is young, he is incredibly wise. I usually shy from scientific thinking but he merges the upcoming (quantum) thinking with the age old wisdom seamlessly.
His ideas about cognitive change and openness to this shift in consciousness are fascinating to me...having made huge shifts and changes myself in my life, I know that the thing, the name of the thing doesn't change. The way I perceive and react to it does.
I loved this book and think everyone should read it. of course practice of meditation is also very important to find a true center and peace.

John Chancellor's review does an excellent job stating the contents of the book: http://www.the store.com/review/RXOMP3LUQQNRL/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

If you are seeking out a book on meditation and mindfulness this is the one to get. I have read numerous books on those subjects and Mingyur Rinpoche's concise instructions and explanations of meditation and mindfulness were the easiest to follow.

Too frequently authors try to portray meditation and mindfulness in a convoluted and abstract fashion, so you end up feeling completely confused when you try to put what you've read into practice. Fortunately, Rinpoche's explanations are written in layman's terms which allows for the reader to comprehend what is being said. Also, the book remains mostly secular, so it doesn't feel as though religion is pushed on you, nor do you have to adhere to some type of faith to practice the meditation techniques he teaches.

This book gave me a clear understanding of mindfulness and meditation.

I recently had the great fortune to hear Rinpoche speak and was most impressed with his humor and humility in explaining meditation. The book is a compilation of some of his talks and has the right blend of science and spirituality that will satisfy both sides. The book contains one of the best explanations of meditation I have ever come across. I would greatly recommend this book and also recomend joining a meditation group affiliated with Rinpoche. The website is [...] I believe. My copy of this book has underlined passages and flagged pages. In my opinion this is not just a book to be read once or twice, but to really be studied. I have used the techniques in this book and I am feeling better than I have in a long time. My mind feel freer and I am open to whatever life brings me, a big change from several months ago.

"The Joy of Living" reveals correlations between Buddhist philosophy and the "Western" scientific approach that are both logical and startling. Anyone who has ever experienced panic disorder or clinical depression will easily identify with Rinpoche's own struggles. Many others, in seeking a path to "realizing one's full capacity for happiness," will find genuine therapeutic value in the Buddhist "introspective or subjective" approach. Also, "The Joy of Living" is an indispensable guide to anyone who has found his own self-consciousness an obstacle to meditation. As Rinpoche explained the ins and outs of the contemplative journey, I found it revelatory to discover that even when I "failed," I was "doing it right."

And for skeptics who may doubt the scientific veracity of "the Buddhist understanding of the nature of reality," read on. "The Joy of Living" will illuminate your appreciation of the human brain as both a divine and molecular miracle.

A real jewel of love, encouragement, and support. I am very grateful that Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche has made these wisdom teachings so readily available. This deftly and succinctly written text can help you gently and confidently guide yourself in the exploration of how things are, gaining understanding of yourself and the context of life. His friendly, level-headed, non-dogmatic style, along with the wealth of straightforward, pragmatic experiential knowledge he shares in approaching and supporting this practice of discovery, can help you defuse and avoid time-consuming entanglements while establishing and nurturing a healthy voyage of existential inquiry.

This book provides some of the most clearest and accessible descriptions of meditation, awareness, consciousness, the nature of the mind, and practical application I've ever read. Buddhism in general, and meditation in particular, are much misunderstood in the West, even by longtime spiritual practitioners. The author clarifies much of th common misconceptions. He writes in a clear, light-hearted and very engaging style. I recommend this book to absolutely anyone intersted in self-cultivation, whether they follow this particular path (Tibetan Buddhism) or not. Of particular interest to those who like to bridge the gap between science and spirituality. Destined to become a classic.

Very thought-provoking. The second section, with specific suggestions for different types and techniques of meditation, has been very helpful to me in my own meditation practice. I especially liked the description of the concept of "dedicating the merit" - the aspiration that whatever psychological or emotional strength one has gathered through meditation might be passed on to others.

This is a great book for anyone interested in learning about meditation or beginning meditating. I've meditated off and on for a while, but never consistently. This book gives a lot of helpful advice on how to get around these and other obstacles to practice. One of the best points he makes is to not make it a chore, and that small periods of practice frequently is a good way to start.

The writing is very clear and easily accessible to those unfamiliar with meditation in general also. It's a good blend of basic science and eastern philosophy.

Brilliant, engaging, fun to read treatise on working with the mind, with reference to Buddhism and contemporary neurobiology. The best introductory book to both that I've read!

I recommend it to many of my psychiatry patients who are open to meditation/Buddhism, especially if anxiety is their major symptom, as Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche faced severe panic attacks as a child and cured himself through his meditative experience.

If you want to meditate, but have felt intimidated, then this is the book for you! This beautiful monk shares stories about how he struggled with meditation and anxiety. Reading his story is inspirational and will likely help you feel not so alone in your struggles with meditation. The Rinpoche weaves Buddhist philosophy with neuroscience and quantum physics in a way that is easy to understand.

Yongey Mingyur also explains many different types of meditation in a way that helps reduce the intimidation factor. I am certain that you can connect with one of the types of meditation he teaches to get you started.

Happiness is a product of the mind and depends on how mindful we are. If we are unaware then we fall victim to all the patterns of negative emotional reactivity that keep us confined within our suffering and inner conflict. The path of mindfulness is central to all the Buddha's teachings as explained in this excellent book. I also recommend 'The Path of Mindfulness Meditation' available through the store.

I have been a meditator since 1980. Many people ask me how to meditate or they tell me of their problems when they have "tried" to meditate (too many thoughts, too fidgety, couldn't concentrate, etc.). Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche has clarified it so well that from now on I'm simply going to recommend this book, The Joy of Living, to anyone wishing to learn how to meditate. I facilitate TheHappinessWorkshop (dot com) and teach Meditation 101 for beginners. I learned many new practical things from him in this excellent, clearly articulate and easy to understand book. I HIGHLY recommend it.

This book is a amazing mix of science and Buddhism that you won't regret picking up. It's greatest feature is how simply Mingyur Rinpoche is able to convey the different ideas between the two and then bring them together. Investigation is a key point of Buddhist practice and for many Westerners this book will be an interesting way to investigate the validity of some claims that Buddhist teachers make about the health benefits of mindfulness meditation.

This is an amazing book giving a whole new perspective about what is the ultimate happiness and how to achieve that. The author is a true master of meditation and very knowledgeable about modern science. You will be surprised and fulfilled about how much you learn when you finish this book.

Simply the most accessible, least intimidating introduction to medidation ever written. Written with the spiritual layman clearly in mind without, however, dumbing down the recommended spiritual practices. Relentlessly upbeat and encouraging in tone. A must-read for anyone even remotely interested in practical, effective spiritual proactices regardless of readers' respective religious denominations or lack thereof. An amazing, long overdue book.

I dedicated a lot of years searching for the Truth and enlightenment. I red almost all books about buddhist and indian meditation. I started on my own and then I moved to Rochester, NY just to join the Zen center there to be under the supervision of a teacher. It was a good experience, but enlightenment eluded me.
I discovered that there is no such thing called enlightenment. There is no super mental powers or concentration, no transcending the physical world to the metaphysical. we are bound by our predetermined forms of our mind and we can't break it to go to the out of space, time and causality.
This book teach you how to live in the present moment and see things as they realy are and out of that comes a subtle inner improvement.
This book is very simple, easy to follow, no need for teachers, no time frame, no expectations and with the least efforts. Just sit and watch your thoughts rise and fade away.
The second best book is The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, and Enlightenment which is about Zen meditation. We can see from the accounts of enlightenments that it is personal, phantasies, vague and hide behind being uncommutable. We should practice meditation without any expectation for rewards.
The core of the Enlightenment experience has been revealed in the book The Will's Harmonic Motion: The Completion of Schopenhauer's Philosophy.
I recommend "The Joy of living" as the best practical book so far in the USA because I red them all. The book doesn't promise Enlightenment because there is none. He just tell you that meditation is a way to enhance and enjoy your life. Eventhough I prefere Philosophy on Meditation, I still give this book 5 stars.
One last advice from an expert, always put you attension in the Solar Plexus while meditating thus channeling the energy from your brain to the pit of your stomach.

As a teacher of Buddhism in America, I cannot thank Rinpoche and the brilliant Eric Swanson enough for this teaching. Finally there is something students can turn to when they find it difficult to have the faith that their practice of this path can result in the happiness the Buddhia taught could be found in one's own mind. It is also wonderfully helpful for non-Buddhists who simply want some benefits from meditation.

Many many thanks for all the work that went into the writing of this book and for all the wisdom it contains.

A great easy to understand book on the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism's exploration of the mind in terms of this lineage's teachings while blending in Western science similar to a book I once read by the Dalai Lama which spoke generally about Buddhist belief and science.

This book was the first book where meditation actually clicked in my head. I've been meditating off and on for 2 years based on what I learned in this book. If you want a clear and down-to-earth introduction to meditation and Buddhist concepts, I highly recommend this book.

As a Tibetan myself, I see Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche with utmost respect solely based on his mastery over meditational techniques and his ability to see our world from wide angle lens. This book is a union of Buddhist philosophy and western science. It is primarily catered to western readers but also open to anyone with a clear mind. I highly recommend this book mostly for its content (and little for a great respect I have for Rinpoche).

Yongey Mingur Rinpoche speaks in a clear, brilliantly simple and profound voice, that of a great teacher. One can understand the causes of suffering and through resting with meditation alleviate suffering for all beings. The noun and verb of "mind" melts as we experience the largeness of life. This is perhaps the best book I've read on this topic.
Gassho and Shalom,
Kenshin - a meditation teacher

I initially checked this book out of my local library on a whim, and it was fantastic! Every page contains gems that require you to just put the book down for a while and mull them over. When I had to return the book to the library, I was so disappointed that I went ahead and purchased a copy for future reference. I feel that I could read this again and again, and receive new insight every time.