Happiness has always been a desirable goal throughout our lives, but each actions we take might just affect the happiness of others. When humans seek happiness, we always seek for things that make us feel alive, or things that brings us the greatest comfort. Our contentment comes with the act of selfishness since we choose to prioritize our happiness above all other. We willingly classify happiness in two different types of meaning, both physical and mental happiness. People ought not be in title to happiness because it is classified in general as a physical desire by many people. Contentment is always known to be a physical satisfaction in life instead of a self-inducing satisfaction for life.
Humans constantly yearn for a great and fulfilling
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life, so we seek the things that would bring the most happiness to our wellbeing. C.S. Lewis has a profound meaning to happiness in her article “We Have No Right to Happiness” when she states that “’happiness,’ means simply and solely sexual happiness” (Lewis 229). Pleasure should not be achieved because our self-happiness will lead to the dissatisfaction of others. Our joy is entitled to us whereas, our nature is to be self-sufficient. Our sexuality more impact on the joys of life and has a lot to do with our needs to accomplish our goals of being materialistic. Physical endorsements can lead to more than self-satisfactions; it can also lead to an unhealthy contentment. Lewis makes a believable statement that the right to happiness is an urge for sexual impulses that may not only be the problem (Lewis 231). The wants us to see that if we are to go on our impulses without think first, we may as well be thinking of happiness with no goals. Majority of the time when pleasure is implied, it is also implied to certain people only. Some people do no benefit from a one-sided serenity subsequently due to another person’s materialistic wants. Our happiness may also affect other people’s joy in society as well. As we search in our lives for a greater advancement in life, we often stumble on our own instincts as men. Lewis states that the instinct of individual men that will claimed to be of happiness will soon erase the progress that we as a society has built (Lewis 213). It is agreeable to what Lewis intended, she meant that if society were to continue to their advancement of impulses, the morality that we have built in society would have no meaning. The pursuit of happiness would have no meaning other than to pursuit what feels good or what is justified as feeling right. Without striving to a specified goal, we cannot achieve such happiness in our lives other than a selfish need, nevermore, happiness can be distinguishable in the pursuit of happiness. Specified goals in happiness lead us to a few ideologies that are acceptable by my preferences of Lewis’ work. After the reading, Clare mentioned that happiness is something that everyone is entitled to (Clare and Lewis 228). It is agreeable that we are entitled to the things life brings us. The joy that comes with desires that we all want to fulfill. The only sequence to this meaning that does not appeal to my thoughts of happiness in overall is the desire to want everything. There are simply other ways to describe happiness other than how Clare describes joy as a must have for everyone. It is better to pursuit life without thinking about the pursuit of happiness. Our enjoyment is always seen in situations as several physical necessities for our daily lives when our joy should be contentment in what we have.
The Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler in “The Source of Happiness” shows that “One method is obtaining everything that we want and desire-all the money, houses, and cars; the perfect mate and the perfect body.” (Dalai Lama and Cutler 27). The Dalai Lama gave an example to how people choose to find happiness in the world and believes how pretentious these ideas can be. If a person cannot be satisfied with what they have then it allow for there to be a flaw in that person’s life. The Dalai Lama wanted us to understand that the desires that we have may just be something temporary and wants us to reanalyze what happiness is for us instead of looking for the answers in many things we see each day. Dalai Lama’s words can be inspected when he states that this way of life is flawed, due to the fact that desires can grow until it reaches a point where we cannot fulfill it no more (Dalai lama and Cutler 27). When it comes to the Dalai Lama, his answer to this was understanding that there is more than one way to live a materialistic life. Happiness itself is a goal which we should not achieve because eventually we all will lose our sense of satisfaction over these temporary things. In life, it is impossible to not long for what we want, but to enjoy what we have is a redeeming quality that Dalai Lama Mentions (Dalai Lama and Cutler 27).
Happiness in general is something we perceive in our minds, what we think is good or bad. Finding a way to make ourselves contempt with the things we have and to understand that our state of mind only limits us to what we believe happiness maybe. If we believe that happiness is something that can be obtained through physical desires, then it will not last long. Although, if we believe contentment it is achievable through our minds, then it is possible. Cutler believes that “our moment to moment happiness is determine largely at the outlook” (Dalai Lama and Cutler 23). The state of mind is the most important in defining the understanding of temporary and eternal happiness. This all has to do with how we decide to think in life and how it impacts us in great lengths is the most awe inspiring feeling we get when we understand life through a mental perspective. When we see that we need something, we often think of it as a want instead of a need. Our happiness sometimes drives us into complicated decisions that could have been avoided. Yet the craving for a physical want is greater when one cannot differentiate true happiness to substantial happiness. Cutler makes a true statement when we compare our current situation to the past and find out that we are doing even better than we did back then, we tend to find joy in ourselves (Dalai Lama and Cutler 23). This is clearly happiness achieved through both hard work and self-contentment. However, coming to an understanding that thinking positively has greater effect than anything that can be achieved. It was not the situation that made him happier, it was the mindset that made the differences. It depends on how the person takes the subject into retrospective.
In Dalai Lama’s piece, “The Ethic of Compassion”, he argues compassion is the key to life and happiness. Lama explains the meaning of compassion and ways to achieve it. Throughout his piece he rebuttals several different counter arguments. Lama is able to argue compassion is a responsibility to all, not just those we are close to and explains why it should be used in our professional and personal lives.
Before we look into specifics, we’ll examine the history and development of “happiness” as a philosophy. Of course, the emotion of happiness has always existed, but it began to be seriously contemplated around 2,500 years ago by philosophers like Confucius, Buddha, Socrates and Aristotle. Shortly after Buddha taught his followers his Noble Eight Fold Path (which we will talk about later), Aristotle was teaching that happiness is “dependent on the individual” (Aristotle).
Many of us have often wondered if we have a moral obligation to help others we don’t know. The term moral obligation has multiple meanings but it is often referred as a belief that an act is one prescribed by a person’s principle and set of values. In the reading “The Ethic of Compassion” by the Dalai Lama, the author’s argument is about the importance of cultivating not only love but, also compassion. It is said that in terms of empathy we are able to share others suffering. This is something that just occurs naturally from our own instincts. When we enhance our sensitivity towards others it is believed that we can extend our compassion to the point where an individual feels responsibility towards other people. This causes the person to help
Ashley Janowiak Human Happiness and External goods Happiness is a goal every human pursues, yet the ways in which it is pursued differs amongst people. Some believe prosperity will bring them happiness. Others believe material, power, fame, success, or love will bring them happiness. No matter what one believes is the right way to conquer this goal, every person will take their own unique path in an attempt to find it. But what is happiness like?
The Dalai Lama and John Paul II acknowledge that all people, regardless of religious background (or lack thereof), long for happiness in life, and in some cases, after life as well. They also agree that happiness is not found in material possessions or progress. The Dalai Lama conveys this through his observation that “materially developed countries…are
Happiness is something most humans value above everything else. The various things in life that make us happy, such as family, friends, and cool cars, to name a few, are the very things we hold dearest to us and place the most value on. People fill their lives with things that please them to ease the gloom that comes as a result of the seemingly never-ending trials and tribulations of life. We gladly accept any amount of pleasure we can extract from the monotony of our daily lives, and we will do almost anything to achieve happiness.
Buddhism supplies adherents with a form of spiritual guidance and the correct moral conduct through the scriptures and spiritual practices. These practices a significant impact on the adherents life by the leading of the XIV Dalai Lama strengthening the buddhist community. Currently one of the most influential individuals in today’s society, mainly known for advocating peace through central buddhist teachings of ‘The Three Jewels’ , ‘The five precepts’ and ‘Eightfold Path’. These teachings have spread buddhism to adherents and non-adherents in the western world providing a unique view on the widely discussed bioethics of euthanasia and abortion. The practice of Temple Puja encourages the everyday involvement of the buddhist teachings in an
Dalai Lama’s The Book of Joy with Desmond Tutu and Douglas Abrams. Lama is going to give his the main three lessons from The Book of Joy: Joy, Acceptance, and 8 Pillars of Joy.
“Because one believes in oneself, one doesn't try to convince others. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn't need others' approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her.” —Lao Tzu. Lao Tzu, the author of Tao Te Ching, tells the importance of contentment, which changes the way people look toward the world, and happiness comes upon with satisfaction. Dictionary explains that contentment means satisfaction. The verb tense of contentment, content, tells that this word means “mentally or emotionally satisfied with things as they are” (Dictionary.com). All lives go through low ebb, no one roses all the way, and all have to accept and look forward to tomorrow, but not entangling with what happened yesterday. Thinking about what you have, but not what you do not have, and take pleasure about it, means contentment. No matter what
In the lecture, the Dalai Lama speaks simply and powerfully about the desire of all people to secure happiness. He talks about how this goal can be achieved, with time and effort, by understanding and curbing our desires for material things, by recognizing the essential equality of human nature and human desires. We all must practice more
The Dalai Lama Ava Nayar Religion Task Mrs Kimble Introduction The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, describes himself as a simple monk, yet is perceived as the spiritual leader of Tibet. Tibet is located to the south-west of China, also bordering India, Nepal, Burma and Bhutan. The Dalai Lama was situated in strict seclusion in Tibet from the time he was two years old, only communicating with his immediate family and treated as a virtual prisoner.
Happiness is an inner state of well-being and fulfilment, and therefore it has to come from inside. Every individual has his or her own emotions and way of thinking and as a result of this no one can really say what happiness is and what happiness is not. However, universally, happiness is a by-product of a healthy attitude and viewpoint. Happiness exists in everyone whether they choose to acknowledge and believe it or not. It is not rare nor is it something only the elite have: everyone has it but not everyone recognizes it. Contentment is finding a light at the end of every dark tunnel and in order to experience this we must ignore the pessimism surrounding us and remind ourselves that happiness is not a materialistic object but a choice and frame of mind.
Happiness is a feeling that humans naturally desire. Without it, one feels incomplete. In this generation, happiness has taken on a definition by how we are presented to one another. It is measured by how much money we have, how famous we are, or the things we possess. When in reality, none of these things guarantee a happy life. Happiness is something that cannot be bought with money, but rather, it must be found, earned, sought after. Each and every one of us has our own list of things that we consider to make us happy. However, happiness shines brightest through the relationships we create, and the goals we make for ourselves to strive after. Along with these two essential sources, we then can mix and match those things in life that we enjoy to create our own unique formula for happiness.
What exactly is happiness anyway? Happiness is when you feel complete and satisfied. It is when you’re content with where you are and what you have. It is the joy of doing something you love, or spending time with someone you love. It is an emotion and the best one yet. Money can easily make a person temporarily happy with the possessions it can buy, but true happiness is more than that. People can have everything material wise and still not be happy. Sure it can buy you many things, but the happiness from it is only temporary and limited. There’s only so much happiness you can buy with money. Money can easily buy you food, a clock, a house, education, make-up or medication; however it can’t buy you nutrition, time, a home, knowledge, beauty or health. It can buy you infatuation, but not love, acquaintances but not friendship and hierarchy but not respect. People spend their entire lives trying to make more and more money thinking that it means success. They neglect family and friends, don’t care about who they take down to reach their ...
But in this debate, one question still raises its head - What is happiness? Happiness is not actually leading a luxurious life, but the luxury of living a life. Happiness is not actually about expanding your business, but it lies in expanding the horizons of life. Happiness is not having a meal in the most famous restaurant, but having it with your most beloved family. It does not lie in attending honorable parties, but to attend a party with honor.