<p>Who is the author of Happiness?</p>

<p>Matthieu Ricard is the author of Happiness.</p>

Psychology

Happiness Book Summary - Happiness Book explained in key points

Listen to the Intro

00:00

Happiness summary

Name: Happiness
Rating: 4.4 (219 reviews)
Author: Matthieu Ricard

Matthieu Ricard

A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill

4.4 (219 ratings)

16 mins

Brief summary

Happiness by Matthieu Ricard is a guide to reaching inner joy and peace through meditation, mindfulness, and positive thinking. It discusses the science of happiness and offers practical exercises to cultivate positive emotions and improve overall well-being.

Topics

Happy

Table of Contents

Happiness
Summary of 8 key ideas

Audio & text in the Blinkist app

Key idea 1 of 8

What’s in it for me? Banish negativity and suffering from your mind forever.

The key to happiness is something that we all wish to possess. If you doubt that, just consider how many tons of books about happiness burden shelves worldwide.

And yet, so many of these books fail to teach you one crucial element: you can’t become happy through external things like success or wealth. It’s only by looking inside yourself that you can find real joy. These blinks, based on the thinking of a highly influential Buddhist monk and philosopher, show you how to do this, providing the basics you need to attain true happiness.

In these blinks, you will learn

why fleeting pleasure will ultimately lead to pain;
what the hedonistic treadmill is; and
why you are not one but two entities.

Real happiness is a long-term mental state we have to consciously work toward.

Are you happy? Interestingly, how you answer that question might depend on where you’re from. There’s a wide gap between the Western conception of happiness and the Buddhist idea of true, long-lasting happiness.

Many Westerners think of happiness as a momentary, fleeting feeling. The intensity and duration depend on circumstances outside their control. A Westerner might feel happy about passing an exam, for instance, or winning a game or having a pleasant encounter with someone.

Happiness, however, shouldn’t be limited to such fleeting moments. Real, profound happiness is something more: it comes with having a healthy state of mind.

That means cultivating a mental state unburdened by memories and future plans. The only thing that matters is what’s happening now: the present. So the key to leading a happy and fulfilling life is being at peace with the present.

This approach to happiness mirrors Buddhist thought, which holds that one can attain a state of profound and sustained well-being when freed of negative emotions. Buddhists denote this state with a Sanskrit word: sukha.

Happiness is something that can be cultivated, but you do have work at it. Studies have shown that about 25 percent of our potential for happiness is defined by our genes – but that means 75 percent is up to us!

So you have a lot of power over your happiness. The way you think, live and perceive the world around you has a major impact on your mental well-being.

All in all, happiness is a matter of interpretation. It may be very difficult to change the world, but changing how you interpret it is manageable.

Seek happiness within yourself, not from the outside world.

You can’t buy happiness. In fact, external factors in general have a limited impact on happiness. Wealth and social status do have some effect on your happiness, but they only account for about 10 to 15 percent of it.

Happiness would be out of reach if it was purely an external phenomenon. After all, our desires know no limits; the amount of control we have over the world, in contrast, is very limited.

Happiness is not the same thing as pleasure.

Before you can achieve true happiness, you have to understand what it is – and then pinpoint those things that encourage it. But many people start down the wrong path, confusing happiness with other enjoyable emotions, like pleasure.

Pleasure might seem like the fastest and easiest road to happiness, but, sooner or later, you’ll come to a dead end. Pleasure is momentary by nature: it occurs under certain circumstances at a certain time.

Happiness isn’t about avoiding suffering. It’s about freeing yourself from worries about life.

In developed countries, about three-quarters of people claim to be satisfied with their quality of life. And yet, levels of unhappiness remain high. Why is this?

The answer has to do with the way people understand what happiness is. A lot of people think happiness is just a momentary respite from suffering. They might feel happy on the weekend because they don’t have to work, for example.

The ego is the true source of suffering and conflicted emotion.

Have you ever felt like everyone around you was self-centered or self-absorbed? Most people put themselves before all else. Buddhism, however, sees such egotism as a source of misery.

The ego causes a lot of problems and conflict with personal identity. To sort this out, Buddhism distinguishes between two “I”s: the natural, instinctive “I” we use when we say “I’m hungry” and the conceptual “I” we imagine but that doesn’t actually exist.

Free yourself from your own ego.

The concepts of identity and status are closely connected to unhappiness. That’s why it’s imperative to detach from your ego.

A person who clings to a specific self-image will do anything to make sure that that image is recognized and accepted. Such a person will devote all their time and energy to seeking validation. Ever worked with someone who spends more time smiling and cracking jokes than doing actual work? Such people are usually overly invested in having their identity praised and accepted.

Your thoughts and emotions can be your worst enemies.

Thoughts and emotions can be your best friends – but they can also be your worst enemies.

The main sources of pain in our lives often aren’t what we think they are. During war, for example, it’s been shown that depression and suicide rates actually decrease. The most powerful causes of distress are elsewhere. But where?

Examine your negative thoughts and emotions so you can overcome them and achieve inner peace.

If you don’t control your own emotions, they might end up controlling you. How can you prevent this?

Buddhism holds that opposite emotions cannot arise at the same instant. We might fluctuate between love and hate, for example, but it’s impossible to feel both for the same person at the same time.

Want to see all full key ideas from Happiness?

Key ideas in Happiness

More knowledge in less time

Read or listen

Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.

Find your next read

Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.

Shortcasts ^New

We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.

What is Happiness about?

Happiness (2007) guides you toward a state of true happiness. Many people today falsely believe that happiness comes from ephemeral things like money or fame, but truly long-lasting and profound happiness stems from maintaining a higher sense of well-being. And these blinks will help you do exactly that.

Happiness Review

Happiness (2006) by Matthieu Ricard is a thought-provoking exploration of what it means to truly be happy. Here's why this book is worth reading:

It provides a scientifically-backed framework for cultivating happiness, offering practical steps to apply in daily life.
Through philosophical insights and personal anecdotes, the book presents a holistic approach to happiness that goes beyond material wealth.
Ricard's expertise as a Buddhist monk and trained scientist adds depth and credibility to his arguments, making the book both enlightening and trustworthy.

Who should read Happiness?

Aspiring and practicing Buddhists
Anyone interested in psychology
Those wanting to lead a happier life

About the Author

Matthieu Ricard gave up a career in cellular genetics so that he could move to the Himalayas and become a Buddhist monk. He’s been a close assistant to the Dalai Lama for about 40 years and has written several bestsellers, including Happiness, Why Meditate?, and The Monk and the Philosopher.

Categories with Happiness

Psychology Mindfulness & Happiness

Book summaries like Happiness

Hardwiring Happiness

Rick Hanson

The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence

18 min

4.4

Savor

Thich Nhat Hanh and Lilian Cheung

Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain

21 min

4.2

7 Strategies for Wealth and Happiness

Jim Rohn

Power Ideas from America's Foremost Business Philosopher

20 min

4.4

The Art of Communicating

Thich Nhat Hanh

The fascination of mindfulness in our daily lives

The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire

The New Psychology of Success

How the Food Giants Hooked Us

19 min

4.2

The Art of Simple Living

Shunmyo Masuno

100 Daily Practices from a Japanese Zen Monk for a Lifetime of Calm and Joy

An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

Sharpen Your Message and Make Your Words Matter

16 min

4.3

The Book of Joy

Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu

Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

A Handbook for Living

Simple Truths for Our Complex Lives

17 min

4.1

The Science of Rapid Skill Acquisition

Peter Hollins

Advanced Methods to Learn, Remember, and Master New Skills and Information

16 min

4.2

I Know What to Do So Why Don't I Do It?

Nick Hall

The New Science of Self-Discipline

The secrets of 40 millionaires' wealth, revealed

15 min

4.4

The End of Alzheimer's Program

Dale Bredesen

The First Protocol to Enhance Cognition and Reverse Decline at Any Age

21 min

4.3

The Power of Self-Confidence

Brian Tracy

Become Unstoppable, Irresistible, and Unafraid in Every Area of Your Life

20 min

4.4

Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus

Nabeel Qureshi

A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity

19 min

4.1

Life in Three Dimensions

Shigehiro Oishi

How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life

21 min

4.5

Breaking Up With Sugar

Molly Carmel

A Plan to Divorce the Diets, Drop the Pounds and Live Your Best Life

Navigate Earth, Mind and Body. Step by Step

16 min

4.2

This Is Your Brain on Food

Uma Naidoo

A Guide to the Foods that Fight Depression, Anxiety, and More

17 min

4.4

The Way of the Superior Man

David Deida

A Spiritual Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Women, Work, and Sexual Desire

16 min

3.9

The Practicing Happiness Workbook

Ruth Baer

How Mindfulness Can Free You from the Four Psychological Traps That Keep You Stressed, Anxious, and Depressed

On Tempo, Culture, And The Pace Of Life

Self-Acceptance for Self-Critics and Perfectionists

17 min

4.3

The 5 Types of Wealth

Sahil Bloom

A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life

Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World

19 min

4.7

The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey

Kenneth H. Blanchard

Don’t Take On the Problem if the Problem Isn’t Yours. That Monkey Doesn’t Belong to You!

A Guide to Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt

Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations

18 min

4.3

What We Say Matters

Judith Hanson Lasater and Ike K. Lasater

Practicing Nonviolent Communication

Rest More, Stress Less, and Live the Life You Actually Want

17 min

How the World Eats

Julian Baggini

A Global Food Philosophy

22 min

4.3

The Miracle of Mindfulness

Thich Nhat Hanh

An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

20 min

4.6

Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind

Shunryu Suzuki

Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice

The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

Presenting with More Stories and Less PowerPoint

22 min

4.3

21 Lessons for the 21st Century

Yuval Noah Harari

Future proof yourself against the 21st Century

20 min

4.4

The Language of Emotions

Karla McLaren

What Your Feelings Are Trying to Tell You

A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI

21 min

4.3

The Beginning of Infinity

David Deutsch

Explanations That Transform the World

20 min

4.1

The Practice of Not Thinking

Ryunosuke Koike

A Guide to Mindful Living

18 min

4.4

The Longevity Formula

Avanti Kumar-Singh

Ayurvedic Principles to Reduce Inflammation, Increase Cellular Repair, and Live with Vitality

How to Start Conversations that Get Results

5 Mindsets to Engage, Retain, and Inspire Your Team

Master the Art of Deep Conversation

17 min

4.1

What to Do When You Become the Boss

Bob Selden

How New Managers Become Successful Managers

18 min

People ❤️ Blinkist

Sven O.

It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.

Thi Viet Quynh N.

Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.

Jonathan A.

Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.

Renee D.

Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.