Beyond Happiness
The Zen Way to True Contentment
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
A Zen teacher explains that true happiness can only be found by dropping our ideas about happiness—and learning to live fully and fearlessly in the moment
Many books have been published in recent years on happiness. Ezra Bayda, a remarkably down-to-earth Zen teacher, believes that the happiness “boom” has been largely a bust for readers. Why? Because it's precisely the pursuit of happiness that keeps us trapped in cycles of dissatisfaction and suffering.
In Beyond Happiness, Bayda draws on Zen teachings to question our conventional notions about what happiness is and where we can find it. Most of us seek happiness in things that are external to us. We imagine that getting more money, a better relationship, or going on a nice vacation will finally make us happy. But Bayda shows us that the deepest and most lasting form of happiness does not rely on external circumstance at all. Bayda offers Zen insights and practices that point readers toward the true sources of lasting happiness: mindfulness, compassion, gratitude, and generosity.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This gentle, introspective approach to finding happiness is based on asking three questions when confronted by life's difficulties: "Am I truly happy right now? If not, what blocks it? Can I surrender to what is?" Bayda (Zen Heart) deconstructs the usual myths about happiness as dependent on external conditions and striving even spiritual striving and provides simple practices to encourage contentment in daily life. These practices cultivate awareness of the present moment and opening the heart for individuals who aren't committed to a specific religion or spirituality. Despite the book's title and Bayda's 15 years as a Zen teacher the author mentions this tradition rarely, focusing instead on a basic Buddhist orientation to the mind, emotions, and virtues such as generosity, loving-kindness, and forgiveness. Bayda has struggled with an immune system disorder and brings compassion to the problem of finding genuine happiness. While this book would have benefitted from more concrete writing and sharper examples, it is a perceptive guide to an often discussed topic.
