Reddit reviews The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

Did a lot of soul search in the last two years. In terms of life purpose two books totally changed my life The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu and The Gratitude Diaries. The first was life changing and inspiring looking at how people can thrive, love, and find happiness even during the worst of times (the invasion of Tibet, apartheid in South Africa). The second was on practical application of gratitude and moving away from materialism in an everyday manner.

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Most impactful quote for me is from my grandfather: "Anything more than $10 is expensive, for once I prayed for even a grain of rice."

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My grandfather grew up on a farm in southern China, during the Japanese occupation most of his village starved. He then studied incredibly hard and got into law school only to be thrown in a labor camp during the Communist revolution. His daily allotment of food a the camp was a bowl of rice. Later he and my grandmother escaped to Hong Kong where he worked as an A/C salesman and become a manager. But, when they moved to America he spoke no english and had to start over as a dishwasher. He's a guy that knows the value of every dollar and have saved his entire life - my grandfather and grandmother retired with $1M+ in savings and a pension.

Here it is:

The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World (9780399185045): Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Douglas Carlton Abrams: Books

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0399185046/

OMGGGG I knoowwww. I'm 6DPO and feeling like I've been waiting since 'Nam.

I like your reading choices, though. I'm about to crack open "The Book of Joy."

Secular Buddhism is the core beliefs of Buddhism that are backed by science, and not any of the 'woo' like reincarnation, karma, etc that there is no evidence for. For me personally, I've been coming around to believe in at least some of the basics, like the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path.

I was drawn towards Buddhism even back when I was still a Christian because a teacher introduced me to yoga and meditation. I ended up taking a yoga class for a semester at my university and always felt a peace there that was deeper and more real than christianity's "a peace that surpasses all understanding". I went through a really rough semester after that (repressed memories from my parents' divorce and subsequent fighting when I was very young) and meditation was the only thing I found that could help me feel ok with any of it. I kinda dropped it after a while, but picked meditation back up about 4 months ago, along with reading a lot more about the core beliefs of Buddhism.

The book I started with (and you'll have to forgive the intentionally inflammatory title) is called Why Buddhism is True by Robert Wright. The book outlines how recent findings in the fields of psychology, evolutionary biology, and neuroscience back up some of the Buddhist claims about suffering and its source. It also covers in great detail the potential benefits of a regular meditation practice.

For Christmas, my wife got me a book called The Book of Joy, which is a week-long dialogue/Q&A between the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu of South Africa about how to live a joyful life. It's not really about Buddhism per se, but the Dalai Lama has a lot of great answers that are informed by his worldview.

The most recent book that I have been reading are The Issue at hand, which can be downloaded as a pdf for free here. This book is a collection of essays put together by the Insight Meditation Center (which also happens to be where Robert Wright from the book above went on a retreat) about the basics of Buddhism.

Sorry this is kinda lengthy, and potentially vague - I'm writing this while I have my morning coffee. If you're interested in hearing more or have any questions, I'm an open book!

Well said, I agree with everything you say.


It irritates me that they use it and that I too, would once upon a time pull out my phone as well. Like you say I try not to blame them for it or bug them about it, nor do I dwell on it. I accept it and try to work around it. I’ve been reading and listening to audiobooks about acceptance, compassion and forgiveness and it’s really made me appreciate others. I’ve grown fond of The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World. I’ve always been kind-hearted to others, but I really took this (audio) book to heart and it’s really helped.

I still mindlessly browse the web neglecting my end term paper, but I’ve slowly picked up the piano and some meditation and yoga (despite being shit at it). When it comes to socializing with others though they are given my full attention, I usually leave my phone on night mode and I’ll only hear the phone ringing or buzzing if a relative or close friends calls. Text messages and email is always silent, but I want to hear the phone ringing in case something has happened (like you I don’t have any social media).

Autogenerated.

[Senior, read over a year ago] I have read some introductory books on Buddhist Philosophy: The Book of Joy, Monk and the Philosopher and Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill. AMA.

I'm not religious and I read these books to get a glimpse of Buddhist philosophy and understand how they see life. I guess I've been searching my self in these books. I'm NOT an expert but these books have affected my life to this day (read them about a year ago).

Since then, I have read books like Man's Search For Meaning and Destructive Emotions.

I'll try my best to answer any question, but I don't mind if other "seniors" will answer as well! That would make the discussion much richer actually.

Books in question:
The Book of Joy (https://www.amazon.com/Book-Joy-Lasting-Happiness-Changing/dp/0399185046)
The Monk and the Philosopher (https://www.amazon.com/Monk-Philosopher-Father-Discuss-Meaning-ebook/dp/B004KABESI/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1523017368&sr=1-1&keywords=monk+and+the+philosopher)
Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill (https://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Guide-Developing-Lifes-Important/dp/0316167258)


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Comment 1 of 1
Updated at 2018-04-07 08:34:24.559618

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I lost my 7 month old puppy in a horrible accident last month. I was a wreck for days and, to some degree, still am.

The thing that brought me the most comfort was knowing she wasn’t in pain anymore and that it was just the living, my boyfriend and I, who were suffering and going to miss her. Also, that if we’re lucky, our dogs always die before we do and that’s an incredible gift we give them - that they don’t need to live in a world without us, but that we need to learn to live without them.

I started reading The Book of Joy as well. It explore how we can lead a joyful life when there’s so much pain in our lives and in the world. It has help given me some good life perspective in the most difficult experience of my life.

Please know I see and feel your pain. You’re not alone.

http://theforgivenessproject.com/stories/linda-biehl-easy-nofemela-south-africa/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/love-thy-neighbor-sons-killer-moves-next-door/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/25/interview-samereh-alinejad-iranian-mother-spared-sons-killer

I couldn't find the one I was looking for. Its in this book.

Empathy and forgiveness do have no bounds. And your analogy doesn't really work either...