Keys to Happiness

Phakchok Rinpoche offers five methods for living with more happiness, which he says are not specifically religious. He starts from the way sadness shrinks the mind, and teaches a five to ten minute exercise of imagining space in every direction around the body.

The second key is to observe how you think and react without blaming yourself. He tells of a friend who said meditation had left him with much less anger, then shouted at his wife, as an example of a blind spot. The third is compassion, illustrated by his own turn at washing dishes after criticising his attendant. The fourth is contentment and the fifth is loving-kindness towards yourself and others. He ends by suggesting each practice be discussed with family or a group.