Living Clarity Kadampa Buddhism

If we ask what is happiness we find people have many different ideas and it is difficult to say clearly what the experience of happiness really is. Buddha said that our normal experience of happiness is simply a reduction of our previous suffering and that is not good enough. He encouraged us to look further and find the source of genuine happiness in the mind, especially through the mind of love. This teaching is based on the instruction given in the book How to Transform Your Life by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.

If we ask what is happiness we find people have many different ideas and it is difficult to say clearly what the experience of happiness really is. Buddha said that our normal experience of happiness is simply a reduction of our previous suffering and that is not good enough. He encouraged us to look further and find the source of genuine happiness in the mind, especially through the mind of love. This teaching is based on the instruction given in the book How to Transform Your Life by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.

The intention we have in our heart is what we follow, so setting our positive determinations in meditation allows us to keep our mind in a positive state throughout the day. In this podcast Kadam Bridget explains the importance of learning to meditate on a determination and how to train in doing this. More information on how to meditate can be found in The New Meditation Handbook

In this podcast we contemplate that since we do not exist objectively we have the extraordinary opportunity for change and growth. This is the best news – change your mind, change your world. If we then go on to contemplate the constantly changing experiences of all living beings we develop profound compassion for them. This is an extract from a talk given by Kadam Morten at KMC New York City.

If we watch our thoughts we may find that we often wish that things were other than they are and this brings continuous dissatisfaction and unhappiness. The practice of patient acceptance solves all the problems associated with this discontented mind. Gen Devi shows how to develop acceptance through finding another way to respond to painful feelings so that they do not trigger a habitual but unhelpful response. This is an extract from a talk given at KMC Switzerland and is based on the book How to Solve our Human Problems by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.

Gen Demo suggests we can use our ability to watch and size-up other people to improve our own happiness. We can learn to be an observer and scientist investigating our states of mind and seeing what experiences they lead to. She encourages us to really investigate how our way of thinking about things influences our experiences and then asking what if I thought differently? This perspective not only opens the door to self-improvement but also highlights the power of mindset in shaping our happiness. This extract is taken from a talk given by Gen Kelsang Demo Resident Teacher at KMC DC. It is based on the book How to Transform Your Life by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.