True Happiness

Uncover the Roots of Happiness with Pema Chödrön

Happiness is your birthright, readily available at any moment, teaches Pema Chödrön. So why do we live in such suffering? “The potential for happiness is not based on outer things—they come and go, causing us misery,” she begins. “We’re always chasing after something, trying to avoid the difficult places. But there are a lot of small sweetnesses that we ignore because they’re so fleeting.” On True Happiness, the bestselling author and teacher guides you through the practices to help you recognize and nurture those moments of delight, cultivating them until they become more and more frequent and accessible as a constant influence on our lives.

Soften Into the Deepest Place of Joy

At the root of everything is “basic goodness”—a Buddhist view that each of us is fundamentally awake and compassionate—yet we tend to look at ourselves from a place of “badness.” We spend our lives in self-doubt and confusion, attempting to be perfect and “get it right.” But life is about opening to whatever arises, including feelings of uneasiness as well as contentment and peace. Rather than asking “How can I get out of this?”—ask, “How can I stay in this moment of discomfort and begin to soften?” It is here that you will find your open heart, teaches Ani Pema. “Everyone has the longing to feel the open heart, because it is a deep happiness that can never be taken away.”

Recorded at Gampo Abbey Monastery in Nova Scotia, True Happiness guides you through seven hours of effective meditations and practices to dissolve the barriers to your heart, reconnect with the source of basic goodness, and cultivate a sense of happiness—if only to touch upon it for brief but precious moments at a time.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Lovingkindness toward yourself as an act of courage
• Metta meditation for cultivating happiness
• How to develop a strong determination to dissolve habits that block your innate wisdom
• Creating the causes and conditions for habits to dissolve, confusion to disappear, and happiness to arise
• Choosing an outlook that supports your happiness
• The three levels of courage
• The Four R’s—Recognition, Refrain, Remedial Action, and Resolve—and how to use these tools for awakening