Customer Reviews

The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness

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We often hear and talk about the different way of thinking - Eastern or Western and left brain vs right brain. But rarely do we see a work that brings it all together in easy to understand language. The Joy of Living really does a great job of explaining how the mind works and how to make the mind work for you and what you want.

"The mind is the source of all expereince, and by changing the direction of the mind, we can change the quality of everything we experience. When you transform your mind, everything you experience is transformed."

The book is divided into three parts. Part one is "The Ground". To trully understand the benefits of meditation, you need to understand how the mind works and what we need to do to make it work for us. Here Yongey goes into great detail to explain the different parts of the brain and their function. He also enlightens the reader with the movement of scientific research concerning the mind and how the Eastern and Western thoughs are moving toward the same goal.

Part two is The Path. Here Yongey gives detailed instructions on the various methods of meditating. His explanations are very easy to understand and follow. Unlike many books I have read on meditation, he tries to make it simple and workable. He is not so much concerned with technique as he is with results.

Part three is The Fruits. This is simply a recap of the benefits to be gained from meditation.

Even if you never plan to do any formal meditation, there is a lot to be learned from this book. Basically we grow up thinking in dualistic terms - that is self vs others, mine vs theirs, having or not having. When we think this way, we are bound by limitations. This way of thinking is a habit and habits can be changed.

There are basically two concepts that cause the majority of our problems - attachment and aversion. We become attached to the way we want things to be and have an aversion to change. The lessons about reality and preception are extremely good.

Do not expect to read this book once and become enlightened. There are many concepts that will take time to sink in and become part of your way of thinking. It is a book that will need to be studied and the concepts put into practice to give you the ultimate - The Joy of Living.

I have been a meditator since 1980. Many people ask me how to meditate or they tell me of their problems when they have "tried" to meditate (too many thoughts, too fidgety, couldn't concentrate, etc.). Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche has clarified it so well that from now on I'm simply going to recommend this book, The Joy of Living, to anyone wishing to learn how to meditate. I facilitate TheHappinessWorkshop (dot com) and teach Meditation 101 for beginners. I learned many new practical things from him in this excellent, clearly articulate and easy to understand book. I HIGHLY recommend it.

As a teacher of Buddhism in America, I cannot thank Rinpoche and the brilliant Eric Swanson enough for this teaching. Finally there is something students can turn to when they find it difficult to have the faith that their practice of this path can result in the happiness the Buddhia taught could be found in one's own mind. It is also wonderfully helpful for non-Buddhists who simply want some benefits from meditation.

Many many thanks for all the work that went into the writing of this book and for all the wisdom it contains.

Having come from much personal trauma, anxiety, panic, depression, and physical ailments, but also being of a skeptical scientific mind, I began searching philosophy for something that would answer pressing issues in my life. Being depressed about the state of my health, my past and my life in general, I picked up the book without much expectation, almost sure that I would be disappointed. I was very wrong. Instead, this book, in a brilliantly simple way, changed my life profoundly, by giving me the root answers to my problems and the tools to manage these issues. Learning about the author's own anxiety was uplifting to me as I identified. I'm not fully recovered, but I am much more advanced than I have ever been. This book put me on that path.

Update 08/08: I actually read the book in autumn 2007, writing my review in 04/08. I plan on reading the book again sometime soon to "redigest" all the information and teachings, and then posting an additional appended review. I do want to say that this is still my #1 book I recommend to others who are struggling with some kind of issue that results in a lack of happiness. In the past, I've gotten nothing from the fluffy feel-good new-agey self-help books as I am very scientific-oriented. Yongey Mingyur's text is definitely not fluffy. It's concise and mature, speaking to you as an intelligent person. I look forward to reading again and sharing more detailed thoughts.

These pages sing with wisdom from the voice of the Happy Monk as Yongey is fondly called; his humorous compassionate vignettes will also have you smiling. He is a wonderful youthful story teller for modern day using his experience about Tibetan Buddhism, science and the human condition, woven like the humble master he his with the ability to help and heal others. This book is for the practitioner and non-practitioner alike but after reading it you must practice! He busts the myths surrounding meditation from a life of having done so with a host of stops and starts and having guided others in the process He reminds one that "The expectations you bring to meditation are often the greatest obstacles you encounter"

His description of emptiness as infinite possibilities, neuronal plasticity, a process to unlearn the habit of fear and affirmation of the biological basis for kindness are just some of the realizations herein to help us live in active hopefulness. His conviction of these and many life enhancing ways are spelled out for us in almost Hemmingway simplicity such that you too will find many jewels and joy herein.

Let me end this with an ancient prayer that Yongey shares with us:

May all sentient beings have happiness
And the cause of happiness.
May all sentient beings be free
From suffering and the causes of suffering.
May all sentient being have joy and the causes of joy.
May all sentient beings remain in great equanimity,
Free from attachment and aversion.

I've been doing T.M. for fifteen years, but have been feeling in recent years that I wasn't somehow doing it "right" becuse it wasn't having the same effect it once had. I'd been keeping my eye on this book in the hope that it'd be helpful and got hold of it as soon as it was available. It's only been a few days, but I'm delighted to report that it's already proven to be reassuring, accesible and eye-opening. I feel like I'm back on track (and not alone in my initial fears that I was not getting the most from my practice) and am extremely grateful to the authors for addressing what is surely a common concern among meditators. Highly recommended.

I came to this book (and to the practice of meditation) through the science of mind, not through spiritualism.

I had already read the studies that Yongey Mingyur alludes to in the third section of the book ("The Fruit") -- studies that connect the practice of meditation to:
- increased activity in areas of the brain associated with positive emotions (happiness, joy, compassion)
- increased types of brain waves associated with concentration and perception
- stress reduction
- increased flu antibody levels (this last finding, in fact, associated not with expert meditators, but with meditation novices of only a few months)

So I came to meditation with what Buddhists would describe as attachment, thinking "Wow, I gotta get me some of that!" Initially, my meditation attempts were about as successful as you might expect given this attitude.

I'm a person who tends to learn first by reading, and then by doing. So I've read quite a bit on this topic. I have found most books on meditation either are difficult Buddhist texts, a hair too new-agey for me, or while inspiring, a little short on the how-to and the why.

This book is by far the most accessible and human one I've read.

This is true for several reasons.

First, it is very personal. Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche shares with readers the (to me) startling fact that as a 13 year old, he suffered from an extreme panic disorder. He also illustrates many of the how-to sections not just with descriptions of how he *began* to learn meditation, but also with questions and concerns from other meditation novices.

It's also unexpectedly humourous in places. In one anecdote, he mentions that the classic Buddhist texts describe one aspect of correct meditation posture as "holding your arms like a vulture," which is only meant to mean that a little space is left between the upper arms and torso to make it easier to breathe. In a park, he once saw a man in a park sitting cross-legged and flapping his shoulders. When the man saw from his robes that Rinpoche was a monk and asked for some meditation advice, Yongey Mingur explained the meaning of obviously misinterpreted text, and added, "There's no need to flap your arms. After all, you're just trying to meditate. You're not trying to fly."

Third, the book is unfailingly pragmatic and useful, and quite contemporary. It is particularly helpful in the second section, "The Path," which is one of the most useful, readable, and modern how-to meditation texts I've read.

Finally, the book is infused with the kindness and joy of Yongey Mingur Rinpoche, aided by the light hand of his co-author (and I assume interpreter) Eric Swanson. I found out that I missed Yongey Mingyur's visit to my city by weeks, which I regret a little -- only a little because I feel that by reading this that I've already met him.

"The Joy of Living" reveals correlations between Buddhist philosophy and the "Western" scientific approach that are both logical and startling. Anyone who has ever experienced panic disorder or clinical depression will easily identify with Rinpoche's own struggles. Many others, in seeking a path to "realizing one's full capacity for happiness," will find genuine therapeutic value in the Buddhist "introspective or subjective" approach. Also, "The Joy of Living" is an indispensable guide to anyone who has found his own self-consciousness an obstacle to meditation. As Rinpoche explained the ins and outs of the contemplative journey, I found it revelatory to discover that even when I "failed," I was "doing it right."

And for skeptics who may doubt the scientific veracity of "the Buddhist understanding of the nature of reality," read on. "The Joy of Living" will illuminate your appreciation of the human brain as both a divine and molecular miracle.

This book is a real find. As someone who has tried meditation before, but given it up because I felt I didn't have hours every morning to devote to it and/or was afraid I was just plain doing it wrong, it's so encouraging and refreshing to hear from the horse's mouth, so to speak!, that little and often is the way to go. And it's fascinating to delve into the neuroscientific verification for what more spiritual individuals have known for centuries. I've also suffered from panic attacks since my teens; every time I think "oh, they're gone for good" , they return in force, despite years of traditional psych- and pharmacological treatments. I cannot speak highly enough for the benefits which arise from the approach this book promotes. Excellent, thoughtful, humorous, well written.

The Joy of Living is a delight and an inspiration. Mingyur Rinpoche is a rising star on the horizon of contemporary Buddhism. The complexities of neuroscience and Tibetan buddism are rendered delightfully in simple, concrete language with wit and flair. A must read!

Alex Campbell, PhD