Customer Reviews

The Way To Happiness (English)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I used this book when raising my daughter. It's a simple non-denominational code of ethics - very logical; something you would think everyone should or does know. But - the world isn't in very good shape right now, so these simple concepts are obviously not being used by enough people. I wanted my daughter to have something she could understand that made sense and gave her stable points to view things from. She loved it. You can tell someone - "Don't Steal" - everyone knows that.. but do they understand what happens when you do? What are the personal consequences of it? If one truly understands that, it goes beyond some "order" by an adult - and becomes a concept my daughter could fully understand and think with. With that she could personally make the decision for herself. That was 18 years ago. I now have a grown daughter who is incredibly ethical, responsible and very very happy. So am I.

This book is really wonderful, in that it provides what is lacking in today's nonreligious culture. This moral code is up-to-date, and the concepts will not become outdated. "Do not tell harmful lies", "be faithful to your sexual partner" and "try to treat others as you would like to be treated" are codes that we can live with, despite the culture we live in!

I recommend this book to anyone.

This book includes a non-religious moral code based purely on common sense.

I didn't find it very useful as I already know that murder is wrong. This isn't really a 'guide'. It's more like an advertisement for a series of self-help 'courses'.

Whilst I didn't find this book useful, it may be of benefit to people.

Like a couple other reviewers, I have worked with prison inmates
using this book. They make tremendous changes by studying this
material. One student told me that if he had been taught this
before, he never would have landed in prison. But it has also
helped me, because I have gone over and over the book in the process of instructing it, and have worked to put these ideas
to use in my own life, and it makes a huge difference. All of it is "common sense" but if it was so "common" and if we were all
living by this, we would not have the crime and other problems
that we are struggling with in our society.

I am a volunteer supervisor for Criminon, which is a program that takes prisoners through an extension course on this book. I have seen miraculous changes in the attitude and behavior of these students. This book gives them a chance to learn a basic moral code that they can then apply to their lives. Through this they learn the meaning of happiness. It is a rewarding job

This book gave me and my family excellent guidance for living a better and happier life by providing a number of principles or precepts, which, if followed, are The Way to Happiness. It is an easy read and very "common sense". Each precept and how it relates to happiness is explained well but simply. It would very difficult for any civilized person to disagree with the 21 tenets or precepts in the book regardless of their background or religion. As an example, some of my favorites are:

"Love and help children (#4),
"Honor and help your parents" (#5),
"Do not harm a person of good will" (#11),
"Be worthy of trust" (#14),
"Respect the religious beliefs of others" (#18)
and "Flourish and Prosper (#21).

If everyone followed the 21 precepts described in the book, not only would they be happy individually, but we would have a very happy and flourishing civilization. I highly recommend it.

Not only have I read this book, but I've also taught a course covering each of its chapters to misdomeaner criminal offenders. The result in almost all my students was a renewed care for others and themselves. Many went back to school. Relationships with family members and friends dramatically improved. This book contains gems of wisdom for those in trouble with the law or those just wanting to live a happier life. I don't know anyone that couldn't get something from this book. And for parents it could easily be used as a handbook on how to raise kids.

This very simple and easy to read book can be life changing. Its simplicity is its beauty.

The book reminded me somewhat of early grade school primers on basic hygiene and social manners. It also included a section on avoiding drugs. Written at a remedial level, it might be beneficial to someone who never went to school, Sunday School, or learned basic hygiene habits that most take for granted.

Ethics was one of the 5 principal concerns of ancient philosophy. Finally, in The Way to Happiness, we have the answers to the perennial questions the ancients first raised: "How do I lead an ethical life?" and, just as importantly, "How do I influence others to lead an ethical life?" None of us live in isolation. How do we solve the problem of people affecting our lives adversely? The solution I've found is to give them this book. For my part, I am a far better person from having read and applied the lessons here. I now have a standard not only for my own conduct but for the conduct of others as well.

The precepts and explanations in this book may seem simple but they are THE ideas which are most important in inter-personal relationships. All in all, there are 21 precepts, each one contributing, if applied, to leading a happier life. Precept 21, "Flourish and Prosper" answers, for example, the question, "How do we survive in face of anti-social actions from another?" The answer given is devastatingly effective.

One of the lessons I've learned from TWTH is that happiness in large measure depends on how well we treat others. This could be called the "law of reciprocity:" If we treat others well we tend to be treated well in return. We all have felt depressed or sad at some time. We've also had loved ones who have gone into a funk and wanted to help them. This book will definitely make a difference on both counts.

Over the course of human history there have been countless recipes and prescriptions for human conduct. It's quite a trick to find THE precepts that count, the key 21 shells on a beach of thousands of incidental shells and then organize these precepts in a way that they make sense and can be used. That's exactly what the book's author, philosopher and ethicist, L. Ron Hubbard, has done. The last major codification of conduct was the 10 commandments 2500 years ago. This book fills the void for a modern rationale, a void that has left our civilization reeling in lawlessness, immorality and unhappiness.

Street drugs and psychiatric nostrums such as Prozac and Paxil aren't the answer. They just muddy up and derail the quest for happiness. In my own experience, this book provides an honest and practical answer to the age-old question: "Is happiness possible?"