“I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness.”
~ The Dalai Lama
How important is where you live to your well-being and happiness? While Buddhist philosophy teaches how to establish a more secure basis for happiness – focusing on internal rather than external means – there’s no doubt that environment and community play a role in our day-to-day life experience.
The term “gross national happiness” was coined in 1972 in the Asian country of Bhutan, by their fourth Dragon King. At first offered as a casual, offhand remark, the concept was taken seriously, as the Centre for Bhutan Studies, began developing a sophisticated survey instrument to measure the population’s general level of well-being. Two Canadians also played a major role in developing the Bhutanese survey, which took a six to seven hour interview to complete. They developed a shorter international version of the survey which has been used in their home region of Victoria BC as well as in Brazil.
The Bhutanese grounding in Buddhist ideals suggests that beneficial development of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occur side by side to complement and reinforce each other. The four pillars of GNH are: 1) the promotion of sustainable development, 2) preservation and promotion of cultural values, 3) conservation of the natural environment, and 4) establishment of good governance. Through collaboration with an international group of scholars and empirical researchers, the Centre for Bhutan Studies further defined these four pillars with greater specificity into eight general contributors to happiness—physical, mental and spiritual health; time-balance; social and community vitality; cultural vitality; education; living standards; good governance; and ecological vitality. Although the GNH framework reflects its Buddhist origins, it is transcultural, and is solidly based upon the empirical research literature of happiness, positive psychology and well-being.
So where does the USA fit into this framework? Over at HappyPlanetIndex.org, countries are ranked on 3 component measures – life expectancy, experienced well-being and ecological footprint. Oddly, Bhutan is not included in their list of countries, but suffice it to say, that Bhutan would be considered the happiest. Next in line is Costa Rica, followed by Vietnam and Columbia. Are you surprised? The USA ranks down 105 out of 151 countries. Can you imagine how things might change if we too started measuring our GNH instead of our GNP ??
With that, I thought I’d share the Dalai Lama’s ABC’s of Happiness …
“Live one day at a time, and make it a masterpiece!”
Happy Saturday !!
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The Dalai Lama’s A to Zen of Life & Happiness
A – Avoid negative sources, people, places and habits.
B – Believe in yourself.
C – Consider things from every angle.
D – Don’t give up and don’t give in.
E – Everything you’re looking for lies behind the mask you wear.
F – Family and friends are hidden treasures, seek them and enjoy their riches.
G – Give more than you planned to.
H – Hang on to your dreams.
I – If opportunity doesn’t knock, build the door.
J – Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
K – Keep trying, no matter how hard it seems.
L – Love yourself.
M – Make it happen.
N – Never lie, steal or cheat.
O – Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
P – Practice makes perfect.
Q – Quality not quantity in anything you do.
R – Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
S – Stop procrastinating.
T – Take control of your own destiny.
U – Understand yourself in order to better understand others.
V – Visualize it.
W – When you love, don’t lose the lesson.
X – Xcellence in all your efforts.
Y – You are unique, nothing can replace you.
Z – Zero in on your target, and go for it!
The ABC’s of Happiness are available as a poster, at AllPosters.com
