---
product_id: 219285267
title: "The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living"
price: "98.32 DT"
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---

# The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living

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The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living [Dalai Lama] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living

Review: An enlightening blend of psychology, philosophy, and practical wisdom. - I appreciated the book’s format—a thoughtful dialogue between the Dalai Lama and psychiatrist Howard Cutler aimed at translating ancient insight into modern life. The premise of “how to be happy” sounds simple, yet the conversation quickly becomes deeper and more nuanced. Through stories and reflection, the book shows how suffering, compassion, and perspective shape our experience far more than circumstances. The Dalai Lama’s guidance is spiritual without drifting into abstraction, while Cutler grounds the ideas with relatable, real-world examples. Their exchanges feel human, even funny at times, which keeps the insights accessible. The book dismantles two persistent myths: that happiness is something life delivers to us, and that peace comes from avoiding discomfort. Instead, it frames happiness as a skill—one built through empathy, resilience, and intentional mental training. If you value books that linger in your mind long after you close them, this one earns the space. It doesn’t promise perfection; it offers a way to live more lightly with imperfection. I’m happier for having read it.
Review: It is not enough to be compassionate. You must act---H.H. The Dalai Lama - His Holiness has the amazing ability to say things that are both simple and profound. After listening to the XIV Dalai Lama or reading his words, I often find myself saying, "Why didn't I think of that?" Why not indeed? A previous reviewer states that this is a wonderful book but that it's hard to "get" the idea of being compassionate to ALL beings regardless of their own actions. It IS hard to "get" that. The Dalai Lama has been a Buddhist monk for the last 71 years, and HE works at it every single day. The Buddha himself, after his Enlightenment, didn't say, "Well, since I'm one with all that is I guess I can retire now." Nope. Shakyamuni began teaching. And he kept practicing, whether through sitting meditation or through workaday tasks. His practice matured him. He may have come up with the Four Noble Truths on Day One and he may have taught them throughout his life, but there's a great deal of evolution between those original thoughts and the Parinirvana Sutra uttered on his deathbed. He would have heartily endorsed the Dalai Lama's call to Happiness and accepted Tenzin Gyatso as a worthy Dharma successor. But, I digress. Unlike many of the Dalai Lama's earlier books this one is geared specifically toward and for the general public. Just as you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy Levy's Rye, you don't have to be a Buddhist to appreciate this book. As a matter of fact, although every idea in this book is quintessentally Buddhist, every idea in this book is, more importantly, quintessentially human. The Dalai Lama's basic thesis is that we are all born to be happy. Reading this, I kept being reminded of Jefferson's words, "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." It's too bad that our modern culture conflates "Happiness" with "Pleasure" (which is far more fleeting) and that "Pleasure's" main attribute is "Money" and lots of it, or the things that "Money" can buy. Not that "Money" is unimportant, but the idea that "Money can't buy Happiness" is a core idea here, and is proven over and over again. This book and its sequels grew out of a series of personal interviews between the Dalai Lama and noted Psychologist Howard C. Cutler, who has become an important exponent of the Positive Psychology Movement of the last decade. Positive Psychology focuses not on what's wrong with an individual but on what's right and how to reinforce what's right through positive practices---essentially, Cutler's approach amounts to a primer on classical Buddhist Psychology. The Dalai Lama speaks here, but it is Cutler who amplifies and expounds on the Dalai Lama's core ideas in a Western idiom. His Holiness does detail certain meditative practices as well. According to the Dalai Lama (and most Positive Psychologists), Happiness is not the end result of a thought process but is the process itself. Acting kindly, compassionately, mindfully and with awareness result in a person being, in effect, happy, even in the face of the day-to-day toxicity of much of our culture. His Holiness also believes that Happiness is highly contagious, and that it will spread virally if only we maintain our positive practices. Yes, it is hard to remain "happy" in the face of dealing with obnoxious bill collectors or dishonest repairmen, but that is where compassion comes in. Compassion is not a form of blind forgiveness---I don't have to say, "It's okay" to the mugger who's just stolen my wallet---but, rather, it is a form of understanding that bad things do occur, that although they may occur to me, the universe is not personally out to get me, and that the mugger who mugged me, the bill collector who cursed me or the repairman who overcharged me, is acting out of their own unhappiness. I don't have to turn any cheeks or allow it to happen ever again. I don't have to embrace them as misguided souls. I don't have to let it fester and make me sick and angry either. I just have to grasp the idea that the mugger, the bill collector and the repairman are all human, like me, and all subject to the same faults and foibles that I am. Sound tough? It sure is. That's why it's a lifelong practice. Anybody coming here for a bullet-point approach to solving all of life's problems or to be reassured by pop-psychology tripe will be disappointed in this book. This is a substantive popular work that gives back to the reader exactly what the reader puts in.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #3,864 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #25 in Meditation (Books) #34 in Spiritual Self-Help (Books) #145 in Personal Transformation Self-Help |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 11,041 Reviews |

## Images

![The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81u-dwwWWOL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An enlightening blend of psychology, philosophy, and practical wisdom.
*by M***N on October 16, 2025*

I appreciated the book’s format—a thoughtful dialogue between the Dalai Lama and psychiatrist Howard Cutler aimed at translating ancient insight into modern life. The premise of “how to be happy” sounds simple, yet the conversation quickly becomes deeper and more nuanced. Through stories and reflection, the book shows how suffering, compassion, and perspective shape our experience far more than circumstances. The Dalai Lama’s guidance is spiritual without drifting into abstraction, while Cutler grounds the ideas with relatable, real-world examples. Their exchanges feel human, even funny at times, which keeps the insights accessible. The book dismantles two persistent myths: that happiness is something life delivers to us, and that peace comes from avoiding discomfort. Instead, it frames happiness as a skill—one built through empathy, resilience, and intentional mental training. If you value books that linger in your mind long after you close them, this one earns the space. It doesn’t promise perfection; it offers a way to live more lightly with imperfection. I’m happier for having read it.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It is not enough to be compassionate. You must act---H.H. The Dalai Lama
*by K***I on December 23, 2010*

His Holiness has the amazing ability to say things that are both simple and profound. After listening to the XIV Dalai Lama or reading his words, I often find myself saying, "Why didn't I think of that?" Why not indeed? A previous reviewer states that this is a wonderful book but that it's hard to "get" the idea of being compassionate to ALL beings regardless of their own actions. It IS hard to "get" that. The Dalai Lama has been a Buddhist monk for the last 71 years, and HE works at it every single day. The Buddha himself, after his Enlightenment, didn't say, "Well, since I'm one with all that is I guess I can retire now." Nope. Shakyamuni began teaching. And he kept practicing, whether through sitting meditation or through workaday tasks. His practice matured him. He may have come up with the Four Noble Truths on Day One and he may have taught them throughout his life, but there's a great deal of evolution between those original thoughts and the Parinirvana Sutra uttered on his deathbed. He would have heartily endorsed the Dalai Lama's call to Happiness and accepted Tenzin Gyatso as a worthy Dharma successor. But, I digress. Unlike many of the Dalai Lama's earlier books this one is geared specifically toward and for the general public. Just as you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy Levy's Rye, you don't have to be a Buddhist to appreciate this book. As a matter of fact, although every idea in this book is quintessentally Buddhist, every idea in this book is, more importantly, quintessentially human. The Dalai Lama's basic thesis is that we are all born to be happy. Reading this, I kept being reminded of Jefferson's words, "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." It's too bad that our modern culture conflates "Happiness" with "Pleasure" (which is far more fleeting) and that "Pleasure's" main attribute is "Money" and lots of it, or the things that "Money" can buy. Not that "Money" is unimportant, but the idea that "Money can't buy Happiness" is a core idea here, and is proven over and over again. This book and its sequels grew out of a series of personal interviews between the Dalai Lama and noted Psychologist Howard C. Cutler, who has become an important exponent of the Positive Psychology Movement of the last decade. Positive Psychology focuses not on what's wrong with an individual but on what's right and how to reinforce what's right through positive practices---essentially, Cutler's approach amounts to a primer on classical Buddhist Psychology. The Dalai Lama speaks here, but it is Cutler who amplifies and expounds on the Dalai Lama's core ideas in a Western idiom. His Holiness does detail certain meditative practices as well. According to the Dalai Lama (and most Positive Psychologists), Happiness is not the end result of a thought process but is the process itself. Acting kindly, compassionately, mindfully and with awareness result in a person being, in effect, happy, even in the face of the day-to-day toxicity of much of our culture. His Holiness also believes that Happiness is highly contagious, and that it will spread virally if only we maintain our positive practices. Yes, it is hard to remain "happy" in the face of dealing with obnoxious bill collectors or dishonest repairmen, but that is where compassion comes in. Compassion is not a form of blind forgiveness---I don't have to say, "It's okay" to the mugger who's just stolen my wallet---but, rather, it is a form of understanding that bad things do occur, that although they may occur to me, the universe is not personally out to get me, and that the mugger who mugged me, the bill collector who cursed me or the repairman who overcharged me, is acting out of their own unhappiness. I don't have to turn any cheeks or allow it to happen ever again. I don't have to embrace them as misguided souls. I don't have to let it fester and make me sick and angry either. I just have to grasp the idea that the mugger, the bill collector and the repairman are all human, like me, and all subject to the same faults and foibles that I am. Sound tough? It sure is. That's why it's a lifelong practice. Anybody coming here for a bullet-point approach to solving all of life's problems or to be reassured by pop-psychology tripe will be disappointed in this book. This is a substantive popular work that gives back to the reader exactly what the reader puts in.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Easy steps to achieve happiness
*by E***O on November 26, 2025*

A practical way to achieve happiness based on Buddhist principles with the scientific backing of psychology by Dr. Cutler. I really liked this book. Highly recommended.

## Frequently Bought Together

- The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living
- The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation
- No-Nonsense Buddhism for Beginners: Clear Answers to Burning Questions about Core Buddhist Teachings

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*Last updated: 2026-01-22*