The joy of living: unlocking the secret science of happiness

Joy of Living, the Buddhist teacher and spiritual leader Yongey Mingyur approaches what may be one of the most fundamental dilemmas in modern life: how to attain happiness. He talks about the fact that so many people simply do not seem to be able to access happiness in their lives. According to Mingyur, meditation is one of the ways to find happiness in life. Furthermore, Mingyur does not rely simply on what he knows about the practice of Buddhism, but also modern medical research and modern knowledge of physics to demonstrate how meditation works with the brain and to help explain Buddhism to those for whom Buddhism may be an unfamiliar religion. By combining these different aspects, Mingyur attempts to provide a guide for using meditation in daily life.

I learned a lot about Buddhism and meditation from reading this book. Perhaps most importantly, I unlearned things that I believed I knew about both Buddhism and meditation. Prior to reading it, I was very unfamiliar with Buddhism. Perhaps the first thing that struck me about Buddhism was the idea that all living things contain the keys to enlightenment (Mingyur and Swanson, p.24). This differs from the approach of most Western religions, which encourage people to look outside of themselves to a distinct god-figure for enlightenment. Prior to reading the book, my understanding of Buddhism was murkier; I believed it to be more Jungian, with the idea of a collective unconscious that would function as a type of deity. After reading the book, my idea of Buddhism changed; rather than approaching it as a system with a deity, I would see a deity as something unnecessary to Buddhism. Furthermore, I can see how that makes Buddhism compatible with other religions because it does not require beliefs that would necessarily conflict with the teachings of other religions. Therefore, Mingyur's discussion about the way to pursue happiness in one's life is applicable to all people, regardless of their personal religious orientation.

Another interesting aspect of the book was how it incorporated modern science into the discussion of Buddhism. Buddhism is an ancient religion and the concepts and ideas that it endorses have existed for years without any type of scientific verification of the principles. Therefore, it is fascinating that modern scientific principles are supporting some of those principles. For example, Mingyur discusses evolution. He talks about the development of the limbic system and the evolution of neural pathways that allowed human beings to experience a wider range of complex emotions than other animals. This explanation helps explain the apparent dichotomy of his opening proposition that all animals contain the tools for enlightenment within them and the fact that one does not generally think of animals as seeking enlightenment. The discussion of the roles of the hippocampus and the amygdala was fascinating. First, it helped me understand how different parts of the brain were involved in memory creation and how different disorders or injuries could impact the functioning of the brain. Second, it discusses how the brain processes emotion.

The workings of the brain helped explain how meditation could lead to mood change, not just on a superficial level, but actually on a biological level. The hippocampus and the amygdala work together so that a significant emotion, whether positive or negative, even remembered, can trigger an emotional response. This can be stored in permanent memory, so that accessing that memory at a later time can bring up the original positive feelings. However, it can also bring up stored negative feelings. Meditation can help someone focus on how to access the positive associations. Perhaps even more importantly, meditation can be used to direct someone away from the remembered negative memories and form different associations in the present, so that the automatic thought process can be a more positive thought process.

Many people talk about getting out of their minds, as if somehow the thoughts and processes of their brain are troubling to them. This is actually the opposite of the goal of Buddhism. "The key- the how of Buddhist practice- lies in learning to simply rest in a bare awareness of thoughts, feelings, and perceptions as they occur" (Mingyur, p.43). Rather than getting out of one's mind, it is a way of getting into one's mind. However, the goal is not to focus on thoughts and chase down things that pop into one's head, but to keep the awareness limited to the present. Mingyur explains that the purposeful breathing that often accompanies meditation is a way to bring one back into the present after they have been distracted by other thoughts.

Another thing that I learned from the book is how Buddhists view individuals. Their view of people is incredibly positive and they think that people should view themselves in a positive manner as well. Mingyur says, "You're not the limited, anxious person you think you are. Any trained Buddhist teacher can tell you with all the conviction of personal experience that, really, you're the very heart of compassion, completely aware, and fully capable of achieving the greatest good, not only for yourself, but for everyone and everything you can imagine (Mingyur, p.46). In contrast to some other views of good or evil in the person, the idea is that people not only have the capacity to be good people, but are already good people. It is an interesting way to view people.

The book also talks about the limits of analysis. There is so much emphasis on the logical and there may be confusion that logical analysis and mindfulness are somehow the same thing. However, what the book helped me understand is that mindfulness is outside of the limits of logical analysis. The point where the analysis breaks down is where mindfulness approaches. "In that moment, when we give up looking for something absolute, we gain our first taste of emptiness, the infinite, indefinable essence of reality as it is" (Mingyur, p.92).

One of the things that the book discusses is the idea of meditation as non-meditation. It is not a traditional way of meditating. Meditation may require people focus on something, but Mingyur advocates a non-focused type of meditation. The goal is an awareness of things passing through the mind without pursuing any of the thoughts that are occurring. The meditator is then supposed to ask contemplative questions of the self. Some of the thoughts that one should consider are, "is there a difference between the mind and the thoughts that pass through it?" And "is there any difference between the thinker and the thoughts perceived by the thinker?" (Mingyur, p.95).