Our days are numbered. At this very moment, many thousands are born into the world, some destined to live only a few days or weeks, and then tragically succumb to illness or other misfortune. Others are destined to push through to the century mark, perhaps even a bit beyond, and savor every taste life has to offer: triumph, despair, joy, hatred, and love. We never know. But whether we live a day or a century, a central question always remains: What is the purpose of our life?

According to the Dalai Lama, the purpose of
our existence is to seek happiness.

Happiness is our birthright as human beings. There is no doubt that life can be difficult—living in today’s world is not always easy. But despite life’s inevitable problems and challenges, genuine happiness is still possible—and The Art of Happiness books, tapes, and workshops can help show us the way to find the lasting happiness we all seek.

The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living was a groundbreaking collaboration between H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama, and Howard C. Cutler, M.D., a Phoenix-based psychiatrist. Beginning with a small first printing in 1998 the book rapidly spread by word of mouth to become a classic manual on human happiness. The book remained on The New York Times bestseller list for almost two years, and has become a source of help and inspiration to millions of readers throughout the world. Responding to the requests by readers, the Dalai Lama and Dr. Cutler followed this book with another volume in 2003, their second New York Times bestseller, titled The Art of Happiness at Work.

Drawing upon 2500 years of Buddhist wisdom, combined with the latest findings of modern science, and mixed with a healthy dose of common sense, these remarkable volumes offer a practical approach to human happiness—a rational approach that can be practiced by individuals from any background, tradition, or religion.

There are many facets to leading a happy life. It begins by understanding the true and legitimate sources of happiness. The Art of Happiness is based on a few basic premises:

Starting with these fundamental principles, the books continue with an in depth investigation of human happiness. The Art of Happiness offers a variety of techniques to help overcome the destructive mental states that are the source of much of our misery—mental states such as anger, hatred, greed, jealousy, discouragement and fear.

Through the lively conversations between the Dalai Lama and Dr, Cutler recounted in these books, supplemented with engaging stories, case histories, practical exercises and supporting scientific evidence, the books present strategies to deal more effectively with the inevitable problems of daily life.

The Art of Happiness Workshops, offered in cities throughout the US by Dr. Cutler, a Board Certified psychiatrist, are based largely on The Art of Happiness books, but supplemented with additional techniques and exercises drawn from recent developments in the science of human happiness, and the emerging field of Positive Psychology. The workshops are designed to help participants apply The Art of Happiness principles and practices to their own daily lives, with the result of leading lives of greater personal satisfaction and fulfillment.

The idea that the purpose of our existence is to seek happiness seems like common sense, and Western thinkers from Aristotle to William James have agreed with this idea. But isn't a life based on seeking personal happiness by nature self-centered, even self-indulgent? Not necessarily. In fact, survey after survey has shown that it is unhappy people who tend to be most self-focused, even selfish, and are often socially withdrawn, brooding, and even antagonistic.

Happy people, in contrast, are generally found to be more sociable, flexible, creative, more successful in mating, better parents, and are able to tolerate life's daily frustrations more easily than unhappy people. And, most important, they are found to be more loving and forgiving than unhappy people. In fact, scientific evidence has conclusively established an inextricable link between personal happiness and kindness and compassion toward others.

Researchers have devised some interesting experiments demonstrating that happy people exhibit a certain quality of openness, a willingness to reach out and help others. They managed, for instance, to induce a happy mood in a test subject by arranging to have the person unexpectedly find money in a phone booth. Posing as a stranger, one of the experimenters then walked by and "accidentally" dropped a load of papers. The investigators wanted to see whether the subject would stop to help the stranger.

In another scenario, the subjects' spirits were lifted by listening to a comedy album, and then they were approached by someone in need (also in cahoots with the experimenter) wanting to borrow money. The investigators discovered that the subjects who were feeling happy were more likely to help someone or to lend money than another "control group” of individuals who were presented with the same opportunity to help but whose mood had not been boosted ahead of time.

We begin, then, with the basic premise that the purpose of our life is to seek happiness. It is a vision of happiness as a real objective, one that we can take positive steps toward achieving. And as we begin to identify the factors that lead to a happier life, we will learn how the search for happiness offers benefits not only for the individual but for the individual’s family and for society at large as well.