What will I learn about: develop on-demand happiness like a superpower by training your mind to find peace and keep cool under any pressure?

Learn how to develop on-demand happiness like a superpower by training your mind to find peace and keep cool under any pressure.

What will I learn about: the three core components of true happiness: feeling a sense of fullness, staying anchored in the present moment, and experiencing freedom from negative emotions?

Discover the three core components of true happiness: feeling a sense of fullness, staying anchored in the present moment, and experiencing freedom from negative emotions.

What will I learn about: why seeking happiness outside of yourself creates a never-ending loop of desire and puts your well-being at the mercy of uncontrollable forces?

Understand why seeking happiness outside of yourself creates a never-ending loop of desire and puts your well-being at the mercy of uncontrollable forces.

What will I learn about: Recognize how modern culture, social media, and sensory overload trick you into feeling incomplete and turn you into an addict constantly craving the next hit of pleasure?

Recognize how modern culture, social media, and sensory overload trick you into feeling incomplete and turn you into an addict constantly craving the next hit of pleasure.

What will I learn about: the ability to break free from the trap of insatiable desire by realizing that external sources of pleasure are temporary and true contentment must be generated from within?

Master the ability to break free from the trap of insatiable desire by realizing that external sources of pleasure are temporary and true contentment must be generated from within.

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A Monk's Guide to Happiness

Meditation in the 21st Century

Gelong Thubten

★ 4.7 / 5(1032 ratings)

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Mindfulness & Happiness

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

💡Have you ever wondered why chasing external success often leaves us feeling empty, and where the true source of lasting joy actually hides?
💡What if you could transform your relationship with stress and social media fatigue using a simple mental shift practiced by monks for centuries?
💡Are you curious about how to find a 'sanctuary' within your own mind that remains peaceful no matter how chaotic the world around you becomes?

Listen to A Monk's Guide to Happiness — Free Audiobook

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Key Takeaways from A Monk's Guide to Happiness

✓Learn how to develop on-demand happiness like a superpower by training your mind to find peace and keep cool under any pressure.
✓Discover the three core components of true happiness: feeling a sense of fullness, staying anchored in the present moment, and experiencing freedom from negative emotions.
✓Understand why seeking happiness outside of yourself creates a never-ending loop of desire and puts your well-being at the mercy of uncontrollable forces.
✓Recognize how modern culture, social media, and sensory overload trick you into feeling incomplete and turn you into an addict constantly craving the next hit of pleasure.
✓Master the ability to break free from the trap of insatiable desire by realizing that external sources of pleasure are temporary and true contentment must be generated from within.

Learning Tools

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Mind Map

A Monk's Guide to Happiness

The Nature of Happiness+

The Root of Unhappiness+

The Trap of Modern Culture+

Meditation as Mental Training+

Everyday Mindfulness+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 8

According to the book, what are the three main components that make up the feeling of happiness?

A. Wealth, health, and positive relationships
B. Fullness, presentness, and freedom
C. Excitement, anticipation, and achievement
D. Relaxation, detachment, and isolation

Question 2 of 8

Why is the assumption that happiness comes from outside ourselves considered deeply problematic?

A. It puts our happiness at the mercy of outside forces that are often beyond our control.
B. It requires too much financial investment to sustain over a lifetime.
C. It prevents us from ever feeling empathy or forming deep connections with others.
D. It forces us to isolate ourselves in order to protect our material possessions.

Question 3 of 8

How does modern culture's 'sensory overload' negatively impact our pursuit of happiness?

A. It trains our brains to process information much faster than previous generations.
B. It makes us highly critical of the advertisements and media we consume.
C. It turns us into pleasure addicts who get easily bored and constantly crave more stimulation.
D. It forces us to naturally seek out quiet, meditative spaces to recover from the noise.

Question 4 of 8

When experiencing something undesirable, like a headache, what is identified as the ultimate source of our suffering?

A. The physical intensity of the pain itself.
B. The mental resistance and the act of trying to push the experience away.
C. The inability to find an immediate medical cure for the discomfort.
D. The distraction it causes, preventing us from working efficiently.

Question 5 of 8

What is a common misconception about meditation that the author warns against?

A. That it is a religious practice requiring strict devotion and lifestyle changes.
B. That it takes years of isolation in a remote monastery to master.
C. That its primary purpose is simply to feel good and achieve tranquility while meditating.
D. That it is meant to completely erase all thoughts from the brain permanently.

Question 6 of 8

How should a practitioner view their mind wandering during meditation?

A. As a sign that they need to try a different, more advanced type of meditation.
B. As a failure of concentration that significantly sets back their progress.
C. As an unavoidable distraction that proves the environment is too noisy.
D. As a crucial learning experience and opportunity to practice returning to the anchor.

Question 7 of 8

Why does the author advise against closing your eyes or playing peaceful music while meditating?

A. Because these elements can easily cause you to fall asleep during practice.
B. Because the goal is to be mindful in the real, turbulent world, not just under special circumstances.
C. Because music often contains hidden subliminal messages that disrupt deep focus.
D. Because ancient Buddhist texts strictly forbid the use of sensory aids.

Question 8 of 8

What is the author's recommended method for turning mindfulness into a habit in everyday life?

A. Setting aside exactly 15 minutes a day in a dark, silent room.
B. Quitting social media entirely to permanently avoid sensory overload.
C. Practicing the three phases of meditation during ordinary actions like brushing your teeth.
D. Repeating a positive mantra out loud every time you feel stressed at work.

A Monk's Guide to Happiness — Full Chapter Overview

1Recommendation
21 — Happiness is a sense of fullness and freedom in the present moment.
32 — Unhappiness is a feeling of incompleteness, born from desire and seeking happiness outside ourselves.
43 — Modern culture intensifies insatiable desire and our sense of incompleteness.
54 — Looking for happiness outside ourselves leads us toward unhappiness.
65 — Unhappiness ultimately comes from grasping at and pushing away our experiences.
76 — To avoid grasping and pushing things away, we need to learn to observe them neutrally.
87 — Practicing mindfulness in everyday situations can turn it into a habit.
98 — Be mindful about how you practice mindfulness meditation.
109 — Final summary

A Monk's Guide to Happiness Summary & Overview

A Monk’s Guide to Happiness (2019) provides readers with a philosophically insightful and practically useful manual on how to break free of suffering and achieve inner peace. Drawing from the author’s 25 years of training at Buddhist monasteries and intensive meditation retreats, the book distills more than two decades of hard-won wisdom.

Who Should Listen to A Monk's Guide to Happiness?

People who are sick and tired of the rat race
Social media users feeling exhausted by their Facebook and Instagram feeds
Anyone wondering what the mindfulness fuss is all about

About the Author: Gelong Thubten

Gelong Thubten is a Buddhist monk and meditation teacher from the United Kingdom. After receiving an education at Oxford University, he became an actor in London and New York. He led a party-hard lifestyle until suffering burnout at the age of 21. At this point, he joined the Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery in Scotland, where he became an ordained Tibetan Buddhist monk. Thubten has practiced and taught mindfulness meditation ever since. This path included 25 years of training, six years of attending intensive meditation retreats and 20 years of teaching mindfulness in settings as diverse as schools, hospitals, prisons, addiction counseling centers and corporate offices.