1 00:00:15,436 --> 00:00:24,116 Speaker 1: Pushkin. One of the biggest lies our minds tell us 2 00:00:24,436 --> 00:00:26,836 Speaker 1: is that happiness will be ours if we can just 3 00:00:27,156 --> 00:00:29,636 Speaker 1: get the next thing we really want. That if we 4 00:00:29,716 --> 00:00:32,636 Speaker 1: only got that new promotion, or that new love interest, 5 00:00:32,836 --> 00:00:36,596 Speaker 1: or that new outfit, then we'd finally be eternally happy. 6 00:00:37,476 --> 00:00:39,556 Speaker 1: I mean, it's true that all of those things will 7 00:00:39,556 --> 00:00:42,316 Speaker 1: give us some joy, but the effects are more fleeting 8 00:00:42,356 --> 00:00:45,276 Speaker 1: than we think. Many things we yearn and strive for 9 00:00:45,476 --> 00:00:51,116 Speaker 1: are fragile. Dresses, rip companies, fold, lovers leave, or die. 10 00:00:51,716 --> 00:00:53,756 Speaker 1: That means we end up grieving for the happiness we've 11 00:00:53,796 --> 00:00:57,556 Speaker 1: lost and thirsting for something new. Yet again, there are 12 00:00:57,596 --> 00:01:00,796 Speaker 1: good reasons rooted in evolution for all this constant striving, 13 00:01:01,236 --> 00:01:03,916 Speaker 1: but it comes at an emotional cost, and it's the 14 00:01:03,996 --> 00:01:06,996 Speaker 1: root of lots of heartache and suffering. So in this 15 00:01:07,076 --> 00:01:11,036 Speaker 1: final episode of our historical minis, we're reaching way way 16 00:01:11,036 --> 00:01:13,996 Speaker 1: back in time to a thinker who recognized the sadness 17 00:01:14,036 --> 00:01:16,836 Speaker 1: that hunger, yearning, and loss can bring, and one who 18 00:01:16,876 --> 00:01:20,036 Speaker 1: also offered us a way to deal with the pain. Today, 19 00:01:20,156 --> 00:01:24,156 Speaker 1: we're turning to the Buddha. Welcome back to happiness Lessons 20 00:01:24,156 --> 00:01:29,196 Speaker 1: of the Ancients with me, Doctor Laurie santos oh Man. 21 00:01:29,036 --> 00:01:30,636 Speaker 1: I don't know if I can do a quick Buddha 22 00:01:30,676 --> 00:01:33,036 Speaker 1: one oh one. I love telling and retelling the story 23 00:01:33,076 --> 00:01:36,396 Speaker 1: of the Buddha. This is Liz Angowski. She's a fellow 24 00:01:36,396 --> 00:01:38,956 Speaker 1: in my residential college here at Yale and also one 25 00:01:38,956 --> 00:01:42,356 Speaker 1: of my really close friends. But more pertinently, she's also 26 00:01:42,396 --> 00:01:46,196 Speaker 1: an assistant professor of Religion at Earlham College. Liz teaches 27 00:01:46,196 --> 00:01:49,676 Speaker 1: an introductory course on Buddhism. For her. Particular areas of 28 00:01:49,716 --> 00:01:52,356 Speaker 1: expertise are the men and women who really mastered the 29 00:01:52,396 --> 00:01:57,196 Speaker 1: Buddhist teachings. I'm interested in why particular figures can both 30 00:01:57,196 --> 00:02:01,396 Speaker 1: inspire and kind of profoundly unnerve people by being too good. 31 00:02:01,916 --> 00:02:04,236 Speaker 1: A friend of mine described me as somebody who studies 32 00:02:04,276 --> 00:02:07,836 Speaker 1: Buddhist overachievers and the trouble they cause. Buddhism is a 33 00:02:07,916 --> 00:02:10,636 Speaker 1: vast subject, but I really wanted to laser in on 34 00:02:10,636 --> 00:02:14,156 Speaker 1: one aspect, in particular, how the Buddha came to understand 35 00:02:14,236 --> 00:02:18,476 Speaker 1: that life is full of unavoidable disappointment and suffering. We 36 00:02:18,556 --> 00:02:22,396 Speaker 1: don't have information about the Buddha that is contemporaneous with him. 37 00:02:22,636 --> 00:02:25,996 Speaker 1: We think he lived between the sixth century BC and 38 00:02:26,036 --> 00:02:29,636 Speaker 1: the fourth century BC and he was born in Limbidi, 39 00:02:29,756 --> 00:02:33,276 Speaker 1: which is now modern day Nepal. The tradition holds that 40 00:02:33,316 --> 00:02:36,316 Speaker 1: he was born the son of a king, or at 41 00:02:36,396 --> 00:02:40,516 Speaker 1: least we think, a wealthy clan leader, and his upbringing 42 00:02:40,676 --> 00:02:44,436 Speaker 1: was one of total opulence. He was born and raised 43 00:02:44,516 --> 00:02:47,316 Speaker 1: in a palace, and he never had to leave that palace. 44 00:02:47,316 --> 00:02:49,556 Speaker 1: He never had to see the outside world at all. 45 00:02:49,996 --> 00:02:53,316 Speaker 1: And when he is born, a seer or susayer was 46 00:02:53,316 --> 00:02:57,356 Speaker 1: brought in to predict his future, and the seer reports 47 00:02:57,356 --> 00:03:01,036 Speaker 1: to the Buddhist father Suddodana the Buddha will either be 48 00:03:01,396 --> 00:03:04,196 Speaker 1: a chako artin so an emperor of the whole world, 49 00:03:04,476 --> 00:03:08,596 Speaker 1: or a dropout who was referred to as Ashramana. So understandably, 50 00:03:08,756 --> 00:03:11,716 Speaker 1: Suda wants to keep the Buddha in the palace. He 51 00:03:11,796 --> 00:03:13,836 Speaker 1: wants to ensure that his son will grow up to 52 00:03:13,876 --> 00:03:16,836 Speaker 1: become a king, maybe even one that's more successful than 53 00:03:16,876 --> 00:03:20,156 Speaker 1: he is. And so he surrounds him with everything anyone 54 00:03:20,156 --> 00:03:23,476 Speaker 1: could possibly want. He has all of the archery equipment 55 00:03:23,516 --> 00:03:27,036 Speaker 1: he could possibly need, the finest horses, etc. And then 56 00:03:27,316 --> 00:03:30,716 Speaker 1: you know, one day he kind of overhears a song 57 00:03:30,876 --> 00:03:34,116 Speaker 1: about how beautiful the parks in this city are you know, 58 00:03:34,236 --> 00:03:36,236 Speaker 1: I haven't seen these parks. I should probably go out 59 00:03:36,236 --> 00:03:38,876 Speaker 1: to these parks, these pleasure groves and see what's happening 60 00:03:38,876 --> 00:03:42,756 Speaker 1: out there. His father's apprehensive about this, and he decides 61 00:03:42,796 --> 00:03:45,756 Speaker 1: that I'm going to let him go out. However, I'm 62 00:03:45,796 --> 00:03:47,996 Speaker 1: going to I'm going to clean up the streets. I'm 63 00:03:48,036 --> 00:03:52,396 Speaker 1: going to remove all undesirable things, older people, sick people, etc. 64 00:03:53,236 --> 00:03:56,876 Speaker 1: But what happens is the Bodhisatta he goes out and 65 00:03:57,036 --> 00:04:00,596 Speaker 1: the gods manifest first an old man. They decide that 66 00:04:00,676 --> 00:04:06,116 Speaker 1: the Bodhisatta should see what Samsara the cycle of existence 67 00:04:06,676 --> 00:04:10,636 Speaker 1: does to people, people age, and the Buddhistafta he's totally 68 00:04:10,676 --> 00:04:13,756 Speaker 1: shocked by this, you know, and he asks his chariot tear, 69 00:04:14,436 --> 00:04:16,476 Speaker 1: what is going on here? Like? What is wrong with 70 00:04:16,476 --> 00:04:19,596 Speaker 1: that man? Is it a trick of the eye? Is 71 00:04:19,636 --> 00:04:23,676 Speaker 1: that going to happen to me? He cannot really process 72 00:04:23,676 --> 00:04:27,236 Speaker 1: what this being is. So the charioteer explains to him, 73 00:04:27,236 --> 00:04:28,996 Speaker 1: you know, that's that's an old man. This charioteer is. 74 00:04:29,036 --> 00:04:31,716 Speaker 1: He's hipped everything he knows. And then they return to 75 00:04:31,756 --> 00:04:36,236 Speaker 1: the palace and the Buddhisfta can't stop thinking about the 76 00:04:36,276 --> 00:04:37,876 Speaker 1: old man, so He's like, I need to go back 77 00:04:37,876 --> 00:04:39,316 Speaker 1: out there. I need to kind of figure this out 78 00:04:39,316 --> 00:04:41,676 Speaker 1: and see. So he goes back out and he sees 79 00:04:41,676 --> 00:04:44,316 Speaker 1: a sick man, and then again we repeat this process. 80 00:04:44,356 --> 00:04:47,436 Speaker 1: He sees a corpse and the cherio tear. You know, 81 00:04:47,596 --> 00:04:50,396 Speaker 1: just this is a part of life. We age, we 82 00:04:50,476 --> 00:04:54,196 Speaker 1: get sick, we die. Eventually he goes out, he sees 83 00:04:54,196 --> 00:04:56,116 Speaker 1: one of these kind of stramaa guys. He's a set 84 00:04:56,236 --> 00:04:59,956 Speaker 1: x who's dropped out and he looks peaceful. The Buddhisatta 85 00:05:00,116 --> 00:05:02,116 Speaker 1: is like, you know, I want to be like this guy. 86 00:05:02,556 --> 00:05:04,556 Speaker 1: So the dad didn't do such an awesome job by 87 00:05:04,836 --> 00:05:07,156 Speaker 1: like the God's intervened to sort it out for Buddha 88 00:05:07,236 --> 00:05:08,716 Speaker 1: to see that all this stuff, But it sounds like 89 00:05:09,236 --> 00:05:11,996 Speaker 1: this suffering really had a huge effect on him. Yeah. 90 00:05:12,036 --> 00:05:15,196 Speaker 1: The idea that the Buddhisatta would have made it into 91 00:05:15,676 --> 00:05:18,636 Speaker 1: his thirties without ever having gotten sick himself or realize 92 00:05:18,676 --> 00:05:20,796 Speaker 1: that people are aging is kind of a, you know, 93 00:05:20,916 --> 00:05:23,476 Speaker 1: surprising idea to most people who read these accounts. You 94 00:05:23,476 --> 00:05:26,036 Speaker 1: have to take this with something of a grain of salt. 95 00:05:26,596 --> 00:05:30,156 Speaker 1: But eventually he asks to be allowed to leave the palace. 96 00:05:30,516 --> 00:05:32,916 Speaker 1: His father says no. His father doesn't want to part 97 00:05:32,956 --> 00:05:35,076 Speaker 1: with him. It's actually a very moving part of the 98 00:05:35,076 --> 00:05:37,796 Speaker 1: Buddha Charta, the life of the Buddha. There's an emotional 99 00:05:37,796 --> 00:05:42,276 Speaker 1: scene between them in which the Buddhisatta says, you know, 100 00:05:42,356 --> 00:05:45,636 Speaker 1: if you can guarantee me that we won't part in 101 00:05:45,676 --> 00:05:49,156 Speaker 1: this life because of death, then I'll stay. And because 102 00:05:49,156 --> 00:05:51,796 Speaker 1: his father can't really guarantee him that, you know, there's 103 00:05:51,796 --> 00:05:56,516 Speaker 1: this moment of realization that the father cannot provide really 104 00:05:56,516 --> 00:05:59,436 Speaker 1: everything that he wants, which is an answer to this 105 00:05:59,676 --> 00:06:02,756 Speaker 1: huge problem of not only death, but death and rebirth. 106 00:06:03,436 --> 00:06:06,356 Speaker 1: Something I have to frequently emphasize for folks are unfamiliar 107 00:06:06,436 --> 00:06:08,756 Speaker 1: is that, you know, karma keeps bringing you back. It's 108 00:06:08,796 --> 00:06:11,956 Speaker 1: not just death, it's redeath. It's not just birth, it's 109 00:06:11,956 --> 00:06:16,916 Speaker 1: rebirth right. And so eventually he's able to leave the palace. 110 00:06:16,956 --> 00:06:18,916 Speaker 1: He escapes the palace, and then he's well on his 111 00:06:18,996 --> 00:06:23,156 Speaker 1: way to becoming the Buddha. Just a detail that I 112 00:06:23,196 --> 00:06:25,676 Speaker 1: think about a lot is that the horse that was 113 00:06:25,756 --> 00:06:28,076 Speaker 1: leading the chariot that brought him out several times to 114 00:06:28,076 --> 00:06:30,996 Speaker 1: see the sites, the old man, the sick man, the corpse, 115 00:06:31,716 --> 00:06:34,916 Speaker 1: the horse Kantika. He brings the Budhisada out for the 116 00:06:34,916 --> 00:06:38,156 Speaker 1: eventual escape, and then he dies of a broken heart 117 00:06:38,196 --> 00:06:42,356 Speaker 1: because he's so sad to leave his owner. People just 118 00:06:42,436 --> 00:06:44,796 Speaker 1: love the Buddha. I mean, everyone loves the Buddha. The 119 00:06:45,156 --> 00:06:48,996 Speaker 1: sadness around him leaving is really profound. And so the 120 00:06:49,316 --> 00:06:51,716 Speaker 1: Buddisafa now goes out and he says, you know, I'm 121 00:06:51,716 --> 00:06:54,556 Speaker 1: going to find a teacher, someone to help me figure 122 00:06:54,596 --> 00:06:57,276 Speaker 1: this stuff out. One of these traumaas. After having tried 123 00:06:57,316 --> 00:07:00,356 Speaker 1: out different paths, He's like, I can neither go the 124 00:07:00,396 --> 00:07:03,756 Speaker 1: way of hedonism nor the way of total self mortification. 125 00:07:03,796 --> 00:07:06,876 Speaker 1: These are not the ways for me. Some accounts will say, 126 00:07:06,916 --> 00:07:08,756 Speaker 1: you know, he has this memory of being at a 127 00:07:08,836 --> 00:07:10,756 Speaker 1: fest of all that his father was throwing, and he 128 00:07:10,796 --> 00:07:13,436 Speaker 1: sat under a shady tree and felt some calm, and 129 00:07:13,476 --> 00:07:16,596 Speaker 1: so he decides to sit under a tree and just 130 00:07:16,996 --> 00:07:19,636 Speaker 1: contemplate what it is to be alive, what it means 131 00:07:19,636 --> 00:07:21,636 Speaker 1: to exist. And so then, so how did he go 132 00:07:21,756 --> 00:07:24,116 Speaker 1: from that kind of under the tree moment of contemplation 133 00:07:24,236 --> 00:07:27,396 Speaker 1: to like because he somehow gets to like full enlightenment. Right, 134 00:07:27,556 --> 00:07:31,716 Speaker 1: Oh sure, So he you know, takes a seat under 135 00:07:31,756 --> 00:07:35,556 Speaker 1: the tree and he starts to contemplate everything and he's 136 00:07:35,636 --> 00:07:38,036 Speaker 1: learned up to that point and what he's seen, and 137 00:07:38,076 --> 00:07:40,756 Speaker 1: then he goes through what are called the watches of 138 00:07:40,756 --> 00:07:44,116 Speaker 1: the night. In the first watch, he can see everything 139 00:07:44,116 --> 00:07:46,356 Speaker 1: that has happened to him in the past, as if 140 00:07:46,396 --> 00:07:49,076 Speaker 1: he's reliving these past lives. Not just I know who 141 00:07:49,116 --> 00:07:51,596 Speaker 1: I was in the past, but I now feel again 142 00:07:51,796 --> 00:07:53,676 Speaker 1: whatever the suffering and pain was that I went through 143 00:07:53,716 --> 00:07:56,836 Speaker 1: in that time. From there he sees all of the 144 00:07:56,876 --> 00:07:59,916 Speaker 1: past lives of all other beings, and this moves him 145 00:08:00,076 --> 00:08:03,476 Speaker 1: deeply to have compassion for all of their sentient beings. Finally, 146 00:08:03,876 --> 00:08:07,876 Speaker 1: he comes to the realization that the element at the 147 00:08:07,916 --> 00:08:12,516 Speaker 1: heart of all of this is suffering. Life is duca, 148 00:08:12,716 --> 00:08:17,116 Speaker 1: so this idea that life is stressful at its most 149 00:08:17,276 --> 00:08:20,356 Speaker 1: basic core. At first, when you mentioned duka, you translated 150 00:08:20,396 --> 00:08:22,676 Speaker 1: it as suffering. But what I've heard is that it's 151 00:08:22,716 --> 00:08:24,396 Speaker 1: not really suffering in the way we think of it 152 00:08:24,436 --> 00:08:26,396 Speaker 1: as like kind of pain, right, you know, like kind 153 00:08:26,436 --> 00:08:28,876 Speaker 1: of pain and suffering. It's kind of just like a 154 00:08:28,956 --> 00:08:33,836 Speaker 1: deeper not being really satisfied, right right, that's right. Frequently 155 00:08:34,076 --> 00:08:38,676 Speaker 1: with students all translate it as discomfort or unease. Suffering 156 00:08:38,716 --> 00:08:41,676 Speaker 1: really evokes I think now for individuals the idea of 157 00:08:41,716 --> 00:08:44,916 Speaker 1: physical pain and mental anguish, which which it also includes 158 00:08:44,956 --> 00:08:48,716 Speaker 1: for sure. But the idea is that we're sufferings as 159 00:08:48,756 --> 00:08:52,396 Speaker 1: a part of our fundamental being, you know, because largely 160 00:08:52,436 --> 00:08:55,196 Speaker 1: because we can't accept that things change. Is there end? 161 00:08:55,276 --> 00:08:57,956 Speaker 1: Once he figures out duca, he achieves nirvana, and then 162 00:08:57,996 --> 00:09:00,676 Speaker 1: he became the Voddha. Yeah. I think that as he 163 00:09:00,716 --> 00:09:03,476 Speaker 1: realizes that all things are pervaded by suffering, he also 164 00:09:03,516 --> 00:09:06,556 Speaker 1: realizes there must be a cause for this, and that 165 00:09:06,876 --> 00:09:11,036 Speaker 1: he concludes is tanha. This idea of craving. Sometimes we 166 00:09:11,036 --> 00:09:13,916 Speaker 1: think about it as thirst My students now they love 167 00:09:13,956 --> 00:09:16,716 Speaker 1: to translate it as thirsty, right, But the idea is 168 00:09:16,756 --> 00:09:20,036 Speaker 1: that we continually crave things. And it's not just that 169 00:09:20,076 --> 00:09:25,476 Speaker 1: we are craving central pleasures. We're craving, you know, experiences, 170 00:09:25,516 --> 00:09:30,276 Speaker 1: We're craving even just the sense of stability. We feel 171 00:09:30,396 --> 00:09:34,396 Speaker 1: some desire for things to stay the same, and fundamentally 172 00:09:34,436 --> 00:09:38,476 Speaker 1: everything is impermanent. And so from there the Buddha comes 173 00:09:38,516 --> 00:09:40,916 Speaker 1: to the conclusion that there has to be a way 174 00:09:40,956 --> 00:09:44,356 Speaker 1: for this to stop, and that cessation is the total 175 00:09:44,436 --> 00:09:47,796 Speaker 1: extinguishing of suffering. And how do you get there? What 176 00:09:48,036 --> 00:09:50,036 Speaker 1: is the process by which you come to the total 177 00:09:50,036 --> 00:09:53,556 Speaker 1: cessation or nirvana. Yeah. The reason I love the Buddha 178 00:09:53,636 --> 00:09:55,916 Speaker 1: is that he's really nicely connected to a central topic 179 00:09:55,956 --> 00:09:57,876 Speaker 1: that we talk about a lot on the Happiness lab, 180 00:09:57,916 --> 00:10:01,316 Speaker 1: which is this concept of hedonic adaptation, right, or the 181 00:10:01,356 --> 00:10:04,076 Speaker 1: hedonic treadmill. You can be really happy for a while, 182 00:10:04,116 --> 00:10:06,436 Speaker 1: you can be satisfied in the short term, but then 183 00:10:06,516 --> 00:10:08,716 Speaker 1: basically you just go back to kind of craving new 184 00:10:08,756 --> 00:10:10,916 Speaker 1: stuff and you're kind of on this treadmill where you 185 00:10:10,956 --> 00:10:13,036 Speaker 1: want more and more and more. And that kind of 186 00:10:13,076 --> 00:10:16,076 Speaker 1: seems like this, at least the scientific version of this 187 00:10:16,156 --> 00:10:19,596 Speaker 1: idea of duka, we're kind of never satisfied, in part 188 00:10:19,596 --> 00:10:23,076 Speaker 1: because we have this craving thirstiness, as your students would 189 00:10:23,116 --> 00:10:26,676 Speaker 1: call it, this tanha. Is that that's the word ta, Yeah, 190 00:10:26,716 --> 00:10:28,876 Speaker 1: in part because we have this sort of thirstiness, this 191 00:10:28,996 --> 00:10:32,196 Speaker 1: tanha that is constantly telling us to go for more, 192 00:10:32,396 --> 00:10:35,316 Speaker 1: and so is that kind of what the Buddhist thought 193 00:10:35,316 --> 00:10:36,756 Speaker 1: like is does that kind of fit with what the 194 00:10:36,796 --> 00:10:39,756 Speaker 1: science is suggesting? Yeah, I think that. I mean the 195 00:10:39,796 --> 00:10:43,476 Speaker 1: Buddha's father, Sododnas, you know, his answer to the problem 196 00:10:43,596 --> 00:10:47,716 Speaker 1: of his son potentially leaving home and leaving him is 197 00:10:47,836 --> 00:10:52,156 Speaker 1: you know, I'll just throw more wonderful, delightful things at him. 198 00:10:52,236 --> 00:10:55,116 Speaker 1: He wants to keep him distracted from what might be 199 00:10:55,196 --> 00:10:58,196 Speaker 1: underlying the bigger problem. He wants to put all the 200 00:10:58,236 --> 00:11:01,756 Speaker 1: band aids on the wound rather than addressing the wound itself. 201 00:11:02,036 --> 00:11:05,196 Speaker 1: The Buddha in general is analogized to a doctor. A 202 00:11:05,276 --> 00:11:07,276 Speaker 1: doctor's only really a good doctor if you can give 203 00:11:07,356 --> 00:11:10,316 Speaker 1: a full account of what's on with someone. If you 204 00:11:10,316 --> 00:11:13,036 Speaker 1: don't want to look at the symptoms and then treat 205 00:11:13,076 --> 00:11:15,756 Speaker 1: the superficial symptoms, you want to treat the underlying disease. 206 00:11:16,196 --> 00:11:18,676 Speaker 1: And so really, what is at the heart of it 207 00:11:18,716 --> 00:11:21,196 Speaker 1: is the fact that we can't accept that even the 208 00:11:21,236 --> 00:11:24,076 Speaker 1: most beautiful, wonderful things, the coin will flip and the 209 00:11:24,076 --> 00:11:28,636 Speaker 1: other side of them will be dissatisfaction, suffering, impermanence. It's 210 00:11:28,676 --> 00:11:31,516 Speaker 1: not that beautiful things don't make us happy or material 211 00:11:31,556 --> 00:11:34,676 Speaker 1: things don't make us happy. It's that they don't stay 212 00:11:35,116 --> 00:11:38,156 Speaker 1: and we don't stay happy with them. They change and 213 00:11:38,236 --> 00:11:40,436 Speaker 1: we change our perception of them. I think one of 214 00:11:40,436 --> 00:11:42,796 Speaker 1: the awesome things about the Buddha is that he in 215 00:11:42,836 --> 00:11:46,556 Speaker 1: some ways was like a real early practitioner of self help. 216 00:11:46,636 --> 00:11:48,476 Speaker 1: And you know, his path was like really one of 217 00:11:48,476 --> 00:11:50,756 Speaker 1: the first I think for kind of enlightenment or kind 218 00:11:50,756 --> 00:11:53,836 Speaker 1: of achieving flourishing. I mean, is he sort of thought 219 00:11:53,876 --> 00:11:57,636 Speaker 1: of as a father of self help to a certain extent. Yeah, 220 00:11:57,636 --> 00:12:00,996 Speaker 1: I frequently describe it to my students as a program 221 00:12:01,036 --> 00:12:05,076 Speaker 1: designed to affect self transformation. We want to think about 222 00:12:05,076 --> 00:12:08,836 Speaker 1: it as something that is designed to change your perceptions. 223 00:12:09,196 --> 00:12:11,756 Speaker 1: You are in charge of this program. You take it up, 224 00:12:11,796 --> 00:12:15,276 Speaker 1: and you execute it. Buddhism is an important global faith, 225 00:12:15,596 --> 00:12:18,476 Speaker 1: with a culture and traditions built up over thousands of years. 226 00:12:18,996 --> 00:12:20,916 Speaker 1: We can only scratch the surface of this in a 227 00:12:20,956 --> 00:12:24,156 Speaker 1: single show, But after the break, I'll introduce you to 228 00:12:24,196 --> 00:12:27,716 Speaker 1: someone who created his own program of self transformation using 229 00:12:27,756 --> 00:12:31,076 Speaker 1: parts of the Buddhist teaching, and that transformation worked so 230 00:12:31,116 --> 00:12:33,836 Speaker 1: well he even stopped hating the weeds in his yarn. 231 00:12:34,516 --> 00:12:46,636 Speaker 1: The Happiness Lab will be right back. I don't actually 232 00:12:46,636 --> 00:12:49,476 Speaker 1: call myself a Buddhist, partly out of respect for all 233 00:12:49,556 --> 00:12:52,836 Speaker 1: of those in Asia, especially who means something very different 234 00:12:52,876 --> 00:12:56,276 Speaker 1: by the term. But it's true that I practice certain 235 00:12:56,316 --> 00:13:00,156 Speaker 1: important parts of Buddhism. This is Robert Wright. He's one 236 00:13:00,156 --> 00:13:03,276 Speaker 1: of my favorite science writers and a respected expert on 237 00:13:03,316 --> 00:13:07,716 Speaker 1: evolutionary psychology. Robert is someone you'd probably assume is pretty 238 00:13:07,756 --> 00:13:10,396 Speaker 1: skeptical of the things you read in a religious text, 239 00:13:11,076 --> 00:13:13,956 Speaker 1: but following a brush with Buddhist teachings, he saw that 240 00:13:13,996 --> 00:13:18,316 Speaker 1: this philosophy totally meshes with everything evolution teaches us about 241 00:13:18,356 --> 00:13:21,756 Speaker 1: how humans operate. An obvious example, as we overestimate the 242 00:13:21,756 --> 00:13:25,236 Speaker 1: speed of large things approaching us, you know, better safe 243 00:13:25,276 --> 00:13:28,556 Speaker 1: than sorry, So that's an inaccurate perception. But it's good 244 00:13:28,596 --> 00:13:32,076 Speaker 1: at keeping organisms alive. So we have it. And you know, 245 00:13:32,116 --> 00:13:36,436 Speaker 1: one of Buddhism's main claims is that, well, ay, we 246 00:13:36,596 --> 00:13:39,076 Speaker 1: don't see the world clearly by nature and be that 247 00:13:39,076 --> 00:13:42,516 Speaker 1: that is the source of our suffering and is also 248 00:13:42,556 --> 00:13:45,156 Speaker 1: the reason we make other people suffered. It's an amazing 249 00:13:45,196 --> 00:13:47,876 Speaker 1: claim when you think about it. If we could see 250 00:13:47,916 --> 00:13:51,276 Speaker 1: things more clearly in certain important respects, we would become 251 00:13:51,316 --> 00:13:54,716 Speaker 1: happier and we would become better people. That's like amazing 252 00:13:54,756 --> 00:14:00,116 Speaker 1: if true, and I think it's basically true. Why Buddhism 253 00:14:00,196 --> 00:14:02,716 Speaker 1: Is True is Robert's book on the subject, and while 254 00:14:02,756 --> 00:14:05,596 Speaker 1: Liz Angowski looks at the cultural and religious significance of 255 00:14:05,676 --> 00:14:08,756 Speaker 1: the Buddha, Robert explores the parts of the practice that 256 00:14:08,836 --> 00:14:12,316 Speaker 1: are really supported by scientific research. There are other parts 257 00:14:12,316 --> 00:14:14,756 Speaker 1: of Buddhism that are more in I would say, the 258 00:14:15,196 --> 00:14:20,316 Speaker 1: supernatural or traditionally religious realm having to do with rebirth 259 00:14:20,476 --> 00:14:25,476 Speaker 1: after death. But my book focuses on the naturalistic claims 260 00:14:25,556 --> 00:14:28,356 Speaker 1: made by Buddhism, that is to say, the Buddhist conception 261 00:14:28,396 --> 00:14:33,756 Speaker 1: of human psychology, the validity of human perceptions, this thing 262 00:14:33,796 --> 00:14:35,956 Speaker 1: that we think of as the self. You know what 263 00:14:36,156 --> 00:14:41,476 Speaker 1: is that Buddhism developed an incredibly rich literature which isn't 264 00:14:41,516 --> 00:14:44,196 Speaker 1: all on point by any means. I mean, they have 265 00:14:44,236 --> 00:14:47,516 Speaker 1: these dense psychological texts that divide the mind into a 266 00:14:47,556 --> 00:14:50,356 Speaker 1: billion parts, and a lot of it I can't make 267 00:14:50,396 --> 00:14:54,556 Speaker 1: heads or tails of. But central to a lot of 268 00:14:54,556 --> 00:14:58,916 Speaker 1: these texts is I think, a fundamentally on target view 269 00:14:58,996 --> 00:15:03,756 Speaker 1: of the mind, of the way it works, and maybe 270 00:15:03,796 --> 00:15:07,236 Speaker 1: most important, of what to do about the fact that 271 00:15:07,276 --> 00:15:09,076 Speaker 1: in a lot of ways it doesn't work very well 272 00:15:09,196 --> 00:15:11,756 Speaker 1: if what you're trying to do is be a happy 273 00:15:11,836 --> 00:15:15,276 Speaker 1: person and a good person. I mean, one thing I emphasized, 274 00:15:15,316 --> 00:15:19,436 Speaker 1: the human mind is not designed necessarily to see the 275 00:15:19,436 --> 00:15:23,276 Speaker 1: world clearly, those traits that are conducive to getting the 276 00:15:23,356 --> 00:15:26,716 Speaker 1: genes underlying them into the next generation is the traits 277 00:15:26,756 --> 00:15:30,236 Speaker 1: that we will have, and that includes mental traits. So 278 00:15:30,476 --> 00:15:36,476 Speaker 1: if having a slightly deluded conception of yourself or an 279 00:15:36,476 --> 00:15:39,556 Speaker 1: inaccurate perception of other people or things will help get 280 00:15:39,596 --> 00:15:43,556 Speaker 1: genes into the next generation, then you know our species 281 00:15:43,596 --> 00:15:46,836 Speaker 1: will be inclined towards certain kinds of thoughts and perceptions 282 00:15:46,836 --> 00:15:49,636 Speaker 1: that aren't strictly speaking accurate. One of the things I 283 00:15:49,676 --> 00:15:52,516 Speaker 1: like about Buddhism as a psychologist, and as a psychologist 284 00:15:52,556 --> 00:15:55,356 Speaker 1: who's kind of interested in evolutionary theory, is that he 285 00:15:55,476 --> 00:15:57,476 Speaker 1: kind of got a lot of human psychology right with 286 00:15:57,516 --> 00:16:00,476 Speaker 1: these first few noble truths, right, And so I wanted 287 00:16:00,516 --> 00:16:02,476 Speaker 1: you to dig into us a little bit, these first 288 00:16:02,516 --> 00:16:06,196 Speaker 1: noble truths about this idea of duca or suffering or tanha, 289 00:16:06,316 --> 00:16:09,436 Speaker 1: which is like this idea of criving. So the first 290 00:16:09,476 --> 00:16:13,236 Speaker 1: sermon that he is said to have given after his enlightenment, 291 00:16:13,876 --> 00:16:17,516 Speaker 1: he lays down the foreign noble truths. He asked, what 292 00:16:17,636 --> 00:16:20,676 Speaker 1: is the source of suffering? His answer is just the 293 00:16:20,676 --> 00:16:26,076 Speaker 1: fact that we always want something more right, and gratification 294 00:16:26,156 --> 00:16:28,276 Speaker 1: doesn't last. And when you think about it from a 295 00:16:28,356 --> 00:16:30,436 Speaker 1: Darwinian point of view, this makes total sense. I mean, 296 00:16:30,476 --> 00:16:34,556 Speaker 1: if you imagine two animals, one of them have genes 297 00:16:34,556 --> 00:16:37,636 Speaker 1: that keep the animal perennially restless. In other words, they 298 00:16:37,716 --> 00:16:39,916 Speaker 1: have sex or they eat, they feel better for a 299 00:16:39,956 --> 00:16:42,316 Speaker 1: little while, and that rewards the behavior they got them, 300 00:16:42,356 --> 00:16:44,756 Speaker 1: the section, the food, but then they want more, you know, 301 00:16:44,796 --> 00:16:48,436 Speaker 1: the happiness, the pleasure evaporates. You compare that to an 302 00:16:48,476 --> 00:16:54,316 Speaker 1: animal whose genes provide just enduring contentment after a single meal. 303 00:16:54,876 --> 00:16:57,836 Speaker 1: You're then talking about an animal whose genes are not 304 00:16:57,876 --> 00:17:00,356 Speaker 1: going to get anywhere because the animal is not going 305 00:17:00,396 --> 00:17:02,636 Speaker 1: to live very long or is not going to reproduce 306 00:17:02,716 --> 00:17:05,436 Speaker 1: very successfully. So that's just an example of how one 307 00:17:05,436 --> 00:17:09,036 Speaker 1: of the very first and most fundamental things the Buddha 308 00:17:09,156 --> 00:17:13,316 Speaker 1: lays down makes total sense in light of a theory 309 00:17:13,356 --> 00:17:16,436 Speaker 1: that did not exist when the Buddha laid the truth down, 310 00:17:16,516 --> 00:17:19,156 Speaker 1: nobody knew about natural selection, but it makes sense. And 311 00:17:19,196 --> 00:17:21,436 Speaker 1: also I think nobody knew about all these lovely data 312 00:17:21,556 --> 00:17:25,876 Speaker 1: on hedonic adaptation. Psychologically, right with this idea that you know, 313 00:17:25,876 --> 00:17:28,596 Speaker 1: we're always on this treadmill chasing more and more stuff, 314 00:17:28,596 --> 00:17:30,876 Speaker 1: and even if you get these fantastic things in life, 315 00:17:30,996 --> 00:17:32,956 Speaker 1: you know, you just go back to baseline. Even though 316 00:17:32,956 --> 00:17:35,076 Speaker 1: we don't predict it, right. We have these incorrect theories 317 00:17:35,116 --> 00:17:37,476 Speaker 1: about the fact that, you know, we could be happily 318 00:17:37,516 --> 00:17:39,396 Speaker 1: ever after, we could get this wonderful thing, you know, 319 00:17:39,396 --> 00:17:41,756 Speaker 1: we get a marriage, or get a wonderful circumstance, and 320 00:17:41,796 --> 00:17:45,076 Speaker 1: we're good forever. The data simply suggests psychologically that that's 321 00:17:45,076 --> 00:17:48,076 Speaker 1: just not the case, right, And that is an example 322 00:17:48,436 --> 00:17:51,796 Speaker 1: of delusion in a certain sense. I mean, that's another 323 00:17:51,836 --> 00:17:54,156 Speaker 1: example of how we're designed not to see the world clearly. 324 00:17:54,196 --> 00:17:57,636 Speaker 1: We are designed to keep convincing ourselves that the next 325 00:17:57,676 --> 00:18:02,756 Speaker 1: elevation of status, the next promotion, the next big material 326 00:18:02,916 --> 00:18:06,396 Speaker 1: good is going to make us happier for longer than 327 00:18:06,436 --> 00:18:09,676 Speaker 1: it winds up making us happy. The mind is designed 328 00:18:09,716 --> 00:18:13,076 Speaker 1: to bring us happiness that's not high on natural selections, 329 00:18:13,116 --> 00:18:18,076 Speaker 1: agenda understanding that is the beginning of seeking, you know, 330 00:18:18,356 --> 00:18:21,516 Speaker 1: a more enduring kind of happiness. Even though the hedonic 331 00:18:21,556 --> 00:18:24,276 Speaker 1: treadmill is a tough thing to get around, it really is, 332 00:18:24,356 --> 00:18:27,396 Speaker 1: But a lot of Buddhist practice is designed to get 333 00:18:27,436 --> 00:18:29,116 Speaker 1: around it. And I think that was one of the 334 00:18:29,156 --> 00:18:31,836 Speaker 1: most fantastic things about Buddhist teaching, right, is that he 335 00:18:31,876 --> 00:18:34,436 Speaker 1: didn't just leave us with suffering and craving and say 336 00:18:34,476 --> 00:18:36,516 Speaker 1: that's it. The minds of design this way, we're stuck. 337 00:18:36,956 --> 00:18:39,196 Speaker 1: The teachings actually go beyond that to give us a 338 00:18:39,236 --> 00:18:42,276 Speaker 1: path past this. Right, How did you go from being, 339 00:18:42,636 --> 00:18:45,596 Speaker 1: you know, Robert Write, the Evolutionary Psychologist to Robert Write, 340 00:18:45,636 --> 00:18:49,276 Speaker 1: The Buddhist Sympathizer. Well, in two thousand and three, somebody 341 00:18:49,276 --> 00:18:51,756 Speaker 1: convinced me to go to a meditation retreat, like a 342 00:18:52,356 --> 00:18:58,236 Speaker 1: seven day silent meditation retreat. You meditate intensively, like four 343 00:18:58,236 --> 00:19:00,156 Speaker 1: and a half hours a day is sitting meditation, four 344 00:19:00,156 --> 00:19:02,596 Speaker 1: and a half of walking meditation, maybe a little more. 345 00:19:02,796 --> 00:19:05,196 Speaker 1: Why on earth did you say yes? I feel like 346 00:19:05,396 --> 00:19:10,356 Speaker 1: you know, like like did you known about meditation like cures? Well, 347 00:19:10,396 --> 00:19:12,956 Speaker 1: I guess I should admit to being something of a seeker. 348 00:19:13,036 --> 00:19:17,036 Speaker 1: I was brought up religiously, lost my religion. Maybe that's it, 349 00:19:17,316 --> 00:19:21,836 Speaker 1: But I had certainly flirted with meditation, tried to do it, 350 00:19:21,956 --> 00:19:25,476 Speaker 1: you know, you hear about in college. Every once in 351 00:19:25,476 --> 00:19:27,516 Speaker 1: a while I would try it. It It would never really work. 352 00:19:27,916 --> 00:19:31,236 Speaker 1: I figured, what the hell, I'll try this crazy thing. 353 00:19:31,716 --> 00:19:34,636 Speaker 1: The first couple of days were total hell. I just 354 00:19:34,676 --> 00:19:37,836 Speaker 1: could not focus on my breath. I hated everyone there 355 00:19:37,836 --> 00:19:40,116 Speaker 1: because I was sure they were doing it better. Then 356 00:19:40,156 --> 00:19:44,396 Speaker 1: suddenly something clicked. I had had too much coffee and 357 00:19:44,556 --> 00:19:47,156 Speaker 1: I had this jittery feeling in my jaw. And I'm 358 00:19:47,236 --> 00:19:49,516 Speaker 1: sitting there thinking, God, you can't meditate with jittery feeling 359 00:19:49,556 --> 00:19:51,436 Speaker 1: in jaw. And then suddenly I just had this feeling 360 00:19:52,196 --> 00:19:55,276 Speaker 1: that wait, the feeling is down in my jaw. I'm 361 00:19:55,356 --> 00:19:57,836 Speaker 1: up here, and I suddenly was observing in a way 362 00:19:57,916 --> 00:20:00,996 Speaker 1: that completely neutralized it. And by the end of the 363 00:20:01,316 --> 00:20:07,956 Speaker 1: week my consciousness was completely transformed. It was like magical. 364 00:20:08,236 --> 00:20:12,116 Speaker 1: I mean, like I remember just to here. Beauty of 365 00:20:12,116 --> 00:20:14,356 Speaker 1: things was amazing. I remember walking through the woods and 366 00:20:14,756 --> 00:20:17,396 Speaker 1: seeing this weed called a plantain weed that I had 367 00:20:17,436 --> 00:20:19,156 Speaker 1: spent a lot of time trying to kill because it 368 00:20:19,156 --> 00:20:24,756 Speaker 1: had always infested yards I had had, And I just thought, wait, 369 00:20:24,916 --> 00:20:26,996 Speaker 1: why have I been trying to kill this thing? It's actually, 370 00:20:26,996 --> 00:20:29,756 Speaker 1: objectively speaking, it's as pretty as the other green stuff. 371 00:20:30,716 --> 00:20:34,556 Speaker 1: That I would say is an apprehension of the Buddhist 372 00:20:34,596 --> 00:20:37,756 Speaker 1: idea of emptiness. I had been seeing essence of weed 373 00:20:38,356 --> 00:20:40,756 Speaker 1: in this thing, and that had given me an antagonistic 374 00:20:40,796 --> 00:20:44,516 Speaker 1: feeling toward it. At one level, something trivial was going on. 375 00:20:44,756 --> 00:20:49,116 Speaker 1: I mean, obviously weed is an arbitrary label that certain 376 00:20:49,156 --> 00:20:51,876 Speaker 1: cultures assigned to certain plants. Fine, we know that, But 377 00:20:51,956 --> 00:20:55,476 Speaker 1: what was interesting was that I wasn't just being consciously 378 00:20:55,516 --> 00:20:59,316 Speaker 1: aware of the arbitrariness. It was that I realized that 379 00:20:59,956 --> 00:21:04,116 Speaker 1: my perception of the weed had been infused with this 380 00:21:04,196 --> 00:21:08,396 Speaker 1: sense of essence of weed. And when that drops out, 381 00:21:08,876 --> 00:21:12,796 Speaker 1: it's a totally different world. It's hard to describe, and 382 00:21:12,836 --> 00:21:15,596 Speaker 1: the Buddhist concept of emptiness is a very subtle one, 383 00:21:16,476 --> 00:21:21,756 Speaker 1: but I do think it has to do with the 384 00:21:21,796 --> 00:21:25,796 Speaker 1: way that feelings suddenly inform not just our thoughts, but 385 00:21:25,836 --> 00:21:31,396 Speaker 1: are very perceptions of things. And when some of that changes, 386 00:21:31,796 --> 00:21:37,876 Speaker 1: it's amazing how radical your perceptions can change. It's one 387 00:21:37,876 --> 00:21:39,796 Speaker 1: thing to talk about that for weeds, but it feels 388 00:21:39,836 --> 00:21:41,716 Speaker 1: like that could be even more powerful when you're thinking 389 00:21:41,756 --> 00:21:45,356 Speaker 1: about other negative sensations that evolution wants us to avoid, 390 00:21:45,396 --> 00:21:48,516 Speaker 1: like pain or like judgments of people. I mean, you're right, 391 00:21:48,556 --> 00:21:52,756 Speaker 1: it can transform your relationship to pain. It absolutely can, 392 00:21:52,876 --> 00:21:54,716 Speaker 1: believe it or not. You can even look at pain 393 00:21:54,796 --> 00:21:58,076 Speaker 1: and go that's kind of beautiful in a way. You 394 00:21:58,116 --> 00:22:00,276 Speaker 1: can look at sadness and go that's kind of beautiful 395 00:22:00,276 --> 00:22:03,196 Speaker 1: in a way. Again, these are things that are easier 396 00:22:03,276 --> 00:22:05,036 Speaker 1: for me to do on retreat than they are at 397 00:22:05,116 --> 00:22:08,036 Speaker 1: nine thirty am on a regular day, But they're possible, 398 00:22:08,116 --> 00:22:11,076 Speaker 1: and you're right about that. But it's also true that 399 00:22:11,476 --> 00:22:15,036 Speaker 1: you know the way you categorize people without thinking about 400 00:22:15,076 --> 00:22:17,676 Speaker 1: it so much. First of all, I'm too friends and enemies, 401 00:22:17,716 --> 00:22:22,756 Speaker 1: but also along more subtle gradations, sometimes in ways that's unhealthy, 402 00:22:23,036 --> 00:22:25,996 Speaker 1: not good for you, not good for them. And so 403 00:22:26,596 --> 00:22:28,716 Speaker 1: just as I was less judgmental of that weed, I 404 00:22:28,716 --> 00:22:31,276 Speaker 1: found myself being much less judgmental of people by the 405 00:22:31,356 --> 00:22:34,756 Speaker 1: end of the retreat. You know how humans are. They 406 00:22:34,836 --> 00:22:37,396 Speaker 1: size people up on the base of very little evidence. 407 00:22:38,396 --> 00:22:40,196 Speaker 1: I remember at the beginning of the retreat seeing this 408 00:22:40,236 --> 00:22:43,836 Speaker 1: guy with a Juilliard T shirt on it, thinking, oh, Juilliard, Well, 409 00:22:43,876 --> 00:22:46,716 Speaker 1: aren't we special like you know? And by the end 410 00:22:46,716 --> 00:22:49,636 Speaker 1: of the retreat I was much less judgmental, and in fact, 411 00:22:49,636 --> 00:22:51,636 Speaker 1: that guy at the end, when the silence is broken, 412 00:22:51,676 --> 00:22:54,316 Speaker 1: he raised his hand and asked a question, and he 413 00:22:54,396 --> 00:22:57,836 Speaker 1: was this shy, insecure guy, exactly the opposite of the 414 00:22:57,836 --> 00:23:00,516 Speaker 1: way I had stereotyped him. Needless to say, by the 415 00:23:00,596 --> 00:23:03,236 Speaker 1: end of the retreat, I was sold. So give me 416 00:23:03,276 --> 00:23:05,876 Speaker 1: a sense of how meditation actually does that. Because it 417 00:23:05,956 --> 00:23:08,356 Speaker 1: sounds awesome to kind of get control over your feelings 418 00:23:08,356 --> 00:23:10,236 Speaker 1: and deal with your thoughts. But how is sitting there 419 00:23:10,236 --> 00:23:12,076 Speaker 1: and focusing on your breath for ten minutes a day 420 00:23:12,076 --> 00:23:14,836 Speaker 1: actually help you do that? Well, if you can make 421 00:23:14,876 --> 00:23:16,716 Speaker 1: a lot of progress in ten minutes a day, then 422 00:23:16,876 --> 00:23:19,956 Speaker 1: God bless you, and some people can. People's mileage varies. 423 00:23:20,436 --> 00:23:23,876 Speaker 1: You know. I meditate longer than that, and my practice 424 00:23:23,916 --> 00:23:27,436 Speaker 1: still has its ups and downs. But there's an irony 425 00:23:27,516 --> 00:23:32,676 Speaker 1: about meditation, which is that if you quit running away 426 00:23:32,676 --> 00:23:36,676 Speaker 1: from bad feelings and just accept them and kind of 427 00:23:36,716 --> 00:23:39,476 Speaker 1: be with them, get closer to them, you can get 428 00:23:39,516 --> 00:23:43,396 Speaker 1: a more objective perspective on them. Like I recommend it. 429 00:23:43,476 --> 00:23:46,996 Speaker 1: If you're feeling sad, just sit down, close your eyes 430 00:23:47,036 --> 00:23:50,276 Speaker 1: in a quiet room, observe the sadness. I mean, normally 431 00:23:50,276 --> 00:23:52,596 Speaker 1: we try to get away from sadness. We try to 432 00:23:52,636 --> 00:23:54,676 Speaker 1: think something that will make it go away. We try 433 00:23:54,716 --> 00:23:56,836 Speaker 1: to talk to somebody who will pull us out of 434 00:23:57,196 --> 00:24:00,236 Speaker 1: or we just eat something that will help, or take 435 00:24:00,276 --> 00:24:02,596 Speaker 1: a drug. But just sit down and go, Okay, I'm sad. 436 00:24:03,316 --> 00:24:06,556 Speaker 1: What is this thing? Like? Where in my head is 437 00:24:06,556 --> 00:24:09,476 Speaker 1: the feeling or elsewhere in my body, Where are the feelings, 438 00:24:09,996 --> 00:24:13,116 Speaker 1: what are their contours, what are their shapes? You know, 439 00:24:13,156 --> 00:24:15,876 Speaker 1: I predict it before long, you'll find that, oddly, although 440 00:24:16,396 --> 00:24:19,236 Speaker 1: you're closer to the feeling, you have a more objective 441 00:24:19,276 --> 00:24:22,836 Speaker 1: perspective on it. You're in a certain sense more detached 442 00:24:22,876 --> 00:24:25,756 Speaker 1: and closer at the same time. And that is the 443 00:24:25,796 --> 00:24:29,276 Speaker 1: beginning of liberation from a feeling and getting that kind 444 00:24:29,276 --> 00:24:34,796 Speaker 1: of objective purchase on it is the beginning of deciding 445 00:24:34,956 --> 00:24:38,556 Speaker 1: whether you're going to let it govern your thoughts and 446 00:24:38,636 --> 00:24:42,036 Speaker 1: life and the rest of your day. When I've had 447 00:24:42,076 --> 00:24:44,036 Speaker 1: a chance to kind of watch my feelings in the 448 00:24:44,036 --> 00:24:46,076 Speaker 1: way you're talking about, kind of sit with my sadness, 449 00:24:46,356 --> 00:24:48,796 Speaker 1: it seems like it also teaches me this other Buddhist 450 00:24:48,836 --> 00:24:51,036 Speaker 1: ideal of sort of impermanence, right. You know, sometimes when 451 00:24:51,036 --> 00:24:52,276 Speaker 1: you're sad, it can feel like I'm just going to 452 00:24:52,316 --> 00:24:54,436 Speaker 1: feel this way forever. But if you kind of sit 453 00:24:54,476 --> 00:24:56,236 Speaker 1: with it and hang out with it, you know, those 454 00:24:56,276 --> 00:24:59,636 Speaker 1: things go away in this weird sense. So, Yeah, my 455 00:24:59,876 --> 00:25:04,756 Speaker 1: daughters went to teen meditation retreats. One thing the teachers 456 00:25:04,756 --> 00:25:07,316 Speaker 1: emphasize with them is like, think of feelings as like 457 00:25:07,356 --> 00:25:11,516 Speaker 1: the weather. Yeah, it's a storm or whatever, it's high humidity, 458 00:25:11,636 --> 00:25:14,596 Speaker 1: but it'll be gone tomorrow. And yeah, that can be 459 00:25:14,716 --> 00:25:17,996 Speaker 1: a helpful thing, just to think, regardless of whether you're meditating, 460 00:25:18,076 --> 00:25:21,716 Speaker 1: just remind yourself this too shall pass. I know you 461 00:25:21,756 --> 00:25:23,396 Speaker 1: talked about this lot in the book, But have these 462 00:25:23,396 --> 00:25:26,996 Speaker 1: practices helped you? Oh? I think so. People say they 463 00:25:27,036 --> 00:25:29,196 Speaker 1: noticed the difference. I mean, my wife says she notices 464 00:25:29,196 --> 00:25:31,836 Speaker 1: the difference, and she's probably the most reliable witness. When 465 00:25:31,836 --> 00:25:35,916 Speaker 1: I came back from my first meditation retreat, all I 466 00:25:35,916 --> 00:25:39,396 Speaker 1: had to do was call her and start talking. Before 467 00:25:39,436 --> 00:25:42,196 Speaker 1: she was glad I had gone. Literally, it was just 468 00:25:42,236 --> 00:25:45,196 Speaker 1: a tone of my voice, she said, just the way 469 00:25:45,196 --> 00:25:47,756 Speaker 1: I was talking was like, oh, yeah, this guy would 470 00:25:47,796 --> 00:25:50,916 Speaker 1: be much easier to live with than the guy who 471 00:25:51,356 --> 00:25:54,796 Speaker 1: left for this retreat. And you know, meditation retreats give 472 00:25:54,796 --> 00:25:58,556 Speaker 1: you a taste for how radically different your everyday consciousness 473 00:25:58,716 --> 00:26:04,596 Speaker 1: could be. They condenced me that that state of consciousness 474 00:26:05,476 --> 00:26:08,676 Speaker 1: would be much more conducive to happiness, would make me 475 00:26:08,716 --> 00:26:12,156 Speaker 1: a much better person, and would bring me a clearer 476 00:26:12,556 --> 00:26:15,476 Speaker 1: view of the world, a literally clearer view of the world. 477 00:26:15,796 --> 00:26:18,716 Speaker 1: I really believe that those three things can align, and 478 00:26:18,836 --> 00:26:24,356 Speaker 1: that is the Buddhist promise, and it's not easy to 479 00:26:24,436 --> 00:26:28,876 Speaker 1: keep them aligning as thoroughly and as magically as they might. 480 00:26:29,076 --> 00:26:31,836 Speaker 1: At the end of a nine day retreat, you know 481 00:26:31,876 --> 00:26:35,396 Speaker 1: once you're back in the real world, but once you've 482 00:26:35,396 --> 00:26:39,916 Speaker 1: seen that, it's an incentive to keep practicing on a 483 00:26:39,996 --> 00:26:44,236 Speaker 1: daily basis and to hang on to at least part 484 00:26:44,396 --> 00:26:47,556 Speaker 1: of that consciousness. The story of the Buddha is one 485 00:26:47,636 --> 00:26:49,916 Speaker 1: that I just had to include in this mini season 486 00:26:50,036 --> 00:26:54,396 Speaker 1: on Happiness Lessons of the Ancients. It encapsulates so much 487 00:26:54,876 --> 00:26:58,356 Speaker 1: a privilege. Young man realized that life is impermanent, and 488 00:26:58,396 --> 00:27:01,316 Speaker 1: that even the richest king couldn't build palace walls high 489 00:27:01,396 --> 00:27:04,276 Speaker 1: enough to fight off the sadness that this impermanence brings. 490 00:27:04,916 --> 00:27:06,716 Speaker 1: The Buddha tap that the best way to deal with 491 00:27:06,756 --> 00:27:09,436 Speaker 1: all this suffering is to sit with it, to it 492 00:27:09,516 --> 00:27:12,636 Speaker 1: and experience it. I know very few of us can 493 00:27:12,676 --> 00:27:15,476 Speaker 1: go on long meditation retreats, but all of us can 494 00:27:15,476 --> 00:27:18,516 Speaker 1: bring a bit more mindfulness into our daily lives. It 495 00:27:18,556 --> 00:27:21,356 Speaker 1: can be as simple as noticing the sensation of being 496 00:27:21,396 --> 00:27:23,756 Speaker 1: in your bed, or how the soap and water feel 497 00:27:23,796 --> 00:27:26,836 Speaker 1: as you wash your hands. I personally try to fit 498 00:27:26,916 --> 00:27:29,476 Speaker 1: in ten minutes of meditation a day. I do it 499 00:27:29,596 --> 00:27:32,036 Speaker 1: right after I exercise, when I'm already feeling a little 500 00:27:32,076 --> 00:27:34,476 Speaker 1: bit more in tune with my body. I just PLoP 501 00:27:34,476 --> 00:27:36,716 Speaker 1: on the floor, close my eyes and try to focus 502 00:27:36,756 --> 00:27:39,876 Speaker 1: on my breath. And while that sounds really simple, it's 503 00:27:39,876 --> 00:27:43,556 Speaker 1: surprisingly hard. A previous guest on The Happiness Lab said 504 00:27:43,596 --> 00:27:46,516 Speaker 1: that sitting with his thoughts during his first meditation was 505 00:27:46,556 --> 00:27:49,996 Speaker 1: like trying to wrestle alive fish. But trust me, it 506 00:27:50,036 --> 00:27:52,956 Speaker 1: gets a lot easier. I'm no Jedi master, and I 507 00:27:53,036 --> 00:27:54,916 Speaker 1: have lots of days when I don't even get in 508 00:27:54,956 --> 00:27:58,636 Speaker 1: that ten minutes, but even my patchy meditation practice makes 509 00:27:58,636 --> 00:28:01,236 Speaker 1: me feel a lot better. I'm even starting to come 510 00:28:01,236 --> 00:28:03,916 Speaker 1: to terms with the sad fact that nothing is permanent 511 00:28:04,196 --> 00:28:07,396 Speaker 1: and that all good things come to an end, including 512 00:28:07,556 --> 00:28:10,316 Speaker 1: this mini season. So with that, I'd like to share 513 00:28:10,356 --> 00:28:13,356 Speaker 1: some gratitude. Thank you so much for listening to these shows, 514 00:28:13,436 --> 00:28:16,556 Speaker 1: which we've really enjoyed making, and never fear. The Happiness 515 00:28:16,596 --> 00:28:19,276 Speaker 1: Lab will be back with some special episodes as well 516 00:28:19,316 --> 00:28:22,036 Speaker 1: as a new season in January, where we explore how 517 00:28:22,076 --> 00:28:25,756 Speaker 1: other old school happiness lessons are also backed by modern science. 518 00:28:26,396 --> 00:28:33,716 Speaker 1: Until then, stay safe and stay happy. The Happiness Lab 519 00:28:33,756 --> 00:28:36,036 Speaker 1: is co written and produced by Ryan Dilley. The show 520 00:28:36,116 --> 00:28:38,676 Speaker 1: was mastered by Evan Viola and our original music was 521 00:28:38,716 --> 00:28:42,516 Speaker 1: composed by Zachary Silver. Special thanks to the entire Pushkin crew, 522 00:28:42,876 --> 00:28:47,596 Speaker 1: including Mia La Belle, Karli Migliori, Heather Fine, Sophie Crane, mckibbon, 523 00:28:47,916 --> 00:28:51,796 Speaker 1: Eric Sandler, Jacob Weisberg, and my agent Ben Davis. The 524 00:28:51,836 --> 00:28:54,516 Speaker 1: Happiness Lab is brought to you by Pushkin Industries and 525 00:28:54,676 --> 00:28:56,156 Speaker 1: meet doctor Laurie Santos.