Book Review of Radically Happy
What did I like the most? The concise definition of the word bliss and how it can be attained in human life.
It is a thought-provoking article by Eric Solomon. The writer opens up the article and introduces phakchok Rinpoche, whom he has communicated with for the last year. Their communication was in progress regarding writing a book on an accomplished Tibetan master and a Silicon Valley business manager/ geek/ practitioner.
An able graphic artist was recruited to make the book beautiful. Despite laying down, many essential topics discussed and in hand, there was lacking a unifying structure. During the digital chat, the writer is told by phakchok Rinpoche that the upcoming book must contain three main sections:
- Happiness
- Great happiness and bliss
- Listening to these words, the writer feels happy. It has to be a book with broad appeal, immediate relief to modern-day life and wholly has the Three Yanas.
- Ancient knowledge in a modern world,
- Meditation in a stressful world
- Compassion in a time of a lot of self-centred concerns
So the book had to be bent with all the input and valuable for the masses. Writing such a book posed a significant challenge because the language to be used in the book should be understood by a commoner. The word bliss may mean many things to many people. According to the Buddhist school of thought, the bliss of Vajrayana transcends any subject/object dichotomy. Bliss is simply the absence of any samsaric state. The writer further discussed the topic and matter of the book with some of his friends in Barcelona. New vocabulary for the book comes up.
Essential happiness, interconnected happiness, leading to radical happiness
So how to define these terms was a challenge. When one is fully present, free from habitually chasing thoughts, essential happiness arises. When one is in a loving embrace with the world they inhabit, and their people interact with, interconnected happiness arises. The meaning of life is understood when one is more connected with someone’s surroundings; the less one will obsess about oneself. Thus the person will have more life satisfaction.
Radical happiness is derived from first, i.e., essential pleasure and interconnected satisfaction. Happiness grows more pungent as one cultivates dignity through listening, reflecting, and experiencing. Having gone through the article, one may always like to go through the book once it reaches the bookstore.
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