Author: Anna Lännström (Stonehill College)
In “Redefining the Goal,” the Dalai Lama contrasts transient and lasting happiness and argues that while other factors like friends, good health, liberty, and prosperity can contribute to our happiness, the most important component of happiness is inner peace and that, in turn, is largely about our own attitude. Without inner peace, these other factors can be a source of trouble (worry, frustration).
Primary Sources
Compare/Contrast with
Primary Sources:
Dalai Lama. “Redefining the Goal.” From Ethics for the New Millennium. (New York: Riverhead Books, 1999). 49-62.
Compare/Contrast with:
Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, Book 1
Carvaka school (materialist philosophy of life)
Epicurus’ conception of the pleasant life
Stoic philosophy, e.g. Epictetus
Zhuangzi on happiness
Global Philosophy 