Happiness and Buddhism

Meditation

Buddhism holds the secret of happiness and the key method of achieving this is meditation. From meditation, Buddhists train their brains to feel true happiness and control aggressive instincts. It is backed by research. 

 According to Owen Flanagan, professor of philosophy at Duke University in North Carolina, Buddhists appear to be able to stimulate the left prefrontal lobe (the happiness center), an area just behind the forehead, to generate positive emotions and a feeling of well-being. 

Another study of Buddhists by scientists at the University of California has also found the meditation might tame the amygdala, the part of the brain involved with fear and anger. 

 According to Buddhism the purpose of meditation is to make our mind calm and peaceful. When our mind is peaceful, we will be free from worries and mental discomfort, and so we will experience genuine happiness. 

By training in meditation, we create an inner space and clarity that enable us to control our mind regardless of the external circumstances. For Buddhists, the highest form of happiness lies in this inner freedom rather than the freedom to acquire and consume.

 Happiness is determined by one's state of mind rather than by external events.