Who doesn’t want to be happy?

A thief after successfully stealing certainly feels happy. Those who make money, not following the right pathway, are always considered happier. Even a serial killer becomes happy after killing a target. In fact, there was one serial killer known as the Happy Face Killer. What about mass shooters? According to one psychiatrist, they have the excitement of shooting the target, thus are definitely happy during and after a shooting.

But are they really happy or just apparently happy? According to the happy-expert, Matthieu Ricard, happiness depends on universal compassion.

In the above-mentioned examples, as I understand, there was no compassion involved.

Long ago I wrote a column in The Dispatch with a title, “Know your strength and be happy.” As a teacher – and whatever else I am doing – I try to be aware of my limits, and I always try to be happy. There is almost no anger in me, maybe sadness.

Everyone in the world has the right to be happy, no matter what the country, community or environment. Finland has been topping the list of the most happy countries since 2016. Currently the USA ranks 15th and Hawaii followed by Utah is the top state.

Why and how does Finland become, year after year, the happiest country in the world?

The answer lies with the following Finnish proverb: Onnellisuus on se paikka puuttuvaisuuden ja yltäkylläisyyden välillä (Happiness is a place between too little and too much).

Also included are a low crime rate, low level of corruption, healthcare access for everyone, a strong emphasis on cooperation rather than competitiveness and a full-time workweek consisting of 37 hours, so more time with family members.

Interestingly, according to Alexa von Tobel who worked in Harvard’s “happiness lab,” the number one thing that actually drives happiness – it isn’t money – is to create community and connectedness.

However, who is the happiest person in the world? Is there anyone?

Recently, New York Times journalist, David Marchese wrote an article on the “World’s Happiest Man.” This man is none other than Matthieu Ricard, a 77-year-old a Buddhist monk, a creative writer, disciple of the Dalai Lama, originally from France but residing in Nepal. He has a PhD in cellular genetics from the University of Wisconsin.

Interestingly, his brain had been tested for 12 years at the University of Wisconsin and was found to produce gamma waves, which means a happier person with higher consciousness. That’s how Dr. Ricard became known by the media to be the happiest man in the world.

He emphasized only two words to become happier in life: meditation and compassion. In Marchese’s article, he writes about asking Dr. Ricard what person he would most like to spend 24 hours alone with. Marchese writes:

Saddam Hussein, he said, “Maybe, maybe, some small change in him might be possible. I sometimes visualize Donald Trump going to hospitals, taking care of people, taking migrants to his home.

You can wish that the cruelty, the indifference, the greed may disappear from these people’s minds. That’s compassion; that’s being impartial.”

There are a number of documentaries on Dr. Matthieu Ricard, however “from stress to happiness” is mind blowing. He has written many books too, and I look forward to reading his forthcoming memoir, “Notebooks of a Wandering Monk.”

Jiben Roy, a native of Bangladesh, teaches chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences at Mississippi University for Women. He writes occasional column in the Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].

Jiben Roy, a native of Bangladesh, teaches chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences at Mississippi University for Women. His email address is [email protected].

READER FAVORITES

• 

  Our View: Mississippi schools must adapt to fewer students

  By Dispatch Editorial Board • 2 days ago

• 

  Our View: Together, the Golden Triangle is a stronger sell; now our heads turn to the LINK

  By Dispatch Editorial Board • 13 hours ago