The Dalai Lama's Happiness Summit

From Emory University.

The USA Today and Huffington Post report on the Dalai Lama's happiness summit at Emory University. His Holiness conducted a round-table discussion with some of the major emissaries of world religion, like Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of the Episcopal Church, and George Washington University Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr. They talked about each religion's view of happiness.

According to Old Testament professor Carol Newsom, the Old Testament recommends the kind of happiness that comes from understanding the consequences of your actions, then doing the sorts of things that produce the consequences you want. Professors of the New Testament and Quran, however, say that the goal of life is not happiness in this life, but salvation in the next. The Dalai Lama, like most Buddhists, stresses the importance of happiness on a moment-by-moment basis.

These are complex issues, so you may want to go to the actual website instead of reading this short blog summary. You may also want to view live streaming of the event. Go to the Huffington Post story to look at the schedule.