The Dalai Lama met with some Westerners and was stunned to find out that most of them felt bad about themselves and some even admitted to self-hatred. In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the emphasis is not upon feeling inadequate but upon basic goodness. The Buddha nature is within the reach of all. On this seven-hour retreat on six CDs recorded at Gampo Abbey monastery in Nova Scotia, Buddhist nun Pema Chodron discusses the practices that can be done to cultivate a life of joy and service of others. We can all come to a state of "unshakable happiness" through honesty and loving-kindness. One of the major blocks is self-denigration; the antidote is cherishing our lives.

Chodron presents a quotation by Suzuki Roshi which can be referred to again and again by those who take up this quest for happiness: "Life is short, enjoy it day after day, moment after moment." Yet so many of us try to escape the present moment: "The potential for happiness is not based on outer things — they come and go, causing us misery. We're always chasing after something, trying to avoid the difficult places. But there are a lot of small sweetnesses that we ignore because they're so fleeting." Being receptive to whatever arises is one of the benefits of meditation. We need to practice this every day until it sinks into our consciousness and openness becomes a habitual way of dealing with thoughts, moods, emotions, and distractions.

True happiness is something that exists beyond pleasure and pain, praise and blame, and the other forces that animate our selfish egos. It grows out of a friendship with ourselves. Chodron challenges us to practice the seven ways of gathering virtue — prostrating, making offerings, confession, rejoicing, asking teachers to teach the dharma, asking teachers to live long lives, sharing the merit. Happiness is also nourished by a generous heart and sowing positive seeds. Chodron wants us to practice the four strengths — aspiration, steadfastness, joy, and moderation. All of these enable us to reconnect with our basic goodness and achieve the contentment that is at the core of true happiness.