José Antonio Hernández Manchado - Be happier than the Dalai Lama: The wisdom of the Great Masters applied to the modern world

Be happier than the Dalai Lama

The wisdom of the Great Masters applied to the modern world

Jos Antonio Manchado

Be happier than the Dalai Lama

The wisdom of the Great Masters applied to the modern world

Be happier than the Dalai Lama.
The wisdom of the Great Masters applied to the modern world

Jos Antonio Manchado

Edited by:

PUNTO ROJO LIBROS, S.L.

Cuesta del Rosario, 8

Sevilla 41004

Spain

902.918.997

info@puntorojolibros.com

Layout and production: Punto Rojo Libros

Cover design : Vanesa Rodrguez

Translation: Alexia Weninger and Rubn Prez

2015 Jos Antonio Manchado

2015 Punto Rojo Libros, de esta edicin

The reproduction of this work, whether in whole or in part and by any means, including reprography, electronic processing and the distribution of this edition through rental or public loans, is strictly prohibited, unless written permission by the copyright holders has been obtained. Any such reproduction will be sanctioned as provided by applicable law.

To Julia Rivas, for her help and support
during the preparation of this book.

Chapter 19: Often, the worst is the best
and an accident is a blessing

Chapter 25: Changing the world with your smile
(and not letting the world change your smile)

Chapter 30: The ego and its mental
program of conflict and suffering

Chapter 31: The day I let go of everything
and allowed life simply to be

Chapter 45: Events are neutral; it all depends
on how you relate to them emotionally

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life
of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.

Buddha

I dedicate a large part of my life to giving workshops and seminars on personal discovery, well-being, reconnecting with life and finding true happiness. In these activities I often use anecdotes and experiences I have had the blessing of having or witnessing, as a way to illustrate with real-life examples the various teachings I want to share, such as overcoming challenges, managing fears, discovering your true self and learning to live in peace and with full awareness.

Some time ago, patients, students and friends started suggesting that I write a book, to make all of these experiences accessible to more people. So one fine day I made the decision to gather some of them together and make them available to all beings without exception.

While all of the situations described in this book are real, and are the fruit of my own experiences, they do not appear in chronological order: I opted to focus instead on the teachings themselves, on the message that can be drawn from them, and on the exercises of peace and mental clarity, intuitively choosing as examples the experiences that seemed most illustrative. Most of the stories are accompanied by a reflection from the masters and some type of practice activity. In others readers are simply encouraged to quietly connect with how they feel after reading the text.

I would like to emphasize that, despite its title, this book is not purely Buddhist, nor is it about the Dalai Lama, although I certainly have great respect and admiration for him and his work in raising awareness and spreading the teachings of Dharma and peace all over the world.

This book, thanks to the wide variety of masters that have guided and inspired me, contains the essence of many philosophies and spiritual paths, so I invite you to open your heart and read it independently of any label or concept, with the understanding that all paths are rivers leading to the same ocean.

The intention behind the writing of this book is to build a bridge between ancestral tools and the modern world in which we live. Although the teachings explored here are based at a profound level on unity and therefore tend to use non-dualistic language, in this book you will find dual language, or language at different levels ... Let me clarify: my priority is to make something easy and practical out of a topic that might at first seem complicated and suitable only for a few fortunate ones . I wanted to write a book that could be understood by any reader, regardless of the previous knowledge he or she may have. I decided, therefore, that the reflections I offer should maintain the level of awareness I had when these situations occurred in my life, and to renounce form in favor of content, because I know in my heart that the true way to comprehend these teachings is through practice and direct experience.

What you will read and, if you wish, practice in this book will help you deprogram a mind that has been programmed in conflict, so that you can experience a state of genuine, unconditional and true peace.

To conclude this introduction, I would like to express my profound gratitude to all the beings who have inspired this book and have helped me learn to deprogram my mind (eliminating the limiting beliefs programmed into it) and thus be able to remember, reawaken and attain this state of joy and understanding in my life. Thank you to all my friends, students and the over one thousand patients I have treated and, particularly, to teachers such as Kalu T and Mr. Daz , and countless other extraordinary persons who have enabled me to learn and remember the meaning of life. And, of course, a huge THANK YOU, in capital letters, goes to my family: my father and my mother, who are among my greatest teachers and whom I love unconditionally.

My deepest thanks to all of you!

May the teachings of this book benefit all beings without exception!

Jos Antonio Manchado

Expecting an intellectual understanding of Buddhist texts alone to solve our problems is like a sick person hoping to cure his or her illness through merely reading medical instructions without actually taking the medicine.

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

In my early encounters with my teachers, when I saw and felt their smiles and eyes full of joy, I had the strange sensation (like many Westerners do) that for some reason they knew some joke that I could not quite perceive.

On one occasion, when I spoke to them of what I considered my problems, one of these teachers commented that life is one big, wonderful joke and the only challenge is to understand it so that you can laugh along with it.

I asked him to please share it with me. And he responded like this:

I will show you some practices aimed at revealing your true nature that will help you discover the illusory nature of what you call problems . This true essence is like an immense shining sun and, to connect with it, all you need to do is sweep away the clouds of ignorance that are covering it.

Today, after experiencing what these wise people have shared with me, I smile with a feeling of true happiness, knowing that I am ONE with life. The tools are simple and I share them every day; many of them have been gathered together in this book.

Let us now begin the journey that will reunite us with our true happiness...but please remember:

I have no absolute truths, nor definite answers. In fact, I know absolutely nothing.

All I have are the experiences I have gone through and felt. Dont believe anything you hear me say.

Just apply some of these tools that have worked for me and for others, and then share your experience with all other beings without exception .

Jos Antonio Manchado
The yoga of happiness workshop January 2012, Lanzarote.

Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes.
Because for those who love with heart and soul, there is no such thing as separation