What Is Happiness?: A Monk's Guide to a Happy Life

This timely meditation on taking ownership of our own happiness distills the wisdom of one of the world's most revered monks and teachers into a conversational, approachable guide to understanding ourselves and our emotions.

"When I ask people, 'Are you happy?' in my talks, very few people say 'yes.' "

There are many things that seem to prevent us from being happy in our lives. Usually, things don't turn out the way we want them to. It could be unfulfilled goals, bad habits, a society that's built to benefit only those at the very top, or the loops of self-deprecation that many of us find ourselves falling into. But there is more hope than we may realize.

With his simple yet profound teachings, Buddhist monk Pomnyun Sunim demonstrates how to combat day-to-day anxiety, insecurity, anger, and discouragement. He explains why humans are prone to self-destruction and redirects our focus to finding happiness. Written in a conversational and gently inquisitive style, this book is the perfect guide for anyone who is ready to take control of their happiness--no matter what life throws their way.

Author: Pomnyun Sunim
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Published: 01/20/2026
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 7.70h x 5.50w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9798881605643

About the Author
Venerable Pomnyun Sunim is a peace activist who delivers messages of peace and reconciliation. A humanitarian activist who provides various forms of aid to developing countries, he is a thinker who is paving the way toward a new alternative civilization, and an awakened practitioner. In 1988, he founded the Jungto Society, a community of practitioners who vowed to free themselves from suffering and devote themselves to serving others and the world by each leading the life of a bodhisattva.

Ven. Pomnyun Sunim's Dharma talks are clear and straightforward. He has an exceptional ability to explain the Buddha's teachings in simple, contemporary language. As a result, his spoken and written messages help each of his followers to redirect their gaze inward in self-reflection. The esoteric content of Buddhist sutras are brought to life thanks to his wisdom, intuition, and insight.

As of January 2025, YouTube videos of Sumin's Dharma talks have had more than 1.7 billion views. He shares his wisdom about how to free oneself from suffering and how to become happy through his Dharma Q&As and the Happiness School program. To date, he has delivered more than 12,000 Dharma Q&As in South Korea and about 300 Dharma Q&As in other countries around the world, including the 115 talks he gave during his global tour in 2014. Also, since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, Ven. Pomnyun Sunim has been interacting with hundreds of thousands of people through his weekly online Dharma Q&As in Korean, and biweekly talks in English. Among the more than 50 books Ven. Pomnyun Sunim has published in Korean so far, the most notable are Things Are Good as They Are Now, Buddha and Commentary on the Diamond Sutra.

Based on the idea that practice at the individual level goes hand in hand with social engagement, Ven. Pomnyun Sunim has engaged in extensive peace initiatives for various causes, including a peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula, refugee support, international relief efforts and interfaith reconciliation and cooperation. Throughout the years, he has received numerous awards in recognition for his efforts. In 2002, he received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Peace and International Understanding, and he was presented the 37th Niwano Peace Prize in 2021.