What does Buddhism say about happiness? Better yet, how do we access it and sustain it, especially when faced with difficulties? In today’s episode, Rachel Salomonsen and Jim Krampf talk us through two of the biggest challenges to our happiness—our relationships with loved ones and situations in which we are faced with impossibly difficult circumstances. Here’s the key takeaway: By chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and taking full responsibility for our happiness, we can become people of conviction and tolerance—key qualities of a life of sustainable happiness. 

Note: Buddhist Solutions for Life’s Problems is supported by subscriptions to SGI-USA publications. It will be published every other month. For access to past podcasts, the print and online editions of World Tribune and Living Buddhism and the new World Tribune app, visit worldtribune.org.

This episode is based on the feature article from the March 2022 issue of Living Buddhism titled “Sustainable Happiness.”

7:25: October 2020 Living Buddhism, p. 15.

28:18: The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, revised edition, p. 230.

28:54: “On the Buddha’s Prophecy,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 402.

45:34: “Happiness in This World,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 681.

48:03: “Reply to Kyo’o,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 412.

49:14: The New Human Revolution, vol. 2, revised edition, pp. 86–87.

51:48: The Five Eternal Guidelines of the Soka Gakkai, p. 20.