July 1st, 2007 04:28am
emmanuel
In his book titled The Art of Happiness, the Dalai Lama wrote that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness. For “whether one believes in religion or not, whether one believes in this religion or that religion, we are seeking something better in life —- the very motion of our life is towards happiness”. He then proceeds to show from personal life experience the sources of genuine happiness.
A critical factor for genuine happiness is the state of the mind. He demonstrates that happiness is determined more by one’s state of mind than by external events. As important as our material facilities and success may be, without the right mental attitude and attention, these things have very little or no positive impact on our long-term aspirations for genuine happiness. The mental state and mind factor have tremendous influence on our daily life experiences. Another important source of happiness is what the Dalai Lama refers to as “Inner Contentment”, which he says is “the true antidote of greed”. And one sure and reliable way towards achieving inner contentment is to “want and appreciate what we have”.
A third source of happiness as outlined in The Art of Happiness is a sense of self-worth and human dignity that comes from our relationship and bond with fellow human beings. This bond, the Dalai Lama says, “can become a source of consolation in the event that you lose everything else”.
The Dalai Lama then progresses to show the difference between happiness and pleasure. True happiness he says relates more to the heart and mind and is lasting and genuine, whereas pleasure mainly depends on the physical and is short-lived. And the Dalai Lama then says that we must learn to approach our choices with caution, bearing in mind the fact that what we are seeking is genuine happiness and not just pleasure.
In both the Ethics for the New Millennium and The Art of Happiness, we are presented with key ingredients for achieving genuine and lasting happiness. These include a compassionate heart, seeking to make others happy, acting out of concern for others, love, forgiveness and reconciliation, inner peace, training our minds towards happiness and sincerely deepening our connection to others, friendship, self-control and inner discipline and hope, among others.
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June 30th, 2007 03:51am
emmanuel
On Saturday, 16th June 2007, 15 members gathered together at my residence in Jos-Nigeria for a Study Circle dialogue on the Dalai Lama’s Ethics for the New Millennium. The study centered on the sixth chapter of the Ethics for the New Millennium titled, “The Ethic of Restraint”. It was the second time in one year that we studied this chapter, due to popular demand and interest, and considering the great significance of the message and concepts in that chapter. Above all, we wanted to further deepen our understanding and appreciation of the keys issues, ideas and recommendations the Dalai Lama made in that chapter of the book. Also, during our first study of the chapter, Paul Emenike had requested a repeat study, saying that it was for him, the most challenging and most demanding of all. His request received overwhelming support and endorsement of other Study Circle members, which was why we came back from Chapter 13 to re-study chapter 6. The study was very lively, interesting and fun-filled.
The Ethic of Restraint, which we also called the Dalai Lama’s teaching on “Self-control”, proffers a two-pronged approach for developing human compassion which is the foundation for genuine happiness. These include the restraining of those factors inimical to, and which inhibit compassion, as well as the cultivation of those factors conducive to and supportive for the development and nurturing of compassion. In this Chapter of the Ethics for the New Millennium, His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaks directly to the heart and mind, “from which all our actions spring”. He then likens the undisciplined mind to a wild, rampaging and destructive elephant and also states that negative impulses of the mind, including afflictive emotions constitute major obstacles to our basic aspirations for genuine happiness and is the source of pain and suffering in our world today.
The Ethic of Restraint calls us to reflect very profoundly on our lives, exercise self-control and discipline over our thoughts and actions, ensuring that we think creatively and positively and implement only those actions that benefit fellow human beings, our environment and the world in which we live. The Dalai Lama challenges us all in this chapter of the Ethics for the New Millennium to deliberately cultivate a habit of inner discipline and self-control over our minds, thoughts and emotions, failure of which would lead to devastating and damaging consequences, both to ourselves, to others and the world we inhabit.
There was a moment for deep reflection followed by individual discussions and sharing based on practical and personal life experiences. Members were particularly moved to tears when Peter Chimezie shared his personal experience of how deeply-rooted anger destroys friendship and undermines genuine happiness. He said it began with a simple misunderstanding with his wife at home. He was very upset that his wife refused to obey his instructions. This made him so angry that he beat her up to the point of comma, and he ended up also fighting and insulting everyone in his office throughout that week. He soon discovered that people were running away from him and not wanting to see him. The experience he said caused him and those around him so much pain and sadness.
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August 18th, 2006 09:34am
emmanuel
Dear all,
Special greetings to you. At this time, I want to share details of our April 21-23rd 2006 National Days of Interfaith Youth Service and the Global Youth Service Day in Jos-Nigeria. The program was a huge success. We partnered with the Interfaith Youth Core and the Youth Service America, while the grant check came from the Washington based National Conference on Citizenship, on behalf of the Case Foundation and the UN Foundation.
Pls, note that Study Circle Meetings are going on very well. In a few days from now, I will be sending in details of additional Study Circles in Nigeria.
Pls, find details of report and photos at the ACYD Foundation web site.
Regards and best wishes
Emmanuel Ande Ivorgba
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December 17th, 2005 06:01pm
Sky
Following on October’s interview with DLF Study Circle Coordinator Emmanuel Ivorgba, we‘re delighted to report on Nigeria’s group training for Study Circle participants of Northwest Africa. The training was held October 27 at the Zainab Hotel in Jos, capital of Plateau State.
(more…)
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December 17th, 2005 03:16pm
Sky
To help jump-start things, let us welcome our Study Circles Coordinator, Emmanuel Ande Ivorgba. 
Emmanuel has been coordinating things for several months now, and his welcome statement and introduction can be found on the main website. Study Circles have become so popular we’ve put them under a new section Programs in the website.
(more…)
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February 3rd, 2005 06:39pm
emmanuel
Hi,
We ran into a real sticky one this week. How to put this…
One of our group was trying out one of the empathy exercises and she let a contractor get further and further behind in his work because he said he was having personal difficulties. She thought: be patient and kind and help him try to keep the job. However, after a while he stopped doing the work and even billed her. She believes he lied and wrote him, such and terminated the position. Now she feels like she failed because noone seemed to benefit from the situation including the clients.
To sum up - where did she stop being empathetic, acting ethically and transform into a doormat? She is also upset and feels used.
The group told her that her one opportunity was where she told him the job was over. Since we all lie, could she have couched it in terms that were more kind.
My question - because she let it go on too long, should she have just taken full responsibility for his actions with regard to the company and prevented the loss of his reputation? Should she have treated him like any other contractor only instill kindness and respect while maintaining his committment be fulfilled from the beginning?
Thanks,
Tracy
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February 3rd, 2005 06:37pm
emmanuel
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February 3rd, 2005 06:28pm
emmanuel
Hi,
Due to a high level of spam being entered in Blogs, we have decided for the moment to only allow myself to add main entries into the blog. So, if you would like to have something included, please e-mail it to me and I’ll add it. Also, you will have the ability to comment on all entries. However, your comments will need to be approved, except if you are registered with Typekey (http://www.typekey.com/ ) then they will be approved automatically. This will prevent spam from creeping into the blog. I will do my best to review the site a few times a day. Please be patient, this is new to me.
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January 17th, 2005 05:21am
emmanuel
My name is Greg Schultz, and I am pleased to be the new Dalai Lama Foundation Study Circle Coordinator. I am truly humbled by this opportunity and am here to be of service in any way I can to both the current Study Circles and to anyone who may wish to start a new circle.
My goal is to provide whatever support the Study Circles may find useful. Also, I would like to facilitate dialog between circles in order to share their experiences, if that is of interest.
I can be reached at studycircles@dlfound.org.
On a personal note, I have been married for 22 years and have a 20 yr old son and an 18 yr old daughter. I live near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Professionally, I am employed by Hewlett-Packard as a global account manager. My family is involved with various peace organizations in the local area.
I am very excited to be part of this wonderful organization that is focused on ethics and peace. I look forward to my new role and know that by working together we can make a difference in our world today and for the world we will leave to our children.
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