Do you practise meditation because you want to feel good? Or to help you relax and be “happy”? Then frankly, according to Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse, you are far better off having a full-body massage than trying to practise the Dharma.

Khyentse shows that genuine spiritual practise, not least the Ngöndro preliminaries, will not bring the kind of comfort and ease most worldly people crave. Quite the opposite, in fact. But if your ultimate goal is enlightenment, Ngöndro practise is a must, and Not for Happiness is your perfect guide, containing everything an aspiring practitioner needs to start to practise including advice about:

• “renunciation mind”
• discipline, meditation, and wisdom
• using your imagination in visualisation practise
• why we need a guru

ALSO BY DZONGSAR KHYENTSE

So you think you're a Buddhist? Think again. In What Makes You Not a Buddhist, Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse throws down the gauntlet to the Buddhist world, challenging common misconceptions, stereotypes, and fantasies. With wit and irony, Khyentse urges readers to move beyond the superficial trappings of Buddhism—beyond the romance with beads, incense, or exotic robes—straight to the heart of what the Buddha taught.