Cuong Lu

Cuong Lu is a Buddhist teacher ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh at Plum Village. He dedicated his life to service after witnessing a shooting while fleeing Vietnam in 1975. He served as a monk for sixteen years and now teaches in the Netherlands, where he lives with his wife and three children. A former prison chaplain, he is the author of The Buddha in Jail.

"In this enlightening guide, Buddhist teacher Lu lays out lessons on finding value in every emotion. The author skillfully distills Buddhist psychology down to graspable spiritual principles and delivers them in a compassionate tone, making for easy reading and lessons readers will be able to apply to their lives. This deceptively brief entry has insight to spare." —Publishers Weekly

"An insightful, inspiring, uplifting guide for building a meaningful life and living it to the fullest. Written in an engaging and easy-to-understand style, what makes this book stand out from the crowd is its incredibly practical approach. It’s full of simple but powerful practices that anybody can do to enrich and enhance their life, moment by moment." —Russ Harris, author of The Happiness Trap

"Cuong Lu’s poetic and simple teachings can lead one to immediate peace. Meditation is in between each word and the application of that meditation is in his teaching stories. In this sweet and gentle text, Lu makes it clear that happiness is overrated when the joy in our lives is giving and receiving. This book is truly a gift." —Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, author of The Deepest Peace and Shamanic Bones of Zen

"Cuong Lu's simple, down-to-earth teachings—rooted in a unique blending of the Yogachara teaching of Consciousness-Only and the Vietnamese Zen discipline of mindfulness—reveal the profound depth of Buddhadharma. A lay dharma heir to the late Thich Nhat Hanh, whose wisdom lingers throughout this small gem of a book, Cuong offers 30 refreshing contemplative prompts at the end of each chapter, inviting you to inquire into what he calls the ‘raw mind’ of innate freedom and connection. This is a wonderful guide for all those interested in mindfulness and meditation." —Guo Gu, author of Silent Illumination and Passing through the Gateless Barrier

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’Please remember this is not a theoretical presentation. . . . It’s a call for peace.’ Cuong Lu’s Happiness is Overrated is that rarest of achievements: a deeply spiritual text providing simple yet profound bite-size, doable exercises offering a practical path to that place of great healing and lasting peace—our ‘true home’—which already resides within each of us if we know where and how to look. Like his beloved teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, Cuong Lu provides us with concrete ways to quiet, deepen, and focus the mind on what truly matters in life.

After reading Happiness is Overrated, I found myself treasuring everyday opportunities to practice the exercises Lu so wisely and lovingly provides us. Suddenly, waiting in line at the bank, grocery store, or post office are transformed from drudgery into precious opportunities to practice, to deepen, and to grow. And isn’t that what great literature does: awaken us to the possibilities offered in each moment? Happiness is Overrated belongs with Ram Dass’s Be Here Now, Bo Lozoff’s We’re All Doing Time, and Eknath Easwaran’s The Mantram on that most important shelf in any personal library—the one labeled ‘Books that changed my life.’