Chapter 1: Why Doesn't My Life Go the Way I Want It to?
Choice and Self-Contradiction
If you are wandering between ideal and reality
Walk out of the prison of false consciousness
The Secret to Happiness
Let go of greed and make a wish
There is a time difference between fate and retribution.

Chapter 2: Emotions are formed habits
Free from feelings of like and dislike
Fire, a fuse inside me that has nothing to do with the other person
The Third Way: Neither Patience nor Anger
If you feel wronged because you can't respond to what the other person says,
How to Turn Past Hurts into Assets in Life
Regret is clinging to past mistakes.
Anxiety comes from an obsession with the future.
Inferiority and superiority complexes have the same roots.
The mind is born, dwells, changes, and ceases to exist
Habits that are formed can be changed.

Chapter 3: How to Live with People Who Think Differently from You
All conflict begins with relationships.
Good people vs. bad people
There is no one in the world who has everything.
Conditions for a happy marriage
A life that is pleasing to others
A boss at work who shows you the middle way
Most relationships start with selfishness.
'Give and take' is a transaction, not a relationship.
If you live with a sense of responsibility, your life becomes empty.
The mind that relies is the seed of the mind that resents.
Don't interfere in other people's lives.
Trees come together to form a forest.

Chapter 4: Don't Build Your Happiness on Others' Misfortune
What is true success?
Don't build your happiness on other people's misfortune.
Desire is like a wood fire
The Three Stages of Desire: Need, Desire, and Greed
Individuals are seeds, society is the field
If two hunters catch three rabbits
Before blaming others, start with yourself.
A path that makes me happy and benefits others

Chapter 5: Practice Being Happier Today Than Yesterday
Let go of your discerning mind
Insight, the wisdom to see things in their entirety, free from suffering
Will you escalate the conflict or gain from it?
The merit gained from comforting others
Love has dimensions
Happiness lies in fun and fulfillment.
How to Share Your Life's Time Happily
At any moment, we can choose happiness.

Published in 2016, it was loved by 300,000 readers and ranked first in the field as a bestseller.
Special hardcover edition of 『The Happiness of Monk Beopryun』, still much loved
A new healing package that lets you read, listen, and write about today's happiness!

"The Happiness of Monk Beopryun," which has served as a guide for those who are tired of life, hurt in relationships, and suffering in an absurd world, has been published in a special hardcover edition to repay the love of 300,000 readers.


The special edition includes a hardcover book with a gorgeous cover featuring artist Kim Jeong-suk's "Spring Feast-3" and a 100-day copy notebook, allowing readers to experience the joy of copying by copying one sentence per day from the book for 100 days.
Additionally, the entire book is made into an audiobook (7 hours long) with a QR code, giving you a new experience of listening to the wisdom of happiness.
Just like the lectures and Q&A videos of Venerable Pomnyun that many people listen to on a daily basis, the QR code included in the special edition of the hardcover edition of 『Venerable Pomnyun's Happiness』 allows readers to listen to Venerable Pomnyun's message of happiness, which resonated with 300,000 readers, anytime, anywhere.

A book that will serve as a compass for those who want to be happy but are lost and don't know the way.
A cool yet warm, simple yet clear guide to happiness from the Venerable Pomnyun.
Many people ask the author how to date, how to get married, how to raise children, how to manage work, and how to resolve social conflicts and inequality in the world.
Each question seems different, but if you look closely, they are all fundamentally about happiness.
This book is an answer to that earnest question, and is a guide to happiness by Venerable Pomnyun, a selection of the questions and answers that received the most sympathy and enthusiastic responses from countless people who have asked the author in lecture halls and on the streets of 115 cities around the world as well as across Korea over the past 30 years. It can be said to be the sum total of what we need to know about happiness and a treasure trove of wisdom necessary for living life.


If the books the author has published so far have mainly been organized by topic based on life counseling shared with questioners through Q&A, this book focuses on where complete happiness comes from.
Furthermore, while the book has so far primarily emphasized the mindset that individuals should have in terms of practice, this book also addresses social issues, another wheel that pulls the cart of happiness.
Ultimately, one can only be completely happy if one cultivates both one's individual mind (seed) and social conditions (field).


The first half of this book, which can be considered the author's theory of happiness, deals with personal issues such as the psychology and desires latent in the unconscious, and conflicts arising from forming relationships. The second half comprehensively analyzes the factors that hinder our happiness, including the structural contradictions of society that we have tried to ignore because we are busy with life or because the reality we face is uncomfortable, and offers wise solutions to them.


This book eliminates all empty and vain stories that are disconnected from real life and focuses solely on how to resolve the specific suffering that occurs in real life.
As a result, the author's way of speaking, which cuts to the heart of the matter without beating around the bush, may feel too cold or direct to those who expect comfort and consolation through sweet and kind words.
Perhaps, after seeing only a few, you might dismiss it as the words of a monk who has left the secular world and is ignorant of the world.
It is easy to dismiss stories as irrelevant to oneself, especially because of differences in religion and circumstances.
However, the author considers the questioner's situation no matter what question he is asked, and at the same time, he speaks with a warm heart and a solution, hoping that ordinary people who end up blaming others and the environment and then repeating self-deprecation and self-abuse to expand and reproduce their suffering will no longer wander in suffering.
So each question is someone else's story, but ultimately it is my story, and the author's answer is advice for all of us.
The message this book conveys through numerous counseling cases and the author's own experiences is as follows.

“No matter what kind of life you live, you have the right to be happy.
However, I should not build my happiness on the misfortune of others."
Reading the cool yet warm, simple yet clear theory of happiness of the Venerable Pomnyun, I was able to see myself and the world objectively, as countless irrational beliefs and stereotypes lurking within me were shattered.
Therefore, this book will be the best gift for those who wish to transcend the fences and limitations of the 'self' and live as the masters of their own lives and this world.

'Why doesn't my life go the way I want it to?'
Why do most relationships make us suffer?
Why is the world so unfair?

We, like you and me, live busy lives, running here and there to find our own happiness.
However, it is true that there are few people who live so diligently but actually say, "I am happy now."
Rather, there is a long line of groans from souls suffering from personal worries and wounds, conflicts and stress from forming relationships, frustration with the absurdity of the world, and anxiety about the future.

"If I had the financial means, I would like to start studying design again, which is what I want to do, to make use of my aptitude.
But as I get married and have children, it seems like it's getting harder and harder to quit my job and pursue my dreams.
Can I just give up on my dreams and live day by day like this?

“Until now, I have lived my life resenting my unfortunate family and incompetent parents.
Since I started praying recently, my resentment toward my parents has largely disappeared.
I felt sorry for having such feelings and repented a lot.
But now, I feel dissatisfied with this side of myself, and I feel depressed and guilty."

"When I try to go to work in the morning, I feel so miserable that I almost cry.
Even while I'm working, I cry, and when I get home, I feel miserable and depressed.
So I want to quit my job, but people around me tell me to hold on because it's hard to get back into a big company like that these days when jobs are hard to come by, and because it's a job that women can hold for a long time.
But I'm so miserable every day and I don't know what to do."

"Why am I only 170 centimeters tall and so ugly? There are many people who are over 180 centimeters tall and have handsome faces.
And why are there those who have a lot and those who don't, those who are happy and those who are unhappy? Is this the law of the world? Is this the world that God and Buddha spoke of?"

"It seems like we've been seeing a lot of complex and difficult-to-understand issues lately. From the ISIS crisis to the conflicts in the Middle East to the Ebola outbreak, it feels like the entire universe is nearing its end.
What on earth is going on?"

From the lament of a young person wandering between ideals and reality, to the resentment of not having good parents and a good environment, to the sobbing of a new employee complaining that company life is too difficult, to the resentment of an unfair world, to the questions of a Google employee about terrorism and conflict, what solutions does the monk offer to the tens of thousands of questions of people thirsting for happiness?

"It seems like I'm answering a lot of people's questions, but that's not really the case.
I'm just telling you to look at it from a different perspective.
It's just asking someone who only looks at the front, "What about the back?", someone who only looks at this side, "What about that side?", and someone who only looks at the top, "What about the bottom?"
By letting go of what you were holding onto and looking only at one side, you come to realize that what you were holding onto was not a problem.
When you gain the wisdom to see the whole picture of things, many of the worries you have had will disappear on their own.
It's like turning on a light in a dark room and the darkness disappears."

In this book, the author says that in order to escape suffering and become completely happy, we must develop the insight to see the whole picture of things.
In other words, we can fundamentally resolve suffering only by developing the habit of looking at and thinking about things from various perspectives, breaking free from the fence of 'I'.
To do this, the author suggests that we begin by letting go of the stereotypes and assumptions that we have stubbornly held onto as the highway to happiness.

Monk, where does complete happiness come from?
Life wisdom that changed the lives of millions of readers thirsting for happiness.

It is common sense and an axiom that on a plane, only one shortest distance can be drawn between two points.
But if you look at a round globe, there are countless shortest distances from one point to another.
If the assumption of a plane disappears, the shortest distances become infinitely numerous.
The same goes for our lives. If we set a prerequisite for happiness and strive to be happy according to that standard, it may seem like there is no other way, but the moment we let go of this prerequisite, countless paths to happiness open up.
In this book, the author suggests that those who are thirsty for happiness should let go of the things we have taken for granted and held onto, and start raising fundamental questions about the way we live and our values ​​today.
To do that, he says, we must first understand what is hindering our happiness right now.
"Unhappiness may be due to self-created pain, unmet needs, poorly cultivated habits, or conflicts in relationships.
Or maybe it's because of our unfair society.
When a person's values ​​are wrong, they need to correct their own hearts. When a relationship is wrong, they need to find where the problem originated by adjusting each other's desires.
When you think there's a problem with a social system, you should first try your best within the given conditions and, once you're convinced that it's wrong, you should try to improve it.
"Usually, we live in discontent without even trying to confront it, but even if we do that, the world doesn't change and we only suffer."
Only when you clearly understand the reason why you are unhappy can the path to solving the problem open up.
Then, you will be able to avoid the mistake of running towards happiness without regard for the consequences, only to end up being further from happiness.


“No matter what kind of life you live, you have the right to be happy.
But don't build your happiness on other people's misfortune!"

Although GDP is rising and our lives have become incomparably more affluent than before, there is a growing number of people who say that life is more difficult than before and that there is no hope in sight.
So what is the concept of happiness in this age we live in? For most, it's about possessing more "than others," whether it's wealth, power, fame, or knowledge, and living comfortably without suffering.
Because each side seeks a better position and greater profits, conflicts inevitably arise and the rift deepens.
I think that if you win, you are happy, and if you lose, you are unhappy.
Everyone wants to beat others and become a winner.
Especially in our society today, in order to succeed, you have to step on the sacrifices of others.
However, Monk Beopryun says bluntly, "You can never be happy by pursuing selfish happiness, trying to go to heaven and paradise alone."
He then adds:
"The happiness we talk about ultimately stands on the misfortune of others.
While I am happy that I passed the exam, someone else is experiencing the bitter taste of failure.
While I am rejoicing over my victory in the election, someone else is in despair after losing.
While I'm rejoicing over winning a competitive bid, someone else is having a hard time dealing with the aftermath of not winning.
While some people within an organization earn high incomes, others may be living on low incomes due to job instability.
"There are many people who struggle to find jobs outside the organization."
So, isn't there a way to transcend these contradictions and achieve happiness for both of us? In this book, the author presents the secret to living in a competitive society today, winning without oppressing others, and losing without feeling defeated.
The way to do this is to make your life's goal second place, not first place.
For example, if you go to sell something and a competitor suddenly appears and offers the same price, and you feel that you absolutely must sell your item, you will get confused and think, 'Should I lower the price?' or 'What else should I add?' Instead, you can tell the customer, 'Please buy that one first.'
If you can say, "I'll go somewhere else and try again," then you don't have any headaches.
But if you think you can't go down this path and have no choice but to compete and live, then I say that it's okay to live that way.
Instead, you just have to receive the reward.
That is, because I stepped on my competitor today, there will come a day when I will be stepped on by him or another competitor.
Since no one can avoid this punishment, it is said that if you are willing to receive it, the suffering will be less, and you will be less likely to feel resentment or feel wronged.

The Third Way: Making Me Happy and Making Others Happy
Living the life given to you 80/20

“My competitive edge in life is that I am happier than other people.
It's not about how much more capable or talented you are than others.
Even though I'm older, I'm happier than younger people, and even though I live alone, I'm happier than married people.
Although my health is a little poor, I am happier than a healthy person.
You too should have one of these weapons of happiness.
Of course, it is true that we still have shortcomings.
So sometimes I get annoyed, angry, and greedy, but I think, 'Still, I'm a little happier than others.
I get annoyed, but less than you.
"I am also suffering, but I am suffering less than you." You must have this mindset."
These words from the monk Beopryun, a guide to life, comparing them to his own life, will serve as a compass and a guide for those who want to be happy but are lost and don't know the way.
Finally, the author adds:

"If you have put down the heavy burden of your life, then from then on, turn your attention to the pain of others.
Flowers give honey to bees, and bees transfer pollen to flowers, which helps them bear fruit.
In this way, both you and I should live a good life.
When you live with the mindset of becoming someone the world needs and someone who is willing to be used by the world, rather than thinking of only succeeding or living well on your own, you will be happy and contribute to the world.
That is also the way to practice our right to be happy.
So, if you are given 100 hours in life, spend about 80 hours faithfully living your current life, and spend about 20 hours taking an interest in worldly issues and doing what the world needs.
Then you can go to work, date, get married, and do volunteer work.
"You can make your life more blessed by taking 20 percent of your time out of your daily life."