Techniques for happiness

In connection with the Dalai Lama’s recent visit to Bloomington, I overheard someone saying that Buddhism is not really a religion. From what I can understand, in some ways it’s more a practical set of well-honed and tested tools for increasing human happiness and peace of mind. This article from ABC describes the connection between Buddhism and happiness. In particular, it examines some of the ways that Buddhism fosters mental habits that can lead to greater contentment, and the scientific understanding of how some of these pragmatic approaches work.