Buddhist philosophy on happiness has matured into secular psychology through researchers like Rick Hanson and Tara Brach. The core ideas — useful regardless of belief.

Impermanence (anicca)

All experiences pass. Clinging to good moments and resisting bad ones produces suffering; accepting passage is where equanimity lives.

Non-self (anatta)

The "self" is less fixed than it feels. Identifying less with thoughts and emotions reduces their grip.

Dukkha (dissatisfaction)

Suffering isn't only pain — it's the gap between what is and what we want. Reducing the gap (by changing wants, not only circumstances) reduces dukkha.

Metta (loving-kindness)

Actively cultivating well-wishing for self and others. Practised as formal meditation; supported by research on social connection and mood.

Practice, not belief

Buddhism is more practice than doctrine. Meditation, mindful eating, deliberate kindness — these produce the results the philosophy describes, regardless of what you believe about the cosmology.