This articles makes several important linkages and provides critical insights both for therapists applying Buddhist principles in their treatment programmes and also for Buddhist practitioners, especially how they can enhance their practice by utilizing the methods of Western psychology.

Stimulated by a recent meeting between Western psychologists and the Dalai Lama on the topic of destructive emotions, we report on two issues: the achievement of enduring happiness, what Tibetan Buddhists call sukha, and the nature of afflictive and nonafflictive emotional states and traits. A Buddhist perspective on these issues is presented, along with discussion of the challenges the Buddhist view raises for empirical research and theory.