December 26, 2025, 7:48 am | Read time: 5 minutes
Most people experience a rush of happiness through the release of endorphins or dopamine—something felt during physical activity or falling in love. In Zen Buddhism, this approach doesn’t work. Instead of seeking happiness as a peak, one practices being fully present in the moment—alert, calm, and connected. FITBOOK author Anna Echtermeyer learned an exercise from a Zen monk that aims to achieve this—and tried it out.
A Sentence from Zen Monk Haemin Sunim Stuck with Me
Haemin Sunim, who studied religious studies and psychology at Harvard and Princeton, is considered one of South Korea’s most renowned Zen teachers. I met him several years ago at a reading of his book “The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down” in Berlin—and a sentence he said at the time stuck with me: “Being happy in the future doesn’t work.”
Back then, I couldn’t quite grasp what he meant. Of course, I understood it had something to do with attention—a concept that now fuels entire industries: mindfulness apps, meditation retreats, breath coaching, journaling courses. I’ve tried many of these, but I always found my happiness much more in movement—running in the flow or experiencing a runner’s high—in being in love, in big events like the birth of my son or small ones like the delivery of a new dining table.
1-Minute Exercise for Happiness from Zen Monk
Haemin Sunim then caught my attention—with a simple exercise. One minute, he promised, is all it takes to switch off the mind and arrive in the here and now. Sunim called on the other people and me in the room: “Be selective, enjoy your own thoughts!”
Here’s How the Exercise Works
1. Sit comfortably and close your eyes
2. Rotate your shoulders quickly in both directions a few times
3. Now stretch your arms upward and let them fall. Repeat this a few times
4. Then breathe deeply in and out six to seven times with your eyes closed
5. Place your right hand at heart level on your left chest
6. Say the following sentences to yourself. According to Sunim, it’s important to actually say them. Maybe you can do it with a smile?:
“May I be healthy.”
“May I be happy.”
“May I be peaceful.”
“May I be protected.”
“May I be loved.”
7. Now open your eyes and focus on your perception.
How to Know You’ve Done the Exercise Correctly
How do you feel after step seven? What do you perceive? According to Sunim, you’ve done the exercise correctly if, at that moment, you’re not thinking about anything and simultaneously perceive everything happening around you with all your senses. “That,” Sunim said, “is the being mode.”
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I Experienced an Effect—But Wouldn’t Describe It as Happiness
Sunim demonstrated, and I joined in. Immediately after the exercise, I felt incredibly present in the moment—as if someone had turned off the background noise. For a brief moment, I couldn’t form a clear thought. At the same time, everything seemed vast, bright, and tangible. My senses were fully receptive, and I felt incredibly present in the moment. A warm, alert feeling spread in my stomach, which I would best describe as heightened attention. It felt like I was super focused—on nothing. But soon, my mind switched on and tried to hold onto the feeling. That’s when it disappeared.
Would I describe this pleasant state—which lasted only a few seconds longer—as happiness? Probably not. I’m too conditioned to experience it through the release of endorphins or dopamine. So more of a “high” than a quiet baseline state, which Sunim’s exercise aims for.
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More Happiness in Everyday Life—How Does That Work?
Which brings us to the crux of the happiness topic: We seek happiness by doing something—movement, success, experiences, solving problems—but according to Buddhist teachings, we prevent happiness by doing so. Sunim explained that we can’t be happy in doing. In doing—Sunim calls this the activity mode—we are inevitably thinking about the future. And there, according to the Zen monk, happiness doesn’t exist. It only arises in the moment when we simply are—without goals, without judgment, without future.
But how do you bring more being mode into everyday life? According to Sunim, we also reach it when we love or enjoy. He described a beautiful example: “What we perceive when we watch our child sleeping, when we see a beautiful person, or when we consciously enjoy a meal slowly.” It’s never the activity that makes us happy, but “the attention that allows us to feel joy in it.”
Haemin Sunim compared this state to sitting by a fire: “If you do it too long and too close, there’s a risk of burning.” Happiness needs balance—closeness and distance, activity and rest. And sometimes, he added, the person who makes life difficult for us today might be “a well-disguised teacher sent from heaven to foster our spiritual growth.”
For Those Who Feel Constantly Stressed
For those who feel constantly stressed, Haemin Sunim offers another way to calm the mind: write down everything that stresses you on a piece of paper—even small things. “The stressors are now captured on paper, away from your mind,” he said. “Relax tonight and tell yourself you’ll go through the list point by point tomorrow.” Negative emotions are not permanent, after all.