Here, Manson argues against popular conceptions of happiness. He opens the chapter with an instructive story about the Buddha’s life and his insights. The Buddha (who was a real-life figure) grew up in a palace where all of his needs were met and everything was always harmonious and beautiful. One day, however, he decided to leave the palace and explore the outside world. He was absolutely shocked to see people suffering, a state of being that had been hidden from him all of his life. The experience was unsettling to say the least. He left his family, never to return, in search of life’s meaning. He tried living in abject poverty for a while, but that didn’t teach him much—except that living in abject poverty really, really sucks, and that doing it voluntarily, for no greater purpose, is silly. After some time, he came to a realization (one of the central tenets of Buddhism): “Life itself is a form of suffering.” This is true for everyone, no matter his or her circumstances. The important corollary is that “pain and loss are inevitable and we should let go of trying to resist them.”