From SGI USA, I'm Cassidy Bradford and this is bootability.

The weekly series where I talk with Buddhists from all walks of life about the power we

each have to change our lives and the world around us.

I recently read a Harvard research study on the mental health of young adults.

They found that young adults aged 18 to 25 are experiencing anxiety and depression at pretty alarming rates. Through surveys, interviews, and focus groups, they were able to identify the top issues

driving anxiety and depression. Today, I'm going to talk about two. One, lack of meaning,

and two, relationship deficits. Feeling a lack of purpose in your life and missing meaningful

relationships might not immediately seem related.

But, interestingly, their research recommends that the best way for people to find meaning

and fulfillment in life is through supporting others and developing gratifying relationships.

That sounds an awful lot like the Buddhist perspective, right?

SGI nature and Buddhism teaches us that the happiness

of ourselves and others are two sides of the same coin. They're deeply interconnected.

But maybe you're struggling to develop genuine friendships and find community. So today, we're

talking about Buddhism and friendship.

On the surface, you might think that Buddhism is all practice about the self. I mean, we focus on bettering ourselves, right? And Buddhism teaches us that ultimately, everything is a reflection

of our own life. But that doesn't mean that Buddhism is only about the self. The original

Buddha, Shacamuni, or sometimes he's referred to as Siddhartha, had many disciples. And one of those

disciples, Ananda, asked Shacamuni, it seems to me that by having good friends and advancing together

with them, one has already

halfway attained the Buddha way. Is this way of thinking correct? And it might seem like,

whoa, half of Buddhist practice is having good friends. That seems like might be an exaggeration.

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