[birds chirping]
[cow moos]
[bell dings]
- You're finding inner peace.
Find it.
Do it. Do it.
[fly buzzes]
What is the meaning of life?
Also, what is that smell?
How common is male pattern baldness among monks?
Ugh! How much longer do I have to sit here?
I'm just gonna do it. I'm--
Shut up. Stop talking-- pee my pants--
in your brain-- they won't even know.
Bears, beets, "Battlestar Galactica."
Oh, my God, can we please literally go anywhere else?
Silence the chatter. Bjork, Bjork, Bjork.
Shut up, brain! Shut up!
Gah!
[Nicky Blitz' "Blast Off"]
- * Getting too close, better pull on back *
- What if I travel the world,
exploring what makes some places happier than others?
- * Need a one-two *
- I'm looking at the ways that where we are...
- * Yeah, I'm a-comin', I'm a-comin' *
- Affect who we are.
- * Whoo, I'm a-comin' *
* I'm a-comin', yeah *
- It's been said that the search for happiness
is the chief source of unhappiness.
- * I'm a-comin', I'm a-comin' *
- Well, that's okay.
I'm already unhappy, so I've got nothing to lose.
- * Let's blast off *
* Let's blast off blast off *
[upbeat music]
* *
- Oh, man, this view is insane.
Chiang Mai, Thailand's rose of the north,
a 700-year-old holy city
boasting 300 Buddhist temples, and...
You want to get massaged by an ex-con?
I know just the place.
Where the sacred and the profane exists
side-by-side in fantastically strange matrimony.
I never thought I'd see someone vacuuming
a Buddhist temple in a Tupac t-shirt.
Some Buddhist dogs.
These dogs are so in the moment.
Now, I've visited Thailand before as a tourist,
but I'm back because this is the most
joyful place I've ever been.
And I've only just scratched the surface.
* *
- In Thailand, it's just the normal way
to interact with everyone.
- Abroad, maybe you would have that close up right away.
Like, don't enter my space and enter my world.
As a Thai, I feel like they're very kind.
- Thais have names for 13 kinds of smiles.
- That's known as the yim thak taai.
- That one's the yim thang namm taa, I think.
Maybe.
- No. That's the exact same smile.
Stop it.
- That one's called the--
oh, I don't know.
I give up.
- [laughs]
- Thais excel at a specific kind of happiness,
different from Icelandic resiliency
or Ghanaian optimism.
[upbeat jazz music]
Each year, Gallup asks folks around the world questions
like, "Did you smile or laugh a lot yesterday?"
And, "Did you learn or do something interesting?"
It's known as a positive emotions poll.
[all shouting]
Thais report extremely high levels
of enjoyment, low levels of sadness,
and are constantly trying new things.
These people know how to have fun
for the sake of freaking fun.
So I'm in Thailand to find out,
do I just need to learn to enjoy myself?
To get started, Best Chitsanupong
is the poor sap tasked with having to explain fun to me.
And I'm about to ruin her close-up.
Hey, there.
both: Hi! - Rainn.
- Nice to see you. I'm Best. Nice to meet you.
- Best, it's so nice to meet you.
Best and Rainn. - Yeah.
- Those are some good names.
So where--where are you taking me?
- I'm going to take you to one of the--my secret,
but it's not really secret, because it's so amazing
that everyone knows it. [laughs]
- OK. All right.
Sounds intriguing.
Hey, Kyle. How's it going, man?
- What's up, brother?
* *
Wow. Look at this.
Please. - Thank you.
Welcome. - OK.
Drag show cabarets have been a fixture of Thai culture
for half a century.
They're places where people from all walks
of life leave their bullshit behind
and just enjoy themselves.
So this is the perfect first stop as I learn the art
of cutting loose a little bit.
Look at that stage. - Yes.
- I've performed on stages like that before.
- Oh, I would love to see that.
- I wonder what my drag name would be.
Bobby Bliss.
Shannon Scranton.
John Krasinski.
Do you ever perform here?
- No.
Maybe when I'm drunk. - OK.
[both laugh] OK.
- There are so many places in the world.
Why you chose to be here in Thailand?
- I really wanted to explore Thailand.
There's something about the beauty of the people,
of the culture, the kind of radiant joy and fun
that the Thai people express so--
so easily, so naturally.
You know, I struggle myself with happiness.
I'm--I'm in my head a lot, doubting myself.
I have a lot of negative self-talk.
Maybe there's some keys here, you know?
Maybe there's a little bit of hope
to be found here in Thailand.
- I feel like this place, this the right place
that you can feel joy and feel sanuk.
Sanukis like happiness, but with joy.
Because you come here, you see the show,
you get entertained, right?
You can be who you are.
[cheering]
[upbeat dance music]
* *
- Sanuk is often translated to mean fun,
but there's more to it than that.
Sanuk is a way of life, a perspective.
Thais find ways to crack jokes as often as possible
and find pleasure in everything they do,
even the boring stuff.
Whether it's in the office, the paddy fields,
or the drag show cabaret, if it's notsanuk,
then it's not worth doing.
[cheers and applause]
Hi, thank you.
Wonderful.
Wow, fantastic. Amazing.
So many sequins, so many feathers.
Unbelievable. That was great, you guys.
Wow.
With 30 pounds of feathers on your head.
This place is so much fun.
* *
What do I need to know to begin this trip,
to look for happiness?
- But I have a question.
Is it hard to be sad, sometimes,
in Thailand, if there's a lot of pressure to smile
and be happy?
Is it difficult sometimes, if you're--
if you truly are angry, or you're sad, you're grieving?
- Well, that's a wonderful attitude.
How do you say thank you?
- Kob khun krup. - Kob khun krup,yes.
- Kob khun-- kob khun krup.
* Kob khun krup *
That's mine.
- * Kob khun krup *
- Yeah. - OK.
Was that good? - So cute.
[laughs] - Thank you so much
for sharing your dancing, your show,
your sanuk, with all of us today.
It was really beautiful.
But I'm just going to have to take something before I go,
so thank you.
[chatter, laughter]
- OK, you can-- - All right.
- Oh, my God. - Wow!
- Yeah! - Yes.
- * Kob khun krup * - Yes!
[engine rumbling]
- Ugh, this thing stalls.
[engine revving]
[upbeat music]
* *
Perhaps Thailand's fun fixation
is explained by the fact that the country
is over 90% Buddhist.
Sanuk is a Buddhist concept,
a reminder of the importance of living in the moment.
But it's easy to have fun when surrounded
by dancing and music.
What about the rest of the time?
To see how Thais find sanuk in the day-to-day,
I dust the glitter off my shoulders and head
to the peaceful Chiang Mai countryside.
* *
Hello. - Good morning.
[speaking Thai] - [speaking Thai]
- Nice to meet you. I'm Prapat.
- Prapat? - Yes.
Welcome to visit my family.
- For 150 years, Prapat Rhum Kowyanun's family
has lived on this land.
And today, multi-multi-multi-generations
live here together...
growing all kinds of goodies and teaching visitors
about the culture of the Lanna,
the indigenous people of Northern Thailand.
- What do I need this for?
- Buddhism teaches a connection between
our natural environment and our spiritual health.
Caring for the land means caring for ourselves.
Prapat's been kind enough to invite me to a family feast.
- But he's making me work for my meal.
I feel like I need a shovel. It's big.
And I just broke-- turmeric broke my knife!
What?
- What are you doing here?
Wow, this is huge.
This garden just goes on and on.
- You have a moat. Amazing.
- Ginseng, yes.
- OK.
- Viagra?
- Yeah, Viagra. Yeah.
I wouldn't know anything about--about those pills.
So- - OK.
- Oh, OK.
- It's a vagina shrinker.
All right.
Prapat may seem like a sly old rascal
with a side hustle
peddling sexual enhancement supplements,
but, in truth, he has a deep devotion
to his native land and its history.
The Kingdom of Thailand was established in the 1200s,
and over the centuries, it has maintained its autonomy.
It's the only Southeast Asian country
never colonized by Europeans,
so there's a rich set of traditions and customs
that have evolved here
for hundreds of years, undisturbed.
Traditions that Prapat and his family continue to carry out.
- Excellent!
[light music]
- Here, show me how it's done.
You try it, tough guy.
That's pretty much what I was doing, right?
- Yeah. - What is your uncle's name?
- Nunang. - Nunang.
- Yeah. - I come from America,
but I come to Thailand to look for--for joy.
Do you--do you have any secrets to happiness?
- Stay with the family?
- It's very sad in America.
We really abandon our old people a lot.
- That's a work of art, right there.
Look at that. Mmm.
Mmm! - Good?
- It smells so good. - Yeah.
- Mm, smell that.
Oh, and the whole family's here!
[laughter]
Hello. [speaking Thai]
Hello. - Welcome, welcome.
- OK. Thank you.
- Big family, yes.
- Ooh, what's in here?
- Nam ngiew.
[chatter]
- [coughs]
- A little spice in there. Yeah, indeed.
- So this is really a question for the whole family.
You have visitors come here and visit your--
your beautiful house and garden,
and cook and eat together, and you teach them
about your way of life.
What's important to impart to them?
- How do you preserve this way of life, this way of living,
this way of being, with the modern world encroaching?
[laughter, chatter]
- Growing up, I remember sitting
in silence over frozen TV dinners
with my dad and stepmom.
There wasn't a ton of love expressed in my house,
and I was desperate for the kind of family I watched
on my favorite sitcoms.
So when I see the joyful faces of Prapat and his family
as they share a meal, I'm actually overwhelmed.
- She's asking, why do I look so stressed?
- Yeah. - Um, I don't know.
I'm--I'm kind of an anxious guy, you know?
I get stressed out easily.
It's a struggle for me to control my fear, my worries.
This is one of the reasons why I really
wanted to come to Thailand and why
I wanted to meet all of you.
- So you make the best out of today.
- Make today is the very happy today.
- Mm-hmm. - Yes.
Something--do the best today.
- Eating together, enjoying your culture,
living one day at a time--
is it really that simple?
- Simple.
[contemplative music]
* *
[chatter, laughter]
- [speaking Thai]
* *
- So back at my hotel room after a nice, hot shower.
Such a beautiful hospitality.
I struggle to know how to interact
with people that are so kind and warm and open-hearted.
I go to being a little acerbic,
being the funny guy.
I don't know if that's just me or if that's my Americanness.
I'm not exactly sure.
I've spent my life trying to think my way to happiness.
But perhaps the source of my frustrations
isn't flawed thinking,
but the act of thinking itself.
In Thailand, you either come around
to this way of not overthinking everything,
or you go insane.
It's too soon for me to say on which side I'm gonna land.
[mellow music]
[meows]
- Oh, I'm sweating so much.
* *
I'm questioning where all these years of introspection
have gotten me--
a library of self-help books and an annoying tendency
to make things about myself.
In a place as magical as this, surrounded by folks who seem
to have it all figured out...
[sparse applause]
I'm kinda lonely.
Everyone keeps telling me not to worry,
to live in the moment.
But, you know, that's easier said than done.
Do I--do I stop and buy the KFC socks?
Oh, my God.
That's when I stumbled upon a fortune teller
who I figure can't possibly make me feel any worse.
- Future. OK, wow.
- Every month, money's coming to me.
Yeah. Uh-huh. It's called residuals.
- I love shopping. I live for shopping.
- Oh, happy love. Good.
- Happy family. Wonderful.
- So what does that mean? I pray to God?
- Oh, that's no good. All right.
- Wow, I got a lot out of that.
Good money, pray every night, big money coming my way.
[ringing bell] Thank you.
[strumming guitar]
That's a smooth groove, bro.
Well, those were not the uplifting words
of enlightenment I hoped Thailand would provide.
All we are is dust in the wind.
But as I wallow in self-pity, I remember
there are some people across Thailand enduring
all sorts of real problems.
both: * Dust in the wind *
- In a place where overthinking is taboo,
I want to see how folks deal with actual adversity.
both: * Is dust in the wind *
- And hey, since I'm facing hospitalization anyhow...
let's just go full throttle.
[engine turns over]
How many CCs? - 650.
- Yeah.
- Nice. - Yeah.
- Nice. That's a--that's a nice Thai stallion.
[revs engine] - Oh!
- This patient angel is Yaya,
a tuk-tuk driver who shepherds
annoying tourists like me across Chiang Mai
as we attempt to eat, pray, and love
our way to spiritual clarity.
- Push.
- Do these things flip? You didn't say anything
about these things can flip. - [laughs]
- Hold on! Hold on! Hold on.
Do you feel like I'm ready to hit the road?
I feel like I'm ready.
- I'm ready for the roads of Thailand.
Here we go! Oh, my God!
- Please! [laughs]
[upbeat music]
- Wow, this is cool.
Hello, Thailand!
Yes!
Does this have a horn?
[horn beeps] - It's a beautiful drive.
- Yeah.
* *
- All righty. - OK.
- I didn't kill anyone. - No.
[both laugh]
- Thai iced tea is always good.
- OK.
- This for you. - Thank you.
This looks great.
- Mm, look nice.
- Kob khun krup. - That's great.
- Thank you for the tuk-tuk lesson.
- You're welcome.
- And you're really the only woman
tuk-tuk driver that takes people up into the mountains?
- I think so.
* *
- People like Yaya help make this country
a paradise for others,
but they often can't afford the same luxuries.
For all of Thailand's joy, itssanuk,
the nation only ranked 61st on the World Happiness Report
in 2022.
- The number one business in Thailand is tourism.
And for two years, tourism shut down.
Like, no tourists allowed.
- Yes, correct. Yeah.
- And I even heard from another tour guide
that she knew a tour guide that had committed suicide.
- Mm-hmm. - Because, um,
one of the kind of dark secrets about--
about Thailand, even though it's
such a beautiful, peaceful, wonderful place,
is there's a lot of debt here.
- Correct.
- You had 12 credit cards? - [laughs]
- Right, yeah.
- Eventually, Yaya managed her way out of debt.
But she knew she wasn't alone.
So she started a social media channel
to connect with other Thais struggling like her,
taking everything she'd learned the hard way
and sharing the wisdom.
It wasn't long before Yaya became the Thai
tuk-tuk TikTok finance guru.
And by the way, this isn't a business.
Yaya does this purely out of a desire to help others.
- Yeah. You didn't want to do the silly dancing TikTok.
- What kind of fascinates me about your story is,
like, this impulse to help people.
Like, you're struggling. - Yes.
- You're suffering. - Uh-huh.
- But you wanted to reach out.
You wanted to do something positive.
- I love your spirit.
You taught yourself to be a tuk-tuk driver.
You taught yourself financial literacy.
You taught yourself to be a social media
influencer for good.
This is--shows me so much about who you are.
- Thank you. - That's really beautiful.
That's very powerful. - Thank you.
* *
- Yaya is onto something with this whole
helping others thing.
Researchers at the University of Chicago
surveyed 50,000 people in widely varying careers
to study their levels of professional fulfillment.
High prestige jobs, like lawyers and bankers,
scored low.
Who reported the highest levels of happiness?
Nurses, physical therapists, firefighters, and clergy.
In other words, helping professions.
Hi, everybody. Thanks.
Uh, we're going live on, uh, Yaya's TikTok channel.
I've never--actually never been on TikTok before.
- Oh, yeah.
- Um, so we are here to show you
some really crazy dance moves.
Ready? - OK--
- No, no, I'm kidding.
Anyone have any questions?
The happiness research tells us that helping others
is one of the most efficient ways
to make yourself happier.
Make sure to follow, like, and subscribe.
In the face of hardship, Yaya embraced a very Thai mentality
by getting out of her own head and focusing
on those around her.
I've just spent too much of this journey
thinking about myself.
It's time I do something for others.
[light music]
* *
- There's a concept in Buddhism called making merit.
It's sort of like a karmic bank account.
Thais believe that doing good deeds
earns them major points, redeemable in the present
or a future lifetime.
So around here, every kind gesture comes from within.
- The use of the word heart, the word jai,
has so many meanings.
- Jai dee, so, heart good.
- Hua jai, sook jai.
- Nam jai.
- Nam jailiterally means water heart.
- Floats, you know? Like, generous.
- Kindness. - Yeah.
- Thai people lead with kindness.
Like, everything is led with kindness and compassion.
[laughter]
- Since I arrived in Thailand, I've only been given things--
good advice, good food, good conversation.
It's time I participate in this spiritual calculus
and try making a little merit.
And where better to do that than a place
responsible for protecting Thailand's
most beloved national treasures?
- [speaking Thai] - Hello. [speaking Thai]
- Welcome to our Elephant Pride Sanctuary family.
- Oh, wow.
Is this all a family? Is this an elephant family?
- They are the same family, from generation to generation.
The left-hand side is named Noni.
- Noni? - Noni, 21 years old.
And Bunjen, she's pregnant.
- Centuries ago, Thai elephants were domesticated
for transportation and labor.
They're no longer needed for either,
but today, they wouldn't survive in the wild.
So Chanchai and his family maintain this sanctuary
to allow them to live out their days in peace,
which, when you think about it,
is making merit on a colossal scale.
- Oh, that's so good.
They're so excited for the sunflower seeds.
They're hosing them up like a vacuum cleaner out of my hand.
OK. All right. OK.
[squeals] Oh, that's--
That's a weird sensation.
Oh, my goodness. [elephant trumpets]
But it was wonderful.
Thank you for the kiss.
That is the third most memorable kiss I've ever had.
I can't get over their eyes. They're so ancient.
It's like they look into your soul.
Yeah.
[light music]
* *
[chatter]
There's some nice, fresh elephant dung right here.
It looks pretty healthy.
How deep is it here? - Not too deep.
[speaking Thai]
- Whoa! [laughs]
We're in the jungles of Thailand.
I thought the river would be warmer.
[laughter]
Hi, buddy.
[chatter]
Oh, scrub. OK.
[chatter]
Normally, I charge for this.
That's my good boy.
- He loves you. - Good boy. OK.
Where are you going? Hey, where are you going?
* *
It was really magical to be hugged by an elephant,
to wash an elephant.
This wassanuk, and making merit,
and, like, 17 other lessons I've learned on this journey,
all wrapped into one moment.
And you know what?
My brain was quiet.
I wasn't questioning happiness.
I was just enjoying it.
They're so ancient and primordial, and their skin--
it's like nothing I've ever touched before.
I love the eyes of the elephant, too.
So wise, so knowing.
I'm so glad that they have a loving home.
It was a powerful day.
We're searching for bliss.
Can we find it with a handful of really simple ingredients?
Connection, warmth, nature, play.
So far, you know, the Thai people
are really leading the way.
[laughter]
This is what heaven feels like!
[thunder rumbles]
[light music]
* *
- Spirituality is a key component of my life.
- It's good to have, like, a guideline in life
that teaches you and reminds you
to, like, take a step back, slow down, and look inside.
- I guess the word spirituality,
for me, it's like getting in touch with your own spirit.
Like, your inner self.
- Know yourself.
Imagine just when everyone on Earth,
we really know ourselves.
It's turned my life and my attitudes to, like,
happiness immediately.
Just like that, yes.
* *
- Throughout all the turbulent times in my life,
one consistent source of well-being
has always been spirituality.
Since childhood, I have been a member
of the Bahá'í Faith,
which I'm pretty confident
you're googling right about now.
[horn honks]
But just as it's my belief in the divine
which colors my worldview,
so it is with Thailand.
Buddhism teaches Thais to accept
what happens in life because they take the long view--
eternity.
Periods of good fortune naturally alternate
with periods of adversity,
which is why Thais are such a remarkably relaxed,
meditative people.
[grunting]
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
OK. You know what, I don't like where this is going.
* *
This dude with the biceps, and quads,
and pecs is Chris Smith.
He's an American Marine vet who now runs
a Thai kickboxing gym in Chiang Mai.
So you're going to teach me the ancient, mysterious,
deadly art of Muay Thai?
- Are you up for it? - No.
[laughter] But I'll do it anyway,
because it's great television. - Yeah. [laughs]
[grunting]
- Is that all you got?
Of all the places I've been to in the world,
perhaps the most peaceful people I've ever met
are the Thai people. - Yeah.
- And the Thai people have created
one of the most violent martial arts in--in human history.
- Yeah. Historically, I think it's because there's
a lot of fighting that happened in Thailand.
So it's a cultural martial art
that has just evolved over time.
- Chris teaches Muay Thai,
also known as the art of eight limbs,
because of its powerful combination of kicks,
elbow jabs, knee attacks,
and pretty much anything else that can render a man sterile.
Ow!
Chris moved to Thailand 10 years ago
and opened this facility,
where he trains young people struggling with addiction
and mental illness.
- I'm half Thai, so I thought I'd go
and see the other side of who I thought that I was.
- Yeah. - So I went on the adventure,
fell in love with Thailand, and here I am, still here.
- And you live near here. - Yeah.
I lived on site because, you know,
I built this place for myself, too.
- Mm. - You know, um--
I had a lot of trouble coming out of the States, you know.
A lot of issues with myself, you know, internally.
So I just wanted to make a positive environment,
help out with the community.
And then people started to gravitate towards the idea,
and they just kept coming and coming.
So now we help-- - So it's kind of
a Muay Thai resort, too. - Yeah.
So we're going to pad you up.
Do you want to change over into any gear?
- I want the whole thing. - You want the whole garb?
- I want the whole outfit, yeah.
Whatever you got.
[rock music]
* *
- Ready, go.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Do you have any injuries that I should be aware of?
- I'm solid. I'm just tight,
and I'm out of shape. - [grunting]
Smash the guard. Hey!
So chicken wings, like this. Again. Yes.
- Am I the whitest guy that's ever been in this gym,
by the way? Shin to the kidney.
[grunts] - That's good.
- It hurts my shin.
- [grunting]
That's it. That's it.
- All right. - Yeah. Good?
- Good. Did I pass? - Yeah.
We'll take a break, and then we'll go into the ring.
- All right.
- All right, grab some water.
- Can I have a Thai iced tea? [laughter]
[dramatic music]
* *
Just up and over.
[grunts]
Wait, are you--are you going to wear pads or something?
- No, I'll be fine.
- You have something down there, though, right?
- No, I'll be fine.
- I don't want to accidentally hit you
in your Thai family jewels.
- OK. Here we go.
Go ahead.
- OK. What am I doing?
- Hit me with your right. - [grunting]
Harder, harder. Come on.
- You don't have any pads on!
- Come on! - You're a lunatic!
It's like hitting a tree. - Yeah. Come on.
- [grunting]
- Yeah, go.
Come on. - Gotcha!
Ahh!
- Faster. Come on. Faster.
- [grunting]
Oh, my God.
Ding, ding. - Kick! Come on, kick!
[grunting] - Oh, man.
[groans]
OK.
[panting]
Wow.
That's really intense.
- How do you feel?
- Worn out. - Yeah.
- A little invigorated. - Yeah.
- [groans]
That didn't look awkward, did it?
- No.
- OK. We're chilling here? - Yeah, yeah.
- All right.
[exhales]
So how did you end up here in Chiang Mai?
- I grew up in a broken home.
About 16 years old, I left the house.
After that, I decided to join the Marines.
- Mm-hmm.
- Once 9/11 hit,
I was the first wave in.
- So you were in active combat?
- Iraq, yeah. Yeah.
You know, I came back with PTSD.
I came back with issues.
I had a lot of nightmares, you know, flashbacks.
I got into a lot of trouble.
You know, drugs and alcohol.
It's like putting a Band-Aid on a lesion
that's just continually flowing.
I was looking at all of these external factors
to bring me happiness-- medication, alcohol, drugs,
women, relationships, cars.
- That's the American way, isn't it?
- That's the American way. - Looking for happiness
outside of ourselves. - Exactly.
And how many people out there
are actually really, really happy?
- Mm. So did you come to Thailand to escape?
- I came to Thailand to discover my roots,
to be honest.
I fell in love with the place.
People here are, you know, very kind.
They're friendly.
They're generous towards each other.
I was feeling more comfortable.
I was reinventing myself.
I want to say it's spiritual awakening.
- In addition to founding his Muay Thai gym,
Chris also became a devout follower of Buddhism,
trained as a monk, and has integrated meditation
into his daily life.
You talked about a spiritual awakening,
which is such an important part of the recovery process.
I know, for myself, I've had a few spiritual awakenings
in my recovery.
And it's something that I'm always chasing.
And I think it's a healthy thing to chase, right?
It's not--it's not chasing the next high or the next drunk.
You're chasing that kind of--
the sublime.
Have you found some wisdom?
- If you could imagine some gung-ho Marine asshole,
that's what I was.
And now, like, this is me 10 years later.
And it's because of the surroundings.
It's because of the people.
It's because of Buddhism.
But everybody has their own journey.
Everybody has their own path.
And at the same time, you have to be ready
to face your demons.
- That's the journey. - That's the journey.
- It's inward. - It's inward.
It's absolutely inward.
You're not going to find it looking outside.
You're just going to find all the distractions
that keep you away from it.
How many people get a job because it just pays well,
or get married for the wrong reasons, or you know,
have cars to compete with your neighbors, or you know,
a bigger house?
All of that stuff is what brought me to where I am now,
because I learned from it.
And I learned, and I understood,
and I understood more about myself,
and I came to those conclusions.
But I had to dig.
It's not--it's not free.
And maybe it takes a thousand lifetimes for some people.
- Chris and I have very different stories.
While he was overseas serving our country,
I was directing a weird off-Broadway artsy play
about clowns sharing an apartment with fish.
And yet, we have a few things in common.
We both survived rough childhoods.
We both leaned on drugs and alcohol to escape our sadness.
But seeing Chris not only surviving
but genuinely thriving
proves that a reinvention of our relationship
with happiness is within our grasp.
Chris, it's been just honestly--
just such an honor to--
to train with you.
- Kob khun krup.
- Can I give you a hug? - Yeah, sure. Yeah.
- I won't grapple.
- Come here, come here.
Wanna fight you. [laughter]
[horn honks]
[light music]
- I've spent so much of this international journey
looking outward that I've neglected to look inward.
And yet, it took all of these experiences,
from Iceland to Ghana, to see myself a bit more clearly--
looking inward, but finally wearing
the right prescription.
* *
But before I leave Thailand... Hello!
- I'm making one final stop.
- [speaking Thai]
- Thank you.
- [speaking Thai]
- I like your dogs.
- Yeah. - These are beautiful dogs.
Wait--wait a second.
I didn't even see that there's so many dogs here.
These are terrible watchdogs.
[laughs] - I did not expect to find
a monk smoking in a La-Z-Boy surrounded by dogs.
So you've defied all of my expectations.
- [laughs]
* *
- This is Pra Vijia.
For the last 40 years, he's pursued inner peace
in these rolling hills of Chiang Mai
as a Theravada Buddhist monk.
But he's not just any monk.
He's a fortune-telling telling monk, which isn't actually
tied to his monk status in any way,
but I'm hopeful he'll provide more profundity
beyond my body being bad and death
awaiting me at a hospital.
- I have a lot of stuff.
I have a swimming pool.
I have a nice car.
But I'm seeking even greater inner peace.
Basically, I came to you for the meaning of life.
So can we just boil it down to that?
Thais are a superstitious bunch,
and the old world tradition of numerology--
drawing meaning from different numbers and letters
in a person's life--
is still commonly practiced today.
I've given Pra Vijia my birthday and time of birth,
and nothing else.
- Thanks so much. OK. [laughter]
Good. I made a monk laugh.
I love it.
Um--no, that's beautifully said.
That's really so simple.
And, um, how does one stop feeling disappointed?
Life is a series of constant disappointments, isn't it?
- What you're saying really resonates with me so much.
Um, so much of my life is so busy,
countering countless texts, and emails, and needs,
and scheduling.
I live a lot in disappointment,
and also anxiety for the future.
And just even having this conversation
makes me realize that there's greater resonances
to love by being more present,
more mindful, more in the moment.
So your words bring great peace to my heart,
and I thank you for them.
May I ask, can I have a cigarette?
- Kob khun krup.
- Mmm.
- My mother left me when I was two years old.
So at the root of everything, I suppose,
is that gaping wound of, like, I'm not lovable enough.
That's why I've been in therapy for 20 years.
- Hm.
- That's very true.
I had a great deal of suffering,
when I was younger, and when I was older.
But this shaped me into who I am.
I wouldn't be who I am as an artist,
as a human being, if I hadn't gone through that suffering.
So in some ways, I am very grateful for it.
- OK. I'll let it go. Fine.
- [laughs]
- You're a lot better than my therapist at home, by the way,
I just want to say.
And he charges $350 an hour.
[birds chirping]
- OK.
[soothing music]
* *
- Yi-Fu Tuan said, "Happy people
"have no reason to think.
They live rather than question living."
I've spent a good chunk of time this past year
trekking around the world in search of happiness,
but was this journey one giant fool's errand?
Should I have been looking within myself all along?
After so much time away from my family and friends,
I'm ready to head back to the cultureless void
of Los Angeles and find out if this whole quest for bliss...
[horns honking]
has made any damn difference.
[pedals squeaking]
- It's a very inexact science.
- Oh, I'm turning too much.