The Search For Happiness.
Firstly, " Happiness is the feeling of being cherished\r\nat the young age, the state of contentment in the middle ages, the state of\r\nexceptional health and vitality in old age and the state of financial comfort\r\nat any time."
\r\n"Being cherished at young age": during childhood, we are taken care\r\nof and pampered by our parents. Later, we enjoy a lifelong love affair with our\r\nspouse after marriage.
"Contentment at middle-age": Its usually a\r\nsatisfaction of academic career, love affair, position, fame and fortune. The\r\nmiddle-aged are the people who are 30 thirty years old or more. At that time\r\nsome of them may be PhDs /DScs, doctors, engineers, architects ... and most of\r\nthem are married, have good children, lead a happy life. Also, some of them\r\nachieve high social status: they may be presidents, directors ... and they own\r\nvaluable property such as housing, money, farms etc ...
\r\n\r\n"Exceptional health and vitality": They are\r\nsupposed to live long, stay healthy and disease-free, in which their mind, body\r\nand spirit are all playing together in harmony and energy flows smoothly\r\nthroughout their entire body. Otherwise, "The longer they live, the more\r\nthey suffer" and it is not happiness then.
\r\n\r\n"Financial comfort at any time:"At young ages,\r\nthey were brought up and their demands for food, clothing, entertainment, and\r\nso on were supported by their parents. Afterwards, in adulthood, they\r\ninherit the property from his parents and at old age they live on childrens\r\nsupport or on their pension
\r\nSecondly, "Happiness is up to each person." It is good and quite\r\nan accurate idea. For example, it is a pleasure for a rickshaw driver to earn\r\n50,000 VND a day because normally he only earns 20,000 - 30000 VND per day.\r\nHowever, it is a disappointment for a trader when he earns the same amount of\r\nmoney as a rickshaw does, because every day he can earn 100,000 - 200,000\r\nVND.
Another example is the case of the two young novice\r\nmonks in a temple. The abbot monk assigned them to take turns to take care\r\nof a sick monk. The first one felt very happy because he considered this an\r\nopportunity to serve, bring joy to the patient, as well as to create blessings.\r\nAt the thought of "To bring joy to others is to bring joy to\r\nyourself", he did the task in delight without any complaints; however,\r\ndirty the work was. On the contrary, the other thought that he "was\r\nforced" to do the task and be exposed to the harmful risk from the\r\npatient, so he did it in an uncomfortable manner, in sufferings and in depression.\r\nThe two stories demonstrate that the second view "Happiness is up to\r\nyou." is quite correct.
\r\n\r\nAbove are the two popular personal opinions of happiness. In\r\nmy opinion, for some people they only feel happy when the five desires and six\r\ngunas are satisfied, their sufferings end, they perform good deeds and practice\r\ndetachment.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n1. Satisfaction of five desires and six gunas
\r\n- Satisfaction of five desires:
\r\nPeople tend to find happiness in sensual satisfaction: fortune, beauty,\r\nposition and fame, good food and enough sleep.
Fortune: Most people define money as happiness,\r\nbecause money can buy everything such as buildings, farms, cars, etc. in their\r\nopinion.
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\r\nBeauty: Those whose spouse is beautiful / handsome, lead a harmonious marriage\r\nlife during their lifetime are also thought to be happy people.
Position and fame: Besides fortune, beauty, people also seek\r\nsocial status; they harbor the ambition of being chairmen, directors, etc\r\nbecause they will be highly respected, and enjoy the world of job jerks and benefits\r\nonce being in the top positions.
Food: Most people feel satisfied when they can enjoy the\r\nfood that they are craving. Though eating is a common deed, it sometimes is the\r\nhappiness.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nSleep: Those who are weary from lack of sleep will be\r\npleased if they can get some deep sleep.
\r\n People remain joyful when they derive the sensual\r\nsatisfaction from the five above and they find it hard to find them. Their life\r\npurpose is to achieve those for some people.
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- Satisfaction of the six gunas (six objects of the sense\r\norgans.
\r\n\r\nThe six gunas are the six internal and external sense bases\r\ncomposed of sight, hearing, smell, and taste, touch, thought. These are things\r\nthat people usually pursue.
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\r\nSight: the things that we see with our eyes. Sensual desires arise by sight\r\nwhile eyes help us to distinguish one from others. For example, a person who\r\nfalls in love with someone inclines towards wish to see his/her face and feel\r\nsatisfied after fulfilling the wish. The most common factual illustration is\r\nthat some fans prefer seeing their favorite singer at sight even though they\r\nhave watched him/her on TV many times before. Therefore, hearing that some\r\nfamous singers are on a tour to some area, crowds of people often flock to see\r\nthe performance. Even for Buddhists, despite hardship they are determined to\r\nsee and fall prostrate in worship before the genuine monk, though he is under\r\nreligious cultivation in a cave, in a mountain or in a remote area and they\r\nfeel very peaceful and happy after realizing their aspiration.
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\r\nHearing: awareness of sounds with our ears. The majority of us feel delighted\r\non hearing soothing words or compliments from others.
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\r\nSmell: the quality of something that people and animals sense through their\r\nnoses. Some people may be fond of the scent of perfume that the person they\r\nlove usually wears. They enjoy not only their fragrance but also the bad smell\r\nof their beloved. There is a Vietnamese saying: "The fighting fish knows\r\nits bowl. Husband and wife know their bodies smell" which refers to\r\nthe couples feelings of happiness when they can stay together after being far\r\naway from each other for a long time.
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\r\nTaste: is what we are exposed orally, such as food, drinks. In fact, the kinds\r\nof particular food that is delicious and rare, commonly called specialties.\r\nOysters are precious food fetched in the mountain; sea food is valuable food\r\ncaught from the sea. They are too expensive for moderate income earners to\r\nafford while some can and they feel proud of enjoying them.
Touch: the sense that enables us to be aware of things and\r\nwhat they are like when we put your hands or another part of our body onto\r\nthem. A lot of people take pleasure in holding their sweethearts hands or\r\nkissing him/her.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThought: a persons mind and all the ideas that they have in\r\nit when they are thinking. Many people might imagine owning a new car, a\r\nbuilding or getting married to a person who lives in a rich country, a paradise\r\non earth and feel happy about it.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nSo, the six gunas are also believed to bring happiness. The contact of the six sense organs with\r\ntheir corresponding six objects gives rise to the six consciousnesses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, andthought. Most people seemed to be deriving\r\namusement from their sensual satisfaction.
2. Desire of being free from suffering.\r\nPeople are greatly relieved at overcoming difficulties and miseries. Take it as\r\nan example. A person who is suffering from cancer is advised to take some\r\ntraditional home medicine. As a result, his serious illness was miraculously\r\ncured and he/she felt very happy. Or a person who is in needy circumstance will\r\nbe overjoyed with winning the lottery or receiving financial support from\r\nothers thereby getting out of poverty.
\r\n That everyone has eyes is a common thing and it is not paid\r\nattention to, either. Unfortunately, some get cataracts. During the cataracts\r\nthe patients vision has become blurry, cloudy or dim and they feel\r\npainful and miserable. They just perceive happiness only when their cataract is\r\ncured and can see everything clearly again.
The same is the case of hunger. We are now in the year of\r\nthe Rooster. 60 years ago was the year of the Rooster, too (1945). According to\r\nstatistics, in the North of Vietnam there were two million people who died of\r\nstarvation in that year. So, it is such happiness for starving people who are\r\nprovided with food in time.
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\r\nGenerally, being free from suffering is happiness.
3. Performance of good deeds.
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\r\nSome think that "To bring happiness to others is to bring happiness to\r\nthemselves" such as donating to charity, giving good advice to the\r\ninharmonious couple so that they can keep peace in marriage life. Other ways of\r\ngood deeds are that we can alleviate hardship of people in poor rural areas\r\nliving far away from water resources by supporting the building of water\r\nwell drilling systems or build concrete bridges instead of rudimentary\r\nbamboo bridges for the residents safety. Also, we can facilitate poor children\r\nto school by practical financial supports.
Good deeds are illustrated by the following story.
\r\n\r\nOnce a couple and their four young children were on vacation\r\nat a beach. The couple was lying on a canvas bed while their children were\r\nsitting 10 meters from them. At that time, an old, poorly dressed woman with an\r\naustere look on the face appeared. She sometimes bent down to collect something\r\nand put it into the plastic bag that she carried with her. Having seen her\r\nwalking towards their children, the couple thought that she would ask for money\r\nor do something evil and they told the kids not to respond to or believe in\r\nwhat she said. Then the couple returned to their seats. A moment later, the old\r\nwoman walked near the kids and picked up something and put it into her bag.\r\nThen she was looking at the kids laughing, but she did not say anything. The\r\nkids did not dare to look at her, staying silent, too. After that the couple and\r\ntheir children dropped by a refreshment store to have a drink and they asked\r\nthe storekeeper:"Who is the old woman who sometimes bends down to pick up\r\nsomething? "The storekeeper said: "She is a nice woman. Previously,\r\nher grandchild was playing on the beach when he accidentally stepped on pieces\r\nof broken glass and got tetanus and died shortly afterwards. Since then, she\r\nhas been on the beach every day to pick up the pieces of broken glass, nails,\r\nor anything sharp. Whenever being asked what she picks up these things for, she\r\ngives the same answers: "I pick up these so that the children can avoid\r\nstepping on them, resulting in tragic death like my grandchild. So I prefer\r\npicking up these for the childrens safety. Realizing her good intention, the\r\ncouple rushed to apologize her but she was out of sight then.
\r\n\r\nThe story illuminates the idea "Doing good deeds means\r\nbringing happiness to others as well as yourself."
\r\n\r\n4. Practice of detachment
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\r\nDetachment means not clinging to anything in this world. Only those with\r\ndeep perception and a noble spirit can practice it properly. They realize that\r\nall things of this world are impermanent, human body and all things are purely\r\nillusory and all things arise in dependence upon multiple causes and\r\nconditions. For them everything is transient and nothing endures whatever they\r\nare: birth and death, growth and decay,combination and separation. They\r\nmanage to go off the feelings and are not completely dominated by worldly\r\npleasures thereby achieving happiness.
\r\nThere is a very interesting story about detachment. In the Buddhas time, one\r\nnight while doing meditation, a monk named Baddhiya suddenly exclaimed:
\r\n- Im so happy! Im so happy!
\r\nThe monks who took part in meditation could hear it. Then, the next morning,\r\none of them told it to the Buddha:
\r\n- "World Honored One. We heard Master Baddhiya exclaim that he was so\r\nhappy twice during the meditation and I suppose he must have formerly come from\r\na rich family and his memories of the past have not faded yet, so he find it hard\r\nto get acquainted with the new ascetic practices and gave such an utterance.\r\nCould you please ask him what the matter was?
That afternoon, after the meal, in the presence of all the\r\nmonks, the Buddha asked Baddhiya:
\r\n\r\n"Did you call out you were happy twice during\r\nmeditation last night?"
\r\nBaddhiya said: "World Honored One. Thats right."
\r\nThe Buddha then asked: "Why did you that? Please give us the\r\nexplanation."
Baddhiya answered: "World Honored One. I used to\r\nbe the governor, lived in comfort and prosperity; my mansion was strictly\r\nprotected, and I was always escorted by soldiers whenever I went out. Despite\r\nthe luxury life, I always felt insecure, fearing to be murdered one day. Since\r\nI became a home-leaving monk, I have had a peaceful mind like that of a forest\r\ndeer; my fear of somebody / something or property loss has disappeared, and\r\nfrankly now I have nothing to lose anyway. I was so happy that I could not\r\ncontrol my feelings and gave such exclamation, which disturbed everybody.\r\nPlease accept my sincere apologies.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAfter hearing his explanation, the Buddha praised him:\r\n"Baddhiya, you are taking firm steps on the path to liberation. You\r\nhave found peace and true happiness in life. I hope you will continue to\r\nachieve these results in practice in the coming time.
\r\nThus, source of happiness mainly arises from our own attitude, rather than from\r\nexternal factors.
"Some have too much, yet still do crave;
\r\n I little have, and seek no more.
\r\n They are but poor, though much they have,
\r\n And I am rich with little store. "(Edward Dyer).
Possessing much without considering being full enough\r\nis miserable; Being in poverty with good enough is regarded as wealth and\r\nhappiness.
Lets review the four sources of happiness above to\r\ndifferentiate between the true, sustainable happiness and fake and temporary\r\nones.
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\r\nFirstly, most people feel happy when they derive sensual satisfaction from the\r\nfive desires. For them fortune, beauty, status bring happiness, but unluckily\r\nwhen these were ruined for some reason, happiness disappears, sufferings\r\nappear. Certainly, this kind of happiness based on material thing does\r\nnot last long because when attaining it, we are happy, but losing it we endure\r\ngrief.
Secondly, many of us experience reliefs when we are\r\nfree from sufferings. Those who are living in straitened circumstances win the\r\nlottery, become rich and feel very happy. However, supposedly all of their\r\nproperty is stolen they will probably suffer a hundred thousand times more than\r\nthey do before they win. The clear reason is that the more they lose the more\r\nthey suffer. So, this is not a durable happiness, either.
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\r\nThirdly, some take pleasure in doing good deeds, but sometimes it is the\r\ngood deeds themselves that make them suffer. In reality, I have seen many\r\npeople do charity work actively, which is acclaimed by press and television.\r\nHowever, since they were well known, they have got into trouble with beggars\r\narousing frustration among them. So, this is not complete happiness; they still\r\nsuffer.
Fourthly, some find joy in the practice of detachment. Many\r\npeople believe that only the home-leaving monks can do it. At the time of the\r\nBuddha, every day the monks had to beg for alms and be absorbed in cultivating\r\ndharma wisdom and propagating Buddhist dharma while lay people are bound to\r\ntheir spouse, children, businesses, property, etc and they find it hard\r\nto practice detachment. In my opinion, lay people can do it but not in the same\r\nway the monks do. Practice detachment by contemplation. For example, when all\r\nof the money of a person is stolen, he/she will suffer and even commit suicide\r\nif he/she does not practice detachment. On the contrary, that person will feel\r\nthat it does not matter as Buddha taught that a persons wealth is in the\r\ndangers of confiscation by confistication, theft, fire, flood, and\r\nappropriation by unflavored relatives. Otherwise, the person cannot bring\r\nanything with them after death as in a saying "Born empty-handed; die\r\nempty-handed". He/she will certainly not make a foolish decision to commit\r\nsuicide if being imbued with the contemplation.
\r\n\r\nA typical example in real life is that a persons spouse\r\nmarries another man/woman and he/she will fall into depression and may commit\r\ncrimes such as acid attacks, murder, or suicide ... Earlier, not having\r\npracticed religion cultivation, he/she will feel imposed some constraints by\r\nmarriage relationship. Now the marriage relationship ends he/she should have\r\nthe feeling of freedom and joy instead of depression, desperation or hatred.\r\nMoreover, deeper in thought sooner or later the marriage relationship ends\r\nbecause everyone has to die someday under natural law.
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In order to reach a proper solution to the problem, we should realize that all\r\nthings of this world are impermanent, human body is unreal, everything is a\r\nresult of multiple causes and conditions; combination and separation, formation\r\nand destruction of things and phenomena are the rules that govern the natural\r\nworld. The more you cling to the material world, the more you suffer. We will\r\nfeel happy, serene, peaceful, released only if we can practice detachment\r\nproperly and home-leaving Buddhists as well as lay people can practice in their\r\nown ways.
\r\n\r\n After the lecture, I hope that everyone will be aware\r\nof the difference between the temporary and the sustainable happiness. Follow\r\nthe path leading to peace and liberation and real happiness and stay away from\r\nthe path leading to sufferings and unreal happiness.
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(The dharma lecture of Sen. Venerable Thich Chan Tinh at a one-day retreat on\r\nFebruary, 11, year of the Rooster 2005)
\r\n\r\nTranslated into English by Mr. Tran Xuan Thanh, layman.
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