Happiness in Pali is called Sukha, which is used both as a noun meaning “happiness,” “ease,” “bliss,” or “pleasure,” and as an adjective meaning “blissful” or “pleasant.”
In pursuit of happiness, many people are engaged in sense pleasure or self-indulgence in the extreme. Because of the availability of ample opportunity for people to indulge in sensual pleasure, the human realm is called a plane of sensual pleasure.
As enjoying sensual pleasure is called happiness, to be born as a human being with all the senses complete, is a happy occurrence, for one can experience a very high degree of sense pleasure through the sensory stimuli. He can be happy thinking that he has plenty of wealth, for the very thought “I have enormous wealth”, gives him a secure feeling. This feeling of possessiveness is his happiness [atthisukha]. He can be happy consuming his wealth in any manner he deems secure, entertaining his senses in any manner he wishes, or sharing with his relatives, friends, or giving in charity to whomever he pleases, or saving as much as he pleases, so he can use whenever he or his family member needs [bhogasukha]. He can be happy thinking that he has earned his wealth honestly [anavajjasukha] and he can be happy thinking that he is free from debts. [ananasukha, A.ii.p.69].
For these reasons, happiness has been defined by some as a satisfaction of the will. If you obtain what you have been dreaming, you are said to be happy. Pursuing this definition of happiness, you may do countless things to fulfill your wishes, so you will be happy. You may spend all your time, money, energy, skill and all the opportunities to do your best to make your life happy, or to bring happiness to the lives of your family members, your friends, your relatives, and probably to your country.
Considering the possible variables available for the will to desire, this definition is inadequate. If you will to procure something perishable, changeable, impermanent and subject to slipping away from your grasp, procuring that particular object makes you more unhappy than not procuring it. Or if you obtain something and you have to spend your time, energy, peace, skill even at the risk of your health to protect it, safeguard it, and secure it, then you experience more unhappiness than happiness.
Sariputta echoing the Buddha’s explanation of the sense desire says to his brother monks: “There are, reverend sir, these five strands of sense desire. What five? There are forms, cognized by the eye, longed for, alluring, pleasurable, lovely, bound up with passion and desire. There are sounds cognized by the ear… smells by the nose… tastes by the tongue… contacts, cognized by the touch, longed for alluring, pleasurable, lovely, bound up with passion and desire. These, reverend sir, are the five strands of sense desire; and the happiness, the well-being arising therefrom is called sensuous happiness.”
Generally, people misconstrue the source of happiness. They think by pleasing their insatiable desire they can be happy. They do not realize that the means available to them to please their desires are limited by time and space. When you try to obtain happiness by pleasing unlimited and insatiable desire by means limited by time and space, you end up in frustration and losing whatever little relative happiness you have.
Does wealth really bring happiness? Obviously not, for there are many wealthy people who live miserable lives, unhealthy lives. Does education bring happiness? Apparently not, for there are many well-educated persons who are more unhappy than those who are not educated. Does this mean that the poor and uneducated are happier than the wealthy and educated? No, not at all. Does marrying someone whom you are passionately attached to bring happiness? No. Does divorce make you happy? Apparently not. Does living single bring happiness? No, not at all.
Some people believe that revenge makes them happy. Tit for tat never brings any happiness to anybody, for, in reality, an eye for an eye makes everybody miserable, not happy. It is not by cultivating, but by destroying hate, that happiness grows in our minds. “He who with the rod harms the rodless and harmless, soon will come to one of these states: He will be subject to acute pain, disaster, bodily injury, or even grievous sickness, or loss of mind, or oppression by the kind, or heavy accusation, or loss of relatives, or destruction of wealth, or ravaging fire that will burn his house.” [Dh. vs. 138 - 140]. “He who seeking his own happiness does not torment with the rod beings that are desirous of happiness, obtains happiness in the hereafter.” [Dh. v. 132]. All of us without any exception have within us the root of happiness. It, however, is buried under the heap of our hatred, jealousy, tension, anxiety, worry and many other negative states of mind. In order to find out the root of happiness we have to remove the very root of unhappiness and cultivate and nourish the roots of happiness.
Suppose a person thinks of making himself happy by killing, stealing, committing sexual misconduct, lying and taking intoxicating drinks and drugs causing infatuation and heedlessness, would he really be happy? Certainly he is not happy, for the reason that his mind is confused by what he is doing. How can a man who is full of hatred, greed and delusion be happy? How can a man who kills anyone be happy? The Buddha said:
“To live without anger among the angry is, indeed, happy. To live unafflicted among the afflicted is happy. To live without ambition among the ambitious is happy. To live without possession is a happy life like that of the radiant gods. To live without competition among those who compete is happy, for he “who wins creates an enemy; and unhappy does the defeated sleep. The one who is neither a victor nor the defeated sleeps happily.” [Dh. v. 201] “There is no happiness greater than the perfect calm.” [Dh. 203] “Good is the sight of the Noble Ones; happy always is it to live with them; away from the sight of fools, one would always be happy.” [Dh. 206]. Living with the wise is very comfortable and happy. “A wise man is pleasant to live with as is the company of kinsmen.” [Dh. v. 207].
So, the Buddha said: “Our actions are all led by the mind, mind is their master, mind is their maker. If one acts or speaks with a pure state of mind then happiness follows like a shadow that trails constantly behind.” [Dh. v.2.]
Happiness is most certainly generated by the mind free from the factors that oppose it. The very source that generates happiness, is the purified mind, not the impure mind. Repetition of doing good deeds with pure mind is a source of happiness. “If a man does good, let him do it again and again and let him take delight in it; the accumulation of good causes happiness.” [Dh. v. 118]
Generosity makes us happy, for it is always the giver, rather than recipient, who is happy. The recipient is obligated to the giver. One who is obligated to someone is not happy. For this reason the Buddha very wisely made desire analogous to indebtedness. We know when we borrow something from someone, we are not happy until we pay back what we have borrowed. One who gives away his own possessions has no obligation to the recipient. Therefore he is happy. The Buddha said: “The wise man, rejoicing in giving, becomes happy by that in the hereafter.” [Dh. v. 177]
It is by giving up, not obtaining, sense pleasure that one gains happiness. Sense pleasure has more unhappiness. Therefore, “By giving up a little pleasure, if one sees much happiness, the wise man would relinquish that little pleasure in view of the great pleasure.” [Dh. v. 290]
It is happiness, as we have already mentioned, that brings peace. Therefor the Buddha has prescribed a very practical way of cultivating loving-kindness which, in turn, brings happiness.
One who practices loving-kindness should wish, “May all beings be happy and secure! May all beings have happy minds! Whatever living beings there may be without exception, weak or strong, long, large, middling, short, subtle, or gross, visible or invisible, living near or far, born or coming to birth--may all beings have happy minds! Let no one deceive another nor despise anyone anywhere. Neither in anger nor ill will should anyone wish harm to another. As a mother would risk her own life to protect her only child, even so towards all living beings one should cultivate a boundless heart. One should cultivate for all the world a heart of boundless loving-kindness, above, below, and across, unobstructed, without hate or enmity. Whether standing, walking, or sitting, lying down or whenever awake, he should develop this mindfulness; this is called divinely dwelling here. Not falling into erroneous views, but virtuous and endowed with vision, removing desire for sensual pleasures, he comes never again to birth in the womb.” [Karaniyametta Sutta, SN.]
The highest happiness, of course, is Nibbana [Nibbanam paramam sukham]. Venerable Sariputta, as recorded in the Anguttara Nikaya, says in one of his dialogues: “This nibbana is happiness” [sukham idam avuso nibbanam]. One of the listening monks then asked: “Friend Sariputta, what is then here the happiness that is not felt in this [nibbana]?” [kim pan avuso Sariputta sukham, yad natti vedayitam ti?"] Answering this question Sariputta said: “That very absence of feeling is happiness here.” [etad eva khv avuso sukham, yad ettha natthi vedayitam.]
Nibbanic happiness is not considered to be a feeling [vedana] to experience, for it is feeling that generates desire. For instance, if the feeling happens to be pleasant, desire arises in the mind for obtaining what is felt. All happiness derived from any feeling may turn into unhappiness. If happiness turns into unhappiness, then what we experience is suffering [dukkha]. True happiness is the happiness attained by eliminating dukkha. The cause of suffering should be eliminated totally, completely, never to return again, in order to eliminate suffering. With total annihilation of the cause of suffering, permanent happiness is possible.
The happiness attained by eliminating dukkha. The cause of suffering should be eliminated totally, completely, never to return again, in order to eliminate suffering.
Post a Comment