The Buddha's way to happiness: an introduction
The Buddha taught that happiness is one of the seven factors of enlightenment. But what is happiness? The dictionaries say that happiness is a range of emotions, from contentment to joy. We could think of happiness as an ephemeral thing that floats in and out of our life, or as the essential goal of our life, or simply as the opposite of "sadness".
A word for "happiness" from the early texts of Pali is piti, which is a profound tranquility or ecstasy. To understand the Buddha's teachings on happiness, it is important to understand sin.
True happiness is a state of mind
As the Buddha explained these things, physical and emotional feelings (vedana) correspond to or attach to an object. For example, the sensation of hearing is created when a sense organ (ear) comes into contact with an object of sense (sound). Likewise, ordinary happiness is a feeling that has an object, for example a happy event, to win a prize or to wear fairly new shoes.
The problem with ordinary happiness is that it never lasts because the objects of happiness don't last. A happy event is soon followed by a sad event and the shoes wear out. Unfortunately, many of us go through life looking for things to "make us happy". But our happy "correction" is never permanent, so let's keep looking.
Happiness which is an enlightening factor does not depend on objects but is a mental state cultivated through mental discipline. Since it does not depend on an impermanent object, it does not come and go. A person who has cultivated piti still feels the effects of transient emotions - happiness or sadness - but appreciates their impermanence and essential unreality. He or she does not perpetually grasp the things sought by avoiding unwanted things.
Happiness above all
Many of us are attracted to dharma because we want to eliminate everything that we think is making us unhappy. We may think that if we achieve lighting, we will always be happy.
But the Buddha said it's not exactly how it works. We don't realize lighting to find happiness. Instead, he taught his disciples to cultivate the mental state of happiness to achieve enlightenment.
Theravadin teacher Piyadassi Thera (1914-1998) said that piti is "a mental property (cetasika) and is a quality that suffers both body and mind". Has continued ,
“The man who lacks this quality cannot proceed on the path to enlightenment. A dark indifference towards dhamma, an aversion to the practice of meditation and morbid manifestations will arise in him. It is therefore necessary for a man to strive for enlightenment and final liberation from the chains of samsara, which has repeated wandering, should seek to cultivate the all-important factor of happiness. "
How to cultivate happiness
In the book The Art of Happiness, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said, "So in practice, the practice of Dharma is a constant battle within, replacing the previous negative conditioning or habit with a new positive conditioning."
This is the easiest way to grow piti. Sorry; no quick fix or three simple steps for lasting happiness.
Mental discipline and the cultivation of healthy mental states are fundamental to Buddhist practice. This is usually centered in a daily meditation or chanting practice and eventually expands to take the entire Eightfold Path.
It is common for people to think that meditation is the only essential part of Buddhism and the rest is simply bombastic. But in truth, Buddhism is a complex of practices that work together and support each other. A daily meditation practice alone can be very useful, but it's a bit like a windmill with several missing blades - it doesn't work almost like one with all its parts.
Don't be an object
We said that deep happiness has no object. So, don't make yourself an object. As long as you are looking for happiness for yourself, you will not be able to find anything but temporary happiness.
Rev. Dr. Nobuo Haneda, a priest and teacher from Jodo Shinshu, said that "If you can forget your individual happiness, this is happiness defined in Buddhism. If the problem of your happiness ceases to be a problem, this is happiness defined in Buddhism. "
This brings us back to the sincere practice of Buddhism. Zen master Eihei Dogen said: “To study the Buddha Way is to study the self; to study the self is to forget the self; to forget the self is to be enlightened by the ten thousand things ”.
The Buddha taught that stress and disappointment in life (dukkha) stem from craving and grasping. But ignorance is at the root of craving and grasp. And this ignorance is of the true nature of things, including ourselves. As we practice and develop wisdom, we become less and less focused on ourselves and more concerned about the welfare of others (see "Buddhism and compassion").
There are no shortcuts for this; we cannot force ourselves to be less selfish. Altruism arises from practice.
The result of being less self-centered is that we are also less anxious to find a "solution" of happiness because that craving for a solution loses its grip. His Holiness the Dalai Lama said: "If you want others to be happy, practice compassion and if you want you to be happy, practice compassion." It sounds simple, but it takes practice.