Happiness and Buddhism
AS LONG AS YOU ARE CHASING HAPPINESS,
YOU ARE NOT READY TO BE HAPPY,
AND WOULD EVERYTHING DEAREST TO YOU.
- HERMANN HESSE -
The search for happiness is a natural pursuit of every human being.
But everyone has a different idea of happiness, his own desires.
Those who study Buddhism usually already have a completely different idea of happiness than many other people.
But what is happiness?
A golden watch? A new house or car? A new love affair?
Hermann Hesse, Chan monks from Korea, Bodhidharma and Buddha, all these great masterminds tell us that happiness or unhappiness does not come to us through circumstances, but is made by "our heart", by our inner being. Nobody can make me happy or sad, only I myself make this feeling, it rises from my ego.
For example, if I am unhappy in love and I look at the moon, I become even sadder. So does the moon make me sadder? No, I do it myself; the unhappiness comes from me.
But when I am happily in love and so look at the moon, I become even happier. So does the moon make me happy? No, I do it myself, the happiness comes from me.
BODHIDHARMA (THE FOUNDER OF CHAN (ZEN) BUDDHISM SAID, "一切唯心造" - "EVERYTHING IS IDEALLY MADE".
So depending on my point of view, things, circumstances or people can affect me emotionally.
So what if I change my point of view, much like Buddha did?
The consequences of every action are already in the action itself.
- George Orwell - British writer - 1903 to 1950
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