Looking for Happiness

By: Lin Ai Wei Our world is made up of that which is of our mind. There is nothing in our world that is not of the mind of living beings. Living beings, generally speaking, People, animals, Sea creatures, insects and plant life all have wisdom as their original nature, all are what is called Buddha. What then makes our world the way it is? The wanting of that which one feels makes them complete. Basically, when a person is said to be enjoying something, they are just acquiring the perception of delight. This delight, when gone, is thus sought after. This seeking manifests the views of separation and begins to cultivate the seeds of want (greed). When the fires of the want have not been put out, anger arises for not attaining what is sought. When the fire of anger has not been put down, the seeds of ignorance are thus fed. When ignorance has not been put down, the myriad false thoughts arise more so than before, and lead the person to act in sneaky, deviant ways. These three fires of greed, anger and ignorance are the seeds of the myriad experiences of living beings, mainly what is considered suffering and what is not considered suffering. People consider their thoughts of enjoyment not to be suffering. While enjoyment is not suffering, the usual outcome of seeking the enjoyment after it has been experienced results in suffering. Wanting is suffering because when one wants, they only get the outcome of wanting. When one is angry they only get the outcome of being angry, and when one is ignorant, only ignorant behavior can be a result. The idea of looking to be happy, seeking happiness, Is indeed a false thought which results in the mind of the three poisons. Nothing that is said to be good can come from wanting to be happy. What results is only ones inevitable demise. People usually philosophize about what happiness is. Their result from debating and contemplating this happiness doesnt bring about true happiness. How can one say what is actually true? It is very easy, yet ignorant beings can not comprehend that a person can actually know the actual truth of things. Thus, because of the ignorance of living beings, methods, expedients are taught to help them realize that there indeed is an over all truth, and that people can actually know it. The confusing result from this is that ignorant beings, who believe such, but lack proper discipline become arrogant, and leads other ignorant people to the arrogant path. Thus the expedients which were once meant for a few are repeated without

actual wisdom and more and more people become deviant instead of becoming Buddhas. Real, true and actual happiness lacks its opposite. That means happiness, true happiness, is not something that can be gained, but is something realized. The state of this happiness is not based on duality. Happiness of ordinary beings is based in duality; gaining and losing. They gain something like money, and get happy. Then they lose the money, and get sad. They experience love from another and get happy, but experience anger from another and become angry themselves. This is simply ignorance manifesting more ignorance. It is not true happiness. Because living beings find it hard to believe in Buddhism, they look to other teachings not realizing that Buddhism actually is in all teachings, and all teachings are in Buddhism. That is, wholesome teachings. It is very difficult for people to actually see wisdom within the writings, or hear the subtle wisdom of the teachings of wise sages. This is why there are myriad methods, teachings with different names. All result in different outcomes except those teachings which nourish the mind ground and lead the person to wisdom. When there is no ignorance, no wanting, and no anger and arrogance, there is true happiness. It is unlike any state of happiness attained by gains and meditative states. This happiness is truly without duality. When all is still, without the acknowledgement of stillness, that state is true happiness. This is the state of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and it can be attained by not seeking, not being angry, and not doing ignorant things as well as not thinking and acting in arrogant ways. Anyone can be happy, and its not based in money, material things, or people/relationships, but based on the attainment of true and actual wisdom. The happiness may manifest through material gains, wholesome friends and family relationships, and an abundance of money, or may manifest in having just enough, or even no material gains at all. This literally points to non-duality. True wisdom is constantly there and not dependent on outside conditions to manifest, but because it does not rely on conditions to manifest, it also is said to not exist at all. This is the same with happiness. Living beings chase after happiness day in and day out, but fail to realize the causes and conditions of the happiness they are chasing. This is not wisdom, and the result will indeed not be happiness. The Buddha Dharma teaches that all things are of the mind. Because all things are of the mind, they come and go with the blinking of an eye, if not faster. People mistake this coming and going by what they see, not by the causes and conditions, thus they claim that when one blinks their eyes, what they just saw is still there in front of them. This is just not so.

What is seen and what was seen are two different things. How so? By closing the eyes, it is only the organ of sight which is blinded, not the sight consciousness. People see through the organ of sight, and thus proclaim that what they see is indeed in front of them. They thus blink and when the eyes are open again they see the same physical object there. That which had created the object they perceived through the organ of sight has been forgotten. Thus, the views of internal and external arise. An emotion towards that which is seen by the eyes is also false. They are passing thoughts which are associated to ones external environment, yet are used by people to justify their feelings and reality experienced. Thus the views of ego, others a self and a lifespan are made manifest. The organ of sight can only perceive what is said to be in front of them, but the seeing consciousness is not dependent upon external causes and conditions to manifest its function. It is thus. Happiness, or true happiness, is thus, for in that non-dual state, there are no worries and no thoughts of not worrying. There is no separation and no thought of separating. In our language we can only call it happiness, but in the language of Buddhism we call it Thus. Happiness that is sought after is not true happiness. That which is dependent upon cause and conditions is just passing, a bubble, a dream, non-permanent. Because it is impermanent there is no permanent. Impermanence and permanent are just a flip of the hand. Once the flipping of the hand has ceased, and the hand and the one flipping the hand have disappeared, the thus nature will be revealed.