The first way is that individuals are ignorant of greater happiness and believe themselves to be content with what they have.
In this day and age, because of the belief in hyperindividualism, we fail to realize that we all share fundamental human nature. Our fundamental human nature means that we ultimately find the same things wonderful and good, and other things less wonderful and good, and still other things evil. The supposed differences among individuals as to what is better and worse arise from individual ignorance as to which things are better and which things are worse.
We are ignorant as to which things are better and which things are worse because we have not yet realized which things are greater and which things are lesser. For example, when one is a young boy, lacking in experience and maturity, one might mistake video games and toys to be sources of great happiness. However, when he is a young adult, with some experience and maturity, he might see his career as a source of great happiness. He will still find happiness in in video games, but will value his career as greater. Later he will marry, and see his marriage as a source of great happiness. He will still find happiness in his career, but will value his marriage as greater. One day, he will have children, and see his entire family as a source of great happiness. He will still find happiness in his marriage, but value his entire family life as greater.
He then looks back at his life, and realizes that he was furthest from true happiness when he was a child, and closer to true happiness as he realized and attained what are sources of greater happiness in life as he ages.
Such it is with greater happiness. Thus, no one should be satisfied with what sources of happiness he has but should rather instead realize and attain greater happiness.
The second way is that individuals mistake what is suffering for what is happiness because of their sickly and deprived state of being perverts their sense of true happiness and true suffering.
In the Magandiya Sutra, the Buddha provides an analogy for how ordinary beings mistake suffering for pleasure. He explains,
Suppose, Magandiya, there was a leper with sores and blisters on his limbs, being devoured by worms, scratching the scabs off the openings of his wounds with his nails, cauterizing his body over a burning charcoal pit. Then his friends and companions, his kinsmen and relatives, would bring a physician to treat him. The physician would make medicine for him, and by means of that medicine the man would be cured of his leprosy and would become well and happy, independent, master of himself, able to go where he likes. Then he might see another leper with sores and blisters on his limbs, being devoured by worms, scratching the scabs off the openings of his wounds with his nails, cauterizing his body over a burning charcoal pit. What do you think, Magandiya? Would that man envy that leper for his burning charcoal pit or his use of medicine?Magandiya responds,
"No, Master Gotama [the Buddha]. Why is that? Because when there is sickness, there is no need for medicine, and when there is no sickness there is no need for medicine."The Buddha then repeats his story of the leper having his treatment, except now he hypothesizes that "then two strong men would seize him by both arms and drag him toward a burning charcoal pit." He then asks, "What do you think, Magandiya? Would that man twist his body this way and that?"
To which Magandiya responds, "Yes, Master Gotama. Why is that? Because that fire is indeed painful to touch, hot, and scorching."
The Buddha continues questioning: "What do you think, Magandiya? Is it only now that that fire is painful to touch, hot, and scorching, or previously too was that fire painful to touch, hot, and scorching?"
Magandiya answers,
"Master Gotama, that fire is now painful to touch, hot, and scorching, and previously too that fire was painful to touch, hot, and scorching. For when that man was a leper with sores and blisters on his limbs, being devoured by worms, scratching the scabs off the openings of his wounds with his nails, his faculties were impaired; thus, though the fire was actually painful to touch, he acquired a mistaken perception of it as pleasant."The original context of this story is the Buddha explaining to Magandiya, a hedonist, as to why sensual pleasures are in fact distortions of suffering. The Buddha concludes,
"Suppose, Magandiya, there was a leper with sores and blisters on his limbs, being devoured by worms, scratching the scabs off the opening of his wounds with his nails, cauterizing his body over a burning charcoal pit; the more he scratches the scabs and cauterizes his body, the fouler, more evil-smelling, and more infected the openings of his wounds would become, yet he would find a certain measure of satisfaction and enjoyment in scratching the openings of his wounds. So too, Magandiya, people who are not free from lust for sensual pleasures, who burn with the fever of sensual pleasures, still indulge in sensual pleasures; the more they indulge in sensual pelasures, the more their craving for sensual pleasures increases and the more they are burned by the fever of sensual pleasures, yet they find a certain measure of satisfaction and enjoyment in dependence of the five cords of sensual pleasure."Though the Buddha was talking in the context of sensual pleasures, we can expand this analogy to understand why we see suffering as attractive or pleasurable. We mistake suffering as attractive or pleasurable because we are sickly and deprived of our needs and greater happiness, and we attempt to use activities of suffering (or lower happiness) as temporary alleviations for our illness.
Whenever we watch TV, or play video games, we indulge in this lower form of happiness. But this lower form of happiness is not happiness, it's a temporary alleviation for a greater suffering. It's a bandaid on a tumor. It's the painkiller to a broken arm. Worse, these lower forms of happiness are actually forms of suffering that cause greater suffering later on. Watching TV or playing video games not only keeps us from confronting, finding solutions, and applying solutions to solve our problems, but also actively creates negative results by allowing our minds to inundated by negative influences. At best, they are distractions that keep us from attaining truer happiness; at worst, they actively hurt ourselves. Either way, they perpetuate our problems.
Such it is with suffering. Thus, one should not delude oneself that he or she is happy with states of suffering, but should rather instead realize and attain greater happiness.
In this way, people suffer without realizing their suffering. In this way, people characterize their state of sickness and deprivation as happiness. In doing so, they pass up opportunities toward greater happiness.
A contemplative person who has developed his awareness will be able to see his suffering and the possibility toward solving that suffering. He will begin to see what is greater in life, and in what ways he is sickly and deprived. Then he can reach greater happiness.
How can one begin to contemplate happiness and suffering? With each activity, with each experience, one should ask...
How happy does this make me? How happy does this make me compared to other experiences or activities? How long will this happiness last? What are the end results of it? Are they good for me and others? Are they bad for me and others? Is this something that will compel me to get out of bed everyday? If I continue to do this or experience this, will it continue to make me happy, or will it fade each time? Why does this make me happy? How does this make me happy? Is it a distraction from suffering, deprivation, or sense of emptiness? Is it worth the effort?
People will recognize their suffering if they don't get confused with the idea that "this is it, this is all that there is to life...so it's up to you to be happy with it." This idea keeps us in a perpetual state of suffering and keeps us from pursuing and attaining higher happiness.
If I am a leper and all around me are lepers, who will come and show me my leprosy, or who will come and heal me of it? How will I know what happiness is and that I am not experiencing a corrupted form of it? I ask these questions in earnest because the sacrifices a man makes in his life may actually never make him happy; they may kill him, if he's given up his life for another. How will such a man know what happiness is?
ReplyDeleteA settled mind developed in awareness will be able to better recognize suffering than an unsettled mind undeveloped in awareness. Such a mind will be able to recognize when one suffers more, and when one suffers less. In this way we can know that there is some form of suffering that comes into being and goes out of being.
ReplyDeleteEveryone, including the most inexperienced, immature child, has this experience. We have times when we become upset. We have times when we do not feel upset. We have times when we enjoy the moment. So, it is not so difficult to understand that there is some form of suffering in our lives.
Knowing true happiness is more difficult. This requires experience and genuine reflection. Certainly, there is happiness that is greater, and happiness that is lesser. But this of course does not mean that both the greater and lesser forms of happiness do not have an element of corruption.
If you examine the religion of Buddhism, the answer is that any happiness is ultimately based on an element of corruption. Ultimately, it is unsatisfying, and our attachment to happiness to causes even further suffering. This is why the ultimate goal is to find inner stillness and peace, rather than pursuing happiness.
To me, and the majority of people, attaining this stillness is incredibly difficult. Some would find the possibility of this goal, in fact, to be suspect. So I'm going to take another approach here.
There is greater happiness and lesser happiness. Experience shows us this, as per the example of the boy growing up into adulthood. The things we find to be sources and forms of greater happiness is universal to all human beings, and the order in which we find them greater is universal. However, individual human beings do not actually realize the natural order of things yet.
(continued below)
I haven't found a satisfying answer to why human beings do not already realize the natural order of things (ie the source of confusion leading to evil), at least without having to go into theology, but I do know of methods that allow the transformation toward realizing and manifesting the natural order. These methods should all be used both separately and in an integrative fashion for maximum results.
ReplyDeleteThe first is through contemplation of previous experience. A careful contemplation of what makes someone more happy and less happy will help us put our heart-mind in order. For example, we will find that having an intimate connection to another person provides better happiness than attaining some material object, when we reflect on each experience and how happy it made us, in terms of depth, degree, and how long the happiness lasted.
The second is through settling the mind. As the mind settles, through meditation or otherwise, the more frivolous forms of happiness (the most corrupted forms) will lose their desirability. As the mind settles, the sensual pleasures will first begin to lose their appeal, then the base emotions, and so forth. Through this process, one can begin to realize what is more and less valuable, virtuous, and good sources of happiness.
The third is by understanding human need. If a need is unfilled, happiness is difficult to attain. Starving individuals have difficulty attaining happiness compared to individuals who have a healthy diet. In the other extreme, too much of a good thing is harmful. Gluttonous individuals also have difficulty attaining happiness compared to individuals who have a healthy diet, because they distort a necessity into a source of happiness greater than what it really provides. The same can be said with anything that is a necessity. Knowing the right balance takes contemplation of experience. How much leaves us sick? How little makes us sick?
The fourth method is to seek the advice of wise persons. Though they might not necessarily be trusted absolutely (and certainly not blindly) they can point to you possibilities of greater happiness that your limited experience and understanding might not have pointed you toward.
The fifth method is to understand the harm or goodness that arises with each potential source of happiness. Greater sources of happiness result in good for self and others. Lesser sources of happiness result in lesser good for self and others. Suffering results in evil for self and others. Therefore we can understand happiness and suffering by the consequences resulting from those sources. This is in accordance with natural law.
These methods allow one to understand greater happiness and lesser happiness. There is no easy shortcut, which is why cultivation is such a long and hard, but ultimately rewarding, path.