Contaminated Happiness

Most of us seek happiness throughout our lives, not happy with what we have but want something different or more. Many look for happiness in the wrong places, such as material possessions - a large house with all the latest luxuries, a luxury car, or a well-paid job or may be in reputation, good looks, power, excitement or adventure. Many try to find the meaning of their life in relationships with their family and circle of friends. All these things can make us happy for a short while, but they can also cause us much worry and suffering. They can never give us the perfect lasting happiness that all of us, in our heart of hearts, long for. Since the key to happiness is in the hands of another person, object, place or situation, one can never be truly happy, it shall only be linked outside.

As an end in themselves worldly attainments are hollow; they are not the real essence of human life. The happiness of living beings is rare and fleeting, and this is only a contaminated happiness that is in reality the nature of suffering, as we increase the cause of our worldly happiness, our happiness will gradually change into suffering. You are hungry, got food became happy, ate too much, caused suffering. You were lonely, found love- became happy, wanted too much, got possessive, suffered. Without job, found one, very happy, gave in your best, wanted promotion, incentives, suffered. And so on. Since suffering is coming from happiness, thus it is coined as contaminated happiness, only to end in despair.

When things go wrong in our life and we encounter difficult situations we tend to regard the situation itself as the problem, but in reality whatever problems we experience come from the side of the mind. If we were to respond to difficult situations with a positive or peaceful mind they would not be problems for us; rather we regard them as challenges or opportunities for growth and development. Problems arise only if we respond to difficulties with a negative state of mind. Therefore, if we want to be free from problems we must learn to control our mind.

Suffering, worry, depression and pain are feelings—of mind—so, they exist inside and not outside our mind. If while experiencing adverse conditions, our mind remains calm and happy through the practice of patience, we do not have a problem. By keeping a peaceful mind in difficult situations we are far more likely to find solutions and respond constructively.

When you find yourself reacting with anger or opposition to any person or circumstance, realize that you are only struggling with yourself. Putting up resistance is the response of defenses created by old hurts. When you relinquish this anger, you will be healing yourself and cooperating with the flow of the universe. Motivated by the truth inside you, you can face any threat because your inner strength is invulnerable to fear. Live in the present, for it is the only moment you have. Keep your attention on what is here and now; look, for the fullness in every moment. Accept what comes to you totally and learn from it, and then let it go.

Don't struggle against the infinite scheme of things. Instead, be at one with it. Relinquish your need for external approval. You alone are the judge of your worth; and your goal is to discover infinite worth in yourself, no matter what anyone else thinks.

The key to being truly happy—is a way of life, and you have to choose that as your way of life. I have to be happy and that is my way of being. You have to seek happiness in whatever comes your way.

Helping and sharing with others than to be self-centered and caught up in one’s own problems, cares and concerns. Living the way of ‘give’, as opposed to the way of ‘get’.Do not wait for life’s circumstances to come together to provide you the perfect life you always dreamed of living, rather be happy with what you have got.

Even if someone I have helped
And of whom I had great hopes
Nevertheless harms me without any reason
May I see him as my holy Spiritual Guide.

Our normal reaction when faced with a problem is to try and find someone to blame, but if we look at the situation with wisdom we shall realize that we created the cause of that problem through our negative actions.

The main cause of all our problems is necessarily a negative bodily, verbal, or mental action that we our self created somewhere, sometime in the past; other people’s actions are only secondary conditions that enable our negative karma to ripen.

If they do not provide the conditions for our negative karma to ripen, someone or something else definitely will; for once the main cause has been established, unless we purify it through purification practice, nothing can stop the effect from occurring sooner or later. Instead of blaming others for our problems we should use our misfortunes to deepen our understanding of karma.

By training our mind to recognize the spiritual lessons in all our experiences, we can come to view everyone and everything as our Spiritual Teacher, and we can turn any and every situation to our advantage. And stay away from the vicious cycle of contaminated happiness.