Buddhism's Theory of Happiness

Amida Buddha had only one thought—to save those in suffering. In realizing this, Master Shinran exclaimed,

'The grace of Amida's great compassion, I must repay, though I wear myself to bits.'

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11 months ago | [YT] | 10

Buddhism's Theory of Happiness

In Buddhism, it is taught that to see impermanence as it is is the first step towards attaining the bodhi mind. What this means is that squarely facing the matter of death is the first step towards awakening an earnest desire to find the real meaning of life.

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11 months ago | [YT] | 10

Buddhism's Theory of Happiness

Under normal circumstances, we fail to realise the preciousness—and fragility—of the many, many things we habitually rely on. How many things do we have right now without which we couldn’t make it through each day, though we rarely even give them a second thought? We even take our own lives for granted, assuming we will still be alive tomorrow despite there being no guarantee of that.

It is once we realise how precious our fragile lives are, as well as how irreplaceable all the things we rely on are, that we will begin to seriously consider the question: What is it that I was born to do? What is it that I live to achieve?

And so Buddhism teaches us that to see impermanence as it is is the first step towards attaining the bodhi mind.
Gazing earnestly at the fleeting nature of our lives serves as the catalyst for the desire to discover the real meaning of life, to come to know what it is that we were born to do.

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11 months ago | [YT] | 8

Buddhism's Theory of Happiness

When foraging for wild plants, there’s nothing more reassuring than having a master gatherer beside you saying, “This one is good to eat,” and “That one isn’t.”

In just the same way, the Buddha carefully guides us—showing whether our everyday words, actions, and thoughts will bring happiness or lead to suffering.

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11 months ago | [YT] | 7

Buddhism's Theory of Happiness

Buddhism teaches the importance of repentance.

While we are, of course, encouraged not to commit sins—and it's best not to—it's said that those who repent their misdeeds are wise, even if they've done wrong.

On the other hand, those who commit sins are foolish, and those who try to hide their wrongdoing are even more foolish.

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11 months ago | [YT] | 5

Buddhism's Theory of Happiness

Conveying Buddhism to others in its truest sense is quite challenging. Even explaining the meaning of sutras is not easy, and that alone isn't enough.

It's only when someone recognizes the vital life lessons that Buddhism imparts and wishes to keep hearing Buddhism that we can say that we have conveyed the teachings in its true essense.

However, this is far from simple.

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11 months ago | [YT] | 11

Buddhism's Theory of Happiness

In the Larger Sutra, the condition of a person not awakened to Buddha-nature is described as follows:

"The mind constantly thinks evil; the mouth constantly speaks evil; the body constantly commits evil—never once doing good."

This is how the Buddha revealed the true nature of human beings, and he taught that the Larger Sutra is the scripture that expresses the truth.

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11 months ago | [YT] | 7

Buddhism's Theory of Happiness

In Buddhism, the seeds that make happiness or unhappiness bloom in our minds are called karmic seeds.
“Karma” is the Indian term for what we in English simply call “actions” or “deeds.”

The Buddha consistently taught that each of our actions becomes a seed—and from those seeds, the flowers of happiness can grow.

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11 months ago | [YT] | 13

Buddhism's Theory of Happiness

When we judge something, we can no longer do so in pure objectivity—free from our own subjectivity. Buddhism illustrates this with the teaching of “one water, four views.” The same water is seen differently by different beings:

Humans: as something to drink

Fish (animal realm): as a place to live

Hungry ghosts: as burning flames

Heavenly beings: as ruri (lapis lazuli), a precious, jewel-like substance

In short, one thing appears in four ways—shaped by the mind and the realm of the viewer.

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11 months ago | [YT] | 8

Buddhism's Theory of Happiness

The Buddha taught, “If you wish to be happy, sow the seeds of happiness.”
If you plant sunflower seeds, sunflowers will bloom. If you want your garden full of sunflowers, you plant more sunflower seeds.
In the same way, if you want your heart to be filled with the flowers of happiness, sow the seeds of happiness within it.

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11 months ago | [YT] | 8