Wanting happiness

We want happiness. Happiness is what we are seeking, what we are longing for. All of us.

This is not just some idea, but we can see this in our own behavior, as well as the behavior of those around us. We can even see this in nature - animals and plants want happiness too. We can also see that searching for happiness in substances, objects and experiences, brings us unhappiness and disappointment. Accordingly, we tend to make those around us unhappy too.

In this article, let's put aside the ideas that we want to 'attain enlightenment' or 'escape samsara' or 'find God'. Let's just acknowledge that we truly want to be happy. That is it.

Changes 

When we identify ourselves as this person, it is understandable that we feel unhappy. See, thinking that we are the combination of a physical body, made up of thoughts, emotions, sensations, we feel limited. We feel bound, intimidated, threatened. We think that we are separate. 

We investigate this physical body, and we see that it is constantly changing. It is vulnerable, fragile. Frequently, we read about fatal accidents or physical bodies dying due to illness. Someone leaves their house in the morning, going to work, and they never come back. Maybe because of a car accident, or just having a heart attack or so...

Or, someone goes to sleep with plans for tomorrow, and they simply never wake up. Just like that. See, this body can just cease to exist at any time. We have no control over this.

Then, we see all these thoughts and emotions coming and going. We investigate and we realize that they are like the weather, they simply come and go. We do not really choose our thoughts and emotions. We have no control over which thought will arise next. The idea of choosing our thoughts, is yet another thought.

Now, if we know that our own bodies are changing, we are assured that the physical bodies of others are changing too. They are also impermanent. Making a physical body the object of happiness, leads us to unhappiness.

Knowing that what we feel and think is constantly changing, we can be assured that other people also experience changes in thoughts and feelings. This means that someone that likes us now, may not like us later. Someone that we feel makes us happy now, may not make us happy in the future. How we feel about a certain object now, may change at some point.

Truth is wisdom

So, we may feel that we are left with the 'sad truth' that happiness can never be found. If everything keeps changing, if true happiness can never be found in a physical experience or sensation, how shall we ever be happy? If our thoughts and emotions keep changing, how can we ever be happy internally? How can we have a 'happy mind'?

Coming to this conclusion may sound somewhat sad, demotivating. Maybe even depressing. But, this is great news! This is wisdom! Through investigation, through experience, we now know that we cannot find happiness in the way we thought we can. It is not that someone told us this and we have to believe it. We know this by checking up.

See, seeking happiness is not wrong. Seeking true happiness in this and that is wrong. We know that appearances keep changing. Thoughts, sensations, perceptions are always changing. We witness this. This must mean that we are not what we are witnessing, right?

What remains, is to now ask ourselves an earnest question. Now, it is time to ask ourselves, "Who am I?"

Appearances keep changing. Thoughts, sensations, perceptions are always changing. We witness this.

Related articles on this blog:

Peace and Happiness - 6 June, 2021
Our own death - 20 October, 2021
Subjective experience - 3 September, 2021