Why the Buddha kept meditating
Even if happiness already manifests, we must continue to cherish it. This is sometimes called conditioning, and it is very important. We can condition our bodies and minds for happiness with the five practices of letting go, inviting positive seeds, mindfulness, concentration and insight.
The first method to create joy and happiness is to throw away, to abandon. There is a kind of joy that comes from letting go. Many of us are tied to so many things. We believe these things are necessary for our survival, safety and happiness. But many of these things – or rather, our beliefs about their absolute necessity – are actually obstacles to our joy and happiness.
Sometimes you think that having a certain career, degree, salary, house or partner is crucial to your happiness. You think you can’t live without it anymore. Even when you reach that situation, or are with that person, you continue to suffer. At the same time, you are still afraid that if you let go of the prize you won, it will be even worse; you will be even more miserable without the object you are clinging to. You can’t live with it, and you can’t live without it.
If you look deeply into your fearful attachment, you will realize that it is actually the obstacle to your joy and happiness. You have the ability to let it go. Letting go sometimes takes a lot of courage. But once you let go, happiness comes very quickly. You don’t have to look for it.
Imagine you’re a city dweller going away for a weekend to the countryside. When you live in a major metropolis, there is a lot of noise, dust, pollution and smells, but also a lot of opportunity and excitement. One day a friend convinces you to go away for a few days. At first you might say, ‘I can’t do it. I have too much work. Maybe I’ll miss an important phone call.’
But eventually he convinces you to leave, and an hour or two later you find yourself in the countryside. You see open space. You see the sky and you feel the breeze on your cheeks. Happiness comes from being able to leave the city behind. If you hadn’t left, how could you experience that kind of joy? You had to let go.
2. INVITATION OF POSITIVE SEEDS
We all have many types of ‘seeds’ that lie deep within our consciousness. The ones we water are the ones that germinate, arise in our consciousness and manifest outwardly.
One way to care for our suffering is to invite a seed of the opposite nature to emerge. Because nothing exists without its opposite, if you have a seed of arrogance, you also have a seed of compassion. Each of us has a seed of compassion. If you practice mindfulness and compassion every day, the seed of compassion will grow strong within you. You just have to focus on it and it will emerge as a powerful energy zone.
When compassion arises, arrogance naturally disappears. You don’t have to fight it or push it down. We can selectively water the good seeds and not water the negative seeds. This does not mean that we ignore our suffering; it just means that we allow the positive seeds that are naturally present to receive attention and nourishment.
3. MINDFULNESS-BASED JOY
Mindfulness helps us not only to get in touch with suffering so that we can embrace and transform it, but also to touch the wonders of life, including our own bodies. Then breathing in becomes a pleasure, and breathing out can also be a pleasure. You really come to enjoy your breathing.
A few years ago I had a virus in my lungs that caused them to bleed. I spit up blood. With such lungs it was difficult to breathe, and it was difficult to be happy while breathing. After the treatment my lungs healed and my breathing became much better. When I breathe now, all I have to do is think about the time my lungs were infected with this virus. Then every breath I take becomes really wonderful, really good.
When we practice mindful breathing or mindful walking, we bring our mind back to our body and we are established in the here and now. We feel so happy; we have so many conditions for happiness that are already available. Joy and happiness come immediately. So mindfulness is a source of joy. Mindfulness is a source of happiness.
Mindfulness is an energy that you can generate throughout the day by practicing. You can do the dishes with attention. You can prepare your dinner with attention. You can mop the floor with attention. And with mindfulness you can touch the many conditions of happiness and joy that are already available. You are a true artist. You know how to create joy and happiness whenever you want. This is the joy and happiness born from mindfulness.
Concentration comes from mindfulness. Concentration has the power to break through, to burn away the torments that make you suffer and to let in joy and happiness.
Staying in the present moment requires concentration. Worries and anxieties about the future are always there, ready to take us away. We can see them, acknowledge them and use our concentration to return to the present moment.
When we have concentration, we have a lot of energy. We are not carried away by visions of past suffering or fears about the future. We dwell stably in the present moment so that we can connect with the wonders of life and generate joy and happiness.
Concentration is always concentration on something. If you relax and focus on your breathing, you are already cultivating an inner strength. When you come back to feel your breath, focus on your breathing with all your heart and mind. Concentration is not hard work. You don’t have to strain yourself or make a huge effort. Happiness comes lightly and easily.
5. INSIGHT
With mindfulness we recognize the tension in our body and we really want to release it, but sometimes we can’t. What we need is some insight.
Insight is seeing what is there. It is the clarity that can free us from torments such as jealousy or anger and allow true happiness to come. Each of us has insight, although we do not always use it to increase our happiness.
In the spring, when there is a lot of pollen in the air, some of us have trouble breathing due to allergies. Even if we don’t try to run five miles and just want to sit or lie down, we can’t breathe properly. So in winter, when there is no pollen, instead of complaining about the cold, we can remember how in April or May we could not go outside at all. Now our lungs are clear, we can take a brisk walk outside and we can breathe very well. We consciously call upon our past experiences to help ourselves cherish the good things we have now.
In the past we have probably suffered from one or the other. It might even have felt like some kind of hell. If we remember that suffering and don’t get carried away by it, we can use it to remind ourselves, ‘How lucky I am right now. I’m not in that situation. I can be happy” – that is insight; and at that moment our joy and happiness can grow very quickly.
The essence of our practice can be described as transforming suffering into happiness. It is not a complicated practice, but it requires that we cultivate mindfulness, concentration and insight.
It requires, first and foremost, that we come home to ourselves, that we make peace with our suffering, treat it with tenderness, and look deeply at the roots of our pain. It requires us to let go of useless, unnecessary suffering and take a closer look at our idea of happiness.
Finally, it requires that we nurture happiness every day, with recognition, understanding and compassion for ourselves and for those around us. We offer these practices to ourselves, to our loved ones, and to the larger community. This is the art of suffering and the art of happiness. With every breath we ease suffering and generate joy. With every step the flower of insight blooms.
Written by Thich Nhat Hanh
From ‘No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering’