Happiness lies, Buddhism
says, within you
Devika Punjabi Nov 6, 2017,
The Asian Age
The fundamental point of
the practice of Buddhism lies in our behaviour as human
beings.
What is happiness? When
will I achieve it? Who is the person who will “make me happy”? When
will things be “good” so I can be happy?
These questions are a
constant reality of our lives. In the words of Buddhist philosopher
Daisaku Ikeda, president of Soka Gakkai International, “We each
move forward secure on our own earth, not the earth of others.
Happiness is something we must create for ourselves. No one else
can give it to us.”
Happiness is truly an
inside job. But what is true happiness? When I first started
practising Nichiren Buddhism in the Soka Gakkai, I didn’t know what
it meant to be truly happy. I thought it existed only in favourable
circumstances, good relationships, more fulfilling work, and
financial security etc. But the 13th Century Buddhist
revolutionary priest Nichiren Daishonin presented the people with
the idea that the source of empowerment and joy lay deep within
their own lives. ‘Happiness’, as understood by the Soka Gakkai, is
all inclusive. So while striving for our own happiness we can
actually open our hearts to the happiness of others. And while
caring for the happiness of others, we enhance our own joy in a
mutually inclusive way.
The fundamental point of
the practice of Buddhism lies in our behaviour as human beings, in
the sense of pride from embracing and respecting the dignity of
each person’s life, each one “secure on their own earth”. Each
individual life has the power to create value for themselves and
others. And therefore this “value creation” itself becomes
joy.
Ultimately, the philosophy
of Buddhism was to conquer suffering, not avoid it.
This is the “practice” of
honing our inner lives to shift from a self-centred way of living
to one that expands the unlimited capacity of our own lives.
Happiness is a world where no one is left behind. This is true
happiness.