{"id":605,"date":"2007-07-18T03:01:00","date_gmt":"2007-07-18T03:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2007\/07\/buddhism-happiness-take-2\/"},"modified":"2007-07-18T03:01:00","modified_gmt":"2007-07-18T03:01:00","slug":"buddhism-happiness-take-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2007\/07\/buddhism-happiness-take-2.html","title":{"rendered":"Buddhism: Happiness, take 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>I\u2019ve been working on a reading group with friends lately, covering Matthieu Ricard\u2019s book, \u201cHappiness: A Guide to Developing Life\u2019s Most Important Skill.\u201d Unfortunately summer\u2019s heat and attractive alternatives seem to be taking their toll and attendance is spotty at best. It\u2019s a trend across the board, I visited the FWBO center here a month or so ago and it was relatively dormant, and I missed Sunday teachings (in my own house!) this week \u2013 sleeping off the half marathon \u2013 only to hear that only one student came then. \u2018Tis hard to meditate in this heat, easy to flock to the river or just curl up in some cool nook and read.
<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
Last week\u2019s scheduled readings covered chapters four and five, \u201cFalse Friends\u201d and \u201cIs Happiness Possible?\u201d In \u201cFalse Friends\u201d Ricard begins by working hard to teach us to distinguish between pleasures and real happiness.<\/strong> He describes the \u2018fleeting nature\u2019 and instability of pleasure, and points out that some pleasures, such as food and warmth, can easily become disgusting or destructive when we blindly eat too much or get too close to a flame. However, this isn\u2019t to say that pleasures are inherently bad, only that they can distract us, lead us into obsessions and ultimately delusion regarding the true nature of reality. Regarding intimate relationships, he states poignantly,<\/div>\n
\n

In sexual intimacy there can certainly be mutual pleasure through giving and receiving pleasurable sensations, but such pleasure can transcend the self and contribute to genuine happiness only if the very nature of mutuality and generous altruism lies at its core<\/strong>. (p.41)
<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

That core of mutuality and altruism must spring from something deep within, it lies at an entirely different level from good times, laughter, and pleasurable sensations. True altruism results from the heart of one person opening to the open heart of another.<\/strong> And to open one\u2019s heart takes training in compassion and wisdom (with the full list of paramitas<\/em>\/virtues in support: generosity, ethical living, patience, energy, meditation, and wisdom). Such an openness comes naturally with authentic happiness<\/strong>, which, as Ricard describes, \u201cis not linked to an activity; it is a state of being, a profound emotional balance struck by a subtle understanding of how the mind functions.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

The result of authentic happiness is a sort of radiance of peace for oneself and others, both in good and difficult times. While many people ride the roller-coaster of pleasure and suffering, often to their admitted dismay, the authentically happy person finds rich enjoyment and meaning in each moment of life. <\/strong>Addressing the \u201cLive it Up!\u201d philosophy of many people today, Ricard suggests that, \u201cA genuine sense of fulfillment, associated with inner freedom, can also offer intensity to every living moment, but of an altogether different sort.\u201d The difficulty to me is that people caught up in the ups and downs of a superficial life seem so blind to the intense joy radiating from those with deep fulfillment, the Thomas Mertons and Dalai Lamas of the world.<\/strong> It saddens me to see that blindness, and to hear their belief that this is as good as it gets. <\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

I suppose that is where all of us who have tasted genuine fulfillment at one time or another come in: to live, really live<\/em>, as beacons of the joy which springs from delicately touching the depths of one\u2019s own heart, and allowing others to do likewise.<\/strong> But it is hard, for me at least, to really open my heart to such people (except in isolated, one on one circumstances) because often enough my heart does react with sadness<\/em><\/strong>. Perhaps that is my practice now, to further cultivate the contemplative\u2019s inner glow in hope of cutting through the veils of ignorance in others (not to mention my own!).<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Speaking of cultivating inner glow<\/em> (and moving into the properly lighthearted<\/em> spirit<\/em> of \u2018happiness\u2019), here\u2019s a photo of me from a couple years back (when I was reading lots of Hegel and really<\/em> about to become a bodhisattva):<\/em><\/strong>\"\"<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n
And, in the spirit of blogs past (Thanksgiving \u201905):\"Meditation<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been working on a reading group with friends lately, covering Matthieu Ricard\u2019s book, \u201cHappiness: A Guide to Developing Life\u2019s Most Important Skill.\u201d Unfortunately summer\u2019s heat and attractive alternatives seem to be taking their toll and attendance is spotty at best. It\u2019s a trend across the board, I visited the FWBO center here a month […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nBuddhism: Happiness, take 2<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I've been working on a reading group with friends lately, covering Matthieu Ricard's book, "Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill."\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2007\/07\/buddhism-happiness-take-2.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Buddhism: Happiness, take 2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I've been working on a reading group with friends lately, covering Matthieu Ricard's book, "Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill."\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2007\/07\/buddhism-happiness-take-2.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Buddhist Perspectives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-07-18T03:01:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.amis-tibet.lu\/TibetEvents\/MRicard.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Justin Whitaker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Justin Whitaker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2007\/07\/buddhism-happiness-take-2.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2007\/07\/buddhism-happiness-take-2.html\",\"name\":\"Buddhism: Happiness, take 2\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2007-07-18T03:01:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2007-07-18T03:01:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#\/schema\/person\/abfb8f851f671638c4c7536b963f9da9\"},\"description\":\"I've been working on a reading group with friends lately, covering Matthieu Ricard's book, \\\"Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill.\\\"\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2007\/07\/buddhism-happiness-take-2.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2007\/07\/buddhism-happiness-take-2.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2007\/07\/buddhism-happiness-take-2.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Buddhism: Happiness, take 2\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/\",\"name\":\"American Buddhist Perspectives\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#\/schema\/person\/abfb8f851f671638c4c7536b963f9da9\",\"name\":\"Justin Whitaker\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/817b6fba8ae056aaff4f9bdc84347d72?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/817b6fba8ae056aaff4f9bdc84347d72?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Justin Whitaker\"},\"description\":\"I am an almost-life-long Montanan; a baptized Catholic; an ardent Atheist; a practicing Buddhist; a lover of Wisdom. 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