Once a French Biochemist Matthieu Ricard gave up his western lifestyle to become a practicing Buddhist monk in the Himalayas. He is sometimes called the “happiest man in the world” and this is evident in this inspirational presentation on the “Habits of Happiness” at ted.com. Matthieu observers that happiness is a very vague term; a more definable word is well-being. In this presentation Matthieu outlines how we can train our minds in the habits of well-being to obtain serenity and fulfillment in life.
Summary
No one wakes up saying they will suffer for the rest of the day. Everything we do is based on a deep down desire for happiness and the cessation of suffering.
Happiness is often confused with pleasure. But there are characteristics that make them very different from each other.
Pleasure is dependent on time and place. The first time you eat chocolate it is pleasurable but after a hundred pieces of chocolate you will soon get bored. We are inspired by a beautiful song the first time we listen to it, but after we play it numerous times it becomes monotonous. Pleasure uses itself as you experience it. Also you can’t share it; you may feel pleasure but others in the world are still suffering.
Happiness is a vague a term – well-being is a better definition of what we are really searching for. Well-being could be defined as a deep feeling of serenity and fulfillment. It underlies all emotional states; like the stillness in the depth of the ocean with the tumult of the waves (emotions) above. Well-being is speaking from a deeper level than our emotions.
Very often we look outside for happiness. Seeking to have everything to be happy is a setup for self destruction – since we will always miss something it is not enough – it is temporary.
The mind translates our outer condition into happiness and suffering, therefore we have in our control the mechanism to be completely happy within. Even in difficult circumstances our minds give us the ability to have serenity and inner piece within.
The Habit Of Happiness
Anger, hatred, jealously.. they don’t leave us in a good state when we experience these emotions. They are also detrimental to the states of those around us.
At the other end of the emotional spectrum there is anonymous un-selfish generosity (with no recognition). This makes us happy and is helpful to those around us.
The secret to happiness is that behind every thought there is awareness. Awareness is intrinsically not tainted by negative emotions. Because the basis of consciousness is constant and emotions are fleeting we have the capacity for well-being – a sense of inner freedom.
When we are annoyed our minds keep replaying that annoyance. A general antidote to all emotions is to look inward and see anger for what it is - just a fleeting mist that will pass. This is the principle of mind training and the basis of the habits of happiness. It takes time to train all the tendencies in our minds and this training is the very meaning of meditation.
Jogging and fitness are great to keep us physically fit and healthy but we also need to spend time training our minds to improve the quality of our lives – our well-being (happiness) depends on it.
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About Danny Sheehan
Danny lives in Hong Kong but is originally from Australia. He is Married to Maggie and together they have two children with whom they enjoy sharing and enjoying an exciting life with daily. Danny's passions are freedom, adventure and discovery, mainly in nature and science but also spiritually. He is a great believer in living in the NOW.
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Passion For life