Whatever happens I shall be happy

person

If this illusory body, which I cling to as mine, is sick—let it be sick!
This sickness enables me to exhaust
The bad karma I have accumulated in the past,
And the spiritual deeds I can then perform
Help me purify the two kinds of veils.

If I am in good health, I am happy,
Because when my body and mind are well
I can enhance my spiritual practice,
And give real meaning to human existence
By turning my body, speech and mind to virtue.

If I am poor, I am happy,
Because I’ve no wealth to protect,
And I know that all feuds and animosity
Sprout from the seeds of greed and attachment.

If I am rich, I am happy,
Because with my wealth I can do more positive actions,
And both temporal and ultimate happiness
Are the result of meritorious deeds.

If I die soon, that’s excellent,
Because, assisted by some good potential, I am confident that
I shall enter the unmistaken path
Before any obstacle can intervene.

If I live long, I am happy,
Because without parting from the warm beneficial rain of spiritual instructions
I can, over a long time, fully ripen
The crop of inner experiences.

Therefore, whatever happens, I shall be happy!

-Gyalse Ngulchu Thogme (1295-1369)

footiam

Wow!

pegembara

There is a Vietnamese proverb, "Tri tuc, tien tuc, dai tuc, ha thoi tuc." That means, settling for "good enough" is enough. If we wait until all our needs and wants are met, we may wait forever. "Tri tuc" means "good enough." "Good enough" means being content with the minimum amount necessary. Your shirt and pair of shoes can last another year. It's all right for three or four people to share a desk for studying, there's no need for each to have her own desk. Settling for "good enough" in terms of simple living will bring us contentment, satisfaction, and happiness immediately. As long as we think our lives are not good enough, we will not have happiness. As soon as we realize our lives are good enough, happiness immediately appears. That is the practice of contentment.

In Vietnam there's a school of Buddhism called the Four Gratitudes. Just by practicing gratitude, we can find happiness. We must be grateful to our ancestors, our parents, our teachers, our friends, the Earth, the sky, the trees, the grass, the animals, the soil, the stones. Looking at the sunlight or at the forest, we feel gratitude. Looking at our breakfast, we feel grattitude. When we live in the spirit of gratitude, there will be much happiness in our life. The one who is grateful is the one who has much happiness while the one who is ungrateful will not be able to have happiness.

Two Treasures: Buddhist Teachings on Awakening & True Happiness

Thich Nhat Hanh

still_learning

Almost everyday, I'll say to myself that I'm grateful for a certain something that I have. Once in a while I have to sit through bad traffic to work, during the walk from my car to the office, I'll tell myself that I'm grateful that I have a decent job because things could be worse and other people I know don't even have a job.

Sometimes, I see people with nice cars and I think to myself, "I'm grateful that I have a car in working order and no longer have to take the bus through a bad neighborhood."

I'm grateful that I know how to be happy. A lot of people wrongfully think happiness comes from external sources. Happiness has always come from within.

I'm okay with having cheap stuff. Some people might say that I have low standards. But maybe it's that people with so called "high standards" are ungrateful.

lamaramadingdong

I love backpacking for this reason- it reminds me how little one needs to be happy.

lobster

Being a Buddhist makes me happy.
Not Being a Buddhist makes me happy.
Not Being makes me . . . Nothing . . . :clap:

Vastmind

:clap:

lobster

footiam said:

Wow!

Guys Be Happy. We have great inspiration. We can live so well. Sing some mantras to the Buddhas. They Love that sort of thing . . .
:clap:

still_learning

lobster said:

Being a Buddhist makes me happy.
Not Being a Buddhist makes me happy.
Not Being makes me . . . Nothing . . . :clap:

So... "nothing" makes you happy?