The Layman's Way to
Happiness:
by Lily de Silva,
Sri Lanka.
Life in the modern age has become
particularly trying and problematic.
Though it remains a fact that the standard of living has generally
improved,
man is still suffering immensely under the weight of present-day living-stress.
The physical condition of man has been reduced to such a pathetic level
that
he succumbs to untimely death by killer diseases such as cancer, heart
failure,
diabetes, etc. to an unprecedented degree. Mentally, he is so
tension-ridden
that he has forgotten the art of relaxing, and he cannot even enjoy
sound
sleep without the aid of tranquilizers. In this set up interpersonal
relations
have become so brittle and vulnerable, that the divorce rate has indeed
become
alarmingly high, thus letting loose a whole series of other social
problems, such
as uncared-for children, juvenile delinquency, suicide, etc. Thus life
has become
a problematic burden and a solution to make life more tolerable and
enjoyable
is a crucial, great and pressing need to rectify and
elevate our civilization.
As the word of the Buddha is of
everlasting value and universal applicability,
and as the Buddha preached not only to monks and nuns, but also to the
lay
public as well, it is useful to find a teaching of the Buddha, which is
relevant
to our present-day problems:
In the Pattakammavagga of the
Anguttara Nikaya (A II, 69) the
Buddha
preached a text to
Anāthapindika
on the fourfold pleasures of a layman.
It is our considered opinion, that this
text offers adequate insight to
meet
the demands of the present-day problems as well. The four types of
pleasure
listed there are:
1: Atthisukha, the pleasure of
possessing material wealth;
2: Bhogasukha, the pleasure of enjoying material wealth;
3:
Ananasukha, the pleasure of being debtless; and
4: Anavajjaskha, the pleasure of being blameless.
Let us take these for discussion, one by one, and see how these four
sources
of pleasure can be harnessed for living a happy life in the present-day
world:
Atthisukha — Man
should not only have a righteous means of living, avoiding
blameworthy trades such as dealing in meat, liquor, poison, firearms &
slavery,
he should also entertain a wholesome attitude towards his right
occupation.
For instance, if a doctor welcomes epidemics in the locality in order to
make
much money, or a trader hopes for natural calamities to send market
prices up,
the money earned by such unscrupulous individuals, is not
righteous earning
as
their intentions are impure and foul. Also one should not deceive or
exploit
others in carrying out one's occupation. Exerting oneself with great
energy,
one should earn one's living, and such hard-earned wealth is called
righteous
wealth (dhammika dhammaladdha). Again one could have great wealth, but
if
one does not experience a sense of contentment with what one has, one
cannot
really enjoy atthisukha or the pleasure of having. The amassing of
wealth of
such a person is like trying to fill a bottomless vessel. This is one of
the widely
spread maladies we see in the present-day society. Inordinate expansion
of
wealth becomes a source not of happiness, but of greed, anxiety, and
envy.
Such wealth exposes the possessor to the jealousies and maneuvers of
other
unscrupulous individuals, hence the occurrence of blackmailing and
kidnapping
from time to time. But if one does have a correct means of earning one's
living
and the correct attitude to wealth, one can escape many of the hazards
which
money brings in its wake to modern man...
Contentment is caused by mutual joy
with other's success, and by sharing one's wealth with the
worthy & the needy.
Bhogasukha —
Wealth has only instrumental value and the proper enjoyment
of wealth is an art, which is worth carefully cultivating. Buddhism
deplores both
extravagance and miserly hoarding. One must maintain a healthy
well balanced
standard of living according to one's means. If, in the enjoyment of
wealth,
one overindulges in sense pleasures, one is bound to run into health
hazards in
a very short time. If, for instance, one overindulges in food just
because one
can afford it, one will soon be overcome by diseases such as heart
failure, high
blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes. Such a one will be faced with the situation
of "cutting his neck with his own tongue." Moderation in food is a virtue
praised
in Buddhism, and it is a health-promoting habit. Often in the name of
enjoying
wealth, man furthermore cultivates unhealthy habits such as smoking and drinking.
It is paradoxical that man, who actually loves himself most, should act
as if he
were his own worst enemy, by indulging in habits which ultimately
reduce him to
a physical wreck. It is medically established that smoking causes
the highest
percentage of lung cancer, and that drinking causes irreparable
damage to vital
organs of the body including the brain and the liver. If only one
pauses to just
ponder over one's own welfare, and if only one entertains at least some
degree
of compassion towards oneself, one would not get into the clutches of
these
vicious habits. Wealthy men often end up in the pitiful plight of the
ant fallen
in the pot of honey. Such humans did not know the art of enjoying
bhogasukha.
They regard the body only as an instrument for pleasure, and they wear out and
debilitate the body's capacity for enjoyment in double quick time, long
before
the natural process of wear and tear sets in. If we love ourselves, we
have to
treat our bodies with proper care without taxing it with overindulgence
and
deprivation. It is with this very body that we can enjoy not only the
pleasures
of the senses, but even the spiritual bliss of Nibbāna. Another
aspect of the
joy of wealth is the art of sharing. Without being an
Adinnapubbaka,
a miserly
"never-giver," if one learns to share one's riches with those worthy,
the less
fortunate and the have-nots, one will have the noble experience of rejoicing
at
the joy of other beings. At the same time one will learn the love and
good will
of others, instead of becoming the target of envy, jealousy and
endless intrigue.
Ananasukha —
The
pleasure of being debtless is the third quality discussed
in our sutta. Economically if one can be completely free of debt, one is
indeed
a very fortunate person. To be really debtless in society one has to
discharge
one's obligations scrupulously. As a wage earner one has to discharge
one's
duties for which one is paid, otherwise one can be indebted to the
employer.
As a parent one has to fulfill one's obligations to one's children. In
our society
children are taught to worship and look after their parents, and it is
well to
bear in mind that parents too have to qualify themselves for this honour
they
receive by being dutiful parents. It should be emphasized that fathers
who
neglect their families as a result of their addiction to vices such as
drinking
and gambling fall far short of the ideal of debtlessness. One can have
the
satisfaction of being debtless only if one has fulfilled one's
obligations in all
the social roles one has agreed and promised to perform.
Anavajjasukha — The
satisfaction of leading a blameless life is the highest
form of satisfaction that a layman can have. Every society has a code of
ethics to be followed by its members. According to Buddhism the minimum
code of ethics regulating the life of its adherent disciples, is the
pañcasila:
the
Five Precepts. If one practices these virtues, one can have the
satisfaction
of leading a righteous life to a great extent. Refraining from doing to
others,
what one does not like others to do to oneself, is the basic inviolable
principle
underlying these virtues. Buddhism speaks of
hiri and
ottappa, the sense
of
shame and the fear of doing wrong, as deva-dhamma or the 2
divine qualities.
These are the basic qualities, which separate man from the animal
kingdom.
Unlike the animals man has a conscience, which makes him squeamish about
doing wrong... Buddhism recognizes blameless mental activity
and thinking as well.
Mental activities which arise from greed, hatred
and ignorance are
detrimental
and thus blameworthy. Let us see how such mental
behaviour causes unhappiness:
Take for instance the case of a person who is angry. What are the
symptoms
of anger? Hard breathing, accelerated heart beat, faster circulation of
blood,
feeling hot, sweating, trepidation, restlessness, etc. — these are the
physical
manifestations of anger. These are certainly not pleasant physical
experiences.
Each time the cause of anger is remembered, even though the rage of
physical
manifestations of anger may not be that marked, one feels quite restless
and
mentally not at ease. We use expressions such as "boiling with anger,"
"I got the
devil on to me," etc. to mean getting angry, and these sayings are
literally quite
expressive of the situation. It is impossible for one to be angry and
happy at
the same time. An irritable person is truly a very sad person, and what
is worse
he infects others around him too with the same sadness! The cultivation
of 4
sublime modes of behaviour such as loving kindness, compassion,
sympathetic
joy and equanimity are truly conducive to a happy living. Those who live
with
such attitudes habitually are pleasant and amicable people, who can be
happy
when all alone, even in remote and desolate locations, as well as in any company.
If we truly understand the sound
significance of these 4 kinds of happiness
elucidated in our sutta, and translate them into action, then our life
will be
much more pleasant, easy, calm, happy and Noble even in this modern age.
Kindly shared by Ven. Vicittalankara,
Mumbai, India.
Full Source text: AN 4.62 PTS:
A ii 69
Anana Sutta: Debtless
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.062.than.html
More on
this Happiness, pleasure, bliss (Sukha):
Samana-Sukha,
Untroubled_Yeah,
Happy,
Buddha_on_Bliss,
Mental_Medicine
