Spiritual Happiness

By Desmond Yeoh SC

Ceramic Products

Whenever we look back at our seemingly bad experiences, we may often be glad that they occurred. A person may lose his job, only to go into a highly profitable business that he is passionate about. His new vocation is seen as a hobby instead of work. Therefore, we should not waste too much time feeling bad about negative experiences because they often turn out to be blessings; we just cannot see it when the event happens but we will eventually see the reasons behind them later on.

Striving for happiness through material things is like eating poisoned honey. The more things we accumulate, the more we have to worry about. The problem is; we only see the happiness that the things bring when we first obtain them but we refuse to acknowledge the problems that they cause later on. It appears that we may purposely choose not to see these negative aspects because we do not see any other way of finding happiness. But there is another way…

Gaining happiness through selflessness is untainted. This is very obvious if we cared enough to look around us: Those who appear genuinely happy and at peace with themselves are those who care for others. Their happiness does not depend on external props which are weak and shaky. Their happiness comes from the unshakable foundation of compassion and loving kindness. Selflessness involves getting happiness by helping others find happiness. It appears to be an indirect way of finding happiness but it is the only true path to finding happiness.

No matter what spiritual path we take, we must always focus on the basics; how we live our life. If we are dishonest, no spiritual practice or techniques can help us. There is no mantra powerful enough to help a dishonest person; except to help him see the error of his ways. It is better to be a kind and honest person without any spiritual practice than a dishonest person who has been initiated into advanced spiritual practices. So, eat healthily, sleep well and be kind to others. If we do not do this, we should not question why we are not progressing on our spiritual practices or why we have not found our Guru.

Our emotions can either be our closest friend and ally; or it can bring us a lot of suffering. If we choose to suppress and ignore our emotions through distractions, our emotions can become our greatest enemy. However, if we learn to give our emotions our full and loving attention, it can become our greatest friend and teacher. Learning to watch and pay attention to our emotions is perhaps the easiest and a very effective practice to bring happiness into our life. Once we have develop the habit of watching our emotions, we have less need for external distractions and this will enable us to save lots of money.

Our choice of spiritual friends is crucial to our spiritual progress. That is why in Buddhism, the spiritual community is deemed as one of the three jewels that all Buddhist take refuge in. Our friends have a significant influence over us. If one wants to become a vegetarian, it is best to spend more time with friends who are already vegetarians. It is better to be alone than to ‘hang-out’ with friends who influence us to develop unhealthy habits.

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