Sadness, Happiness, Peacefulness

Once upon a time, there was a mother with one son and a daughter. The son was an ice cream peddler, therefore the mother lamented for him during the rainy days for almost no one buy from him. The daughter was happened to be an umbrella seller and so the mother grieved for her on the sunny days for she could only sell a few of her goods. And there went the mother, filled her life with nothing but sorrow.

This story is indeed an analogy, about how many recent lives are characterized by misery. There is always a reason or two to slip life into grief as disaster, disease, old age and death. Hence suffering becomes an upper stream in a river of life which contained by stress, complaint, sickness and conflict.



Happiness-sadness

A psychiatrist once said that numerous mental asylums are lacking of accommodation. Some of them even send patients those are not fully recovered yet to their family to be replaced by severe patients who need more assistance and treatment.

Most people detest suffering. Perhaps because he was addressing his particular speak to public, His Holiness Dalai Lama once mentioned that, There is something in common for all of us: evading suffering and longing for happiness. And this is indeed so human. Only a few of us dare to say that, in need to cry, do not cry upon death but on birth instead for every birth brings sickness, old age and finally death.

In other words, birth as well as life is incapable to escape suffering. Sorrow is the faithful companion in the every steps of life. No matter how hard people manage, how strong they fortify their selves, the devoted companion will always find his way.

Like the swaying of a pendulum, the harder and the more passionate one swing the pendulum of happiness, the greater is the temptation of suffering will become. This is the explanation for a number of over-excitement seekers are being greatly tempted by overabundance sufferings as well. This is also the one behind the WHO data that the United States (as one of the biggest countries where the pursuit of happiness is greatly intense) is the biggest consumers of sleeping pills in the world.

A researcher once compared Japan and Myanmar, two countries that both have Buddhism as their major religion (so that the comparison will be fairer). Japan is indeed a miraculously rare case in material achievement and far beyond compare to Myanmar in this respect. Nevertheless, Japan also has far greater number of social dilemmas such as suicide, divorce and depression than Myanmar. This fact is as if whispering the assurance that wherever lays abundant material wealth, there will be found plentiful suffering as well.

In the excellent realization of this pendulum reality, numerous ascetics, meditators, yogis, Sufis and other kinds of inner wanderer permit their pendulum of emotion to sway in a limited space. During happiness they fully understand that it is going to be replaced by suffering hence the over excitement of the celebration might be restrained. Therefore, when suffering indeed comes it is not so tempting.

The joy of contentment

In Kahlil Gibrans beautiful verses (The Prophet) it is stated that, while we are conversing merrily with happiness in the lounge, suffering is waiting on our bed. In a more common sense, we share our dwelling with both happiness and suffering and how may we escape suffering who settles in the very same residence with us?

For that reason, a number of masters then teach to step beyond the realm of happiness and suffering. In their terminology, both happiness and suffering are merely playthings for the infant souls during their growing to maturity. It is this evolution that needs the continuous interchanging of happiness and suffering.
However, a matured soul fully realizes that both happiness and suffering have the same natures: uncertainty and interchanging. Is not the dependency upon uncertainty makes life uncertain as well? Moreover, both happiness and suffering are originated from the same root which is desire. When desires are fulfilled happiness is the guest, and when they are not then agony is the visitor.

Every traveler into self who has accomplished a certain distance understands that desires (eventually those accompanied by attachments) are the foundations of suffering. This kind of knowledge is the one guiding a number of people to come into the realm of tranquility.

In contrary to the kind of happiness that is lustful to achieve this and that, compares this and that, and seeks to gain more than this and that, tranquility is all sufficient as it is. As the birds those are flying in the air, fishes those are swimming in the water, the wolves those are roaming in the forest, the sun that is shining during the day, and the stars those are twinkling in the evening time. All are already perfect as they are. There is nothing to be added nor eliminated. Addition and elimination indeed might bring happiness. However, in that kind of happiness mind is not completely calm and balance for there is always fear that the happiness will be replaced by grief.

In the understanding of those who have perceived tranquility, a soul will remain poor no matter how wealthy he/she is without any sense of contentment and even the poorest shall remain wealthy if he/she lives contentedly. Therefore, a seer once said that: Enlightenment is like the reflection of the moon in the water. The moon does not get wet, the water is not separated. In other expression, the core of enlightenment is to become untouchable. To remain calm upon being insulted, and humble when praised. Not clinging to happiness nor rejecting suffering. Exactly as the lotus that does not get wet in the water and remained unstained in the mud.

One vital origin for this untouchability is the achievement in training oneself to feel content. Reaching this state, there is nothing save the flow of the soul.