The Buddha: Dispenser of Happiness

　　- by S. N. Goenka

　　(The following is an extract from "Was The Buddha A Pessimist

　　" in which Goenkaji has sought to dispel prevailing misconceptions about the Buddha and his teaching.)

　　From the assertion that his philosophy and teachings were nothing but suffering and misery, the implication is that the Buddha himself was miserable and unhappy. Nothing could be further from the truth. As a perfectly Enlightened One, the Buddha had come out of all the miseries of the world, and lived a life full of contentment and infinite happiness in every situation. To others also he gave nothing but happiness.

　　The Buddha was always happy.

　　Once he was sleeping on a bed of dry leaves fallen from a tree on a cattle path in Aḷavī. At that time an Āḷavaka prince named Hatthaka had set out for a stroll. When he saw the Buddha, he asked, "Venerable sir, did you sleep happily

　　"

　　The Buddha replied, "Yes, young man, I slept well. I am one of those people in the world who sleep happily."

　　To this Hatthaka said, "This is a cold autumn night, the season of snowfall. The hooves of cows have made the land coarse and uneven. The bed of leaves is thin. There are very few leaves on the tree. A cold wind is blowing from all directions and you have but tattered clothes on you. How could you sleep happily

　　"

　　The Buddha replied, "A householder or a son of a householder sleeps in a proper house on a soft bed with pillows and blankets. However, the fire of craving for sensual pleasure may be burning inside him. In that case, smouldering in the heat of desire, he sleeps in misery. A Buddha has extinguished all his craving-destroyed it, uprooted it, put an end to it forever, like the severed trunk of a palm tree, from which new leaves cannot grow. Craving does not exist in the Buddha. It cannot arise in a Buddha. The Buddha is an arahat. An arahat always sleeps happily."

　　A similar incident:

　　When Anāthapiṇḍika went to see the Buddha in Rājagaha for the first time it was very late in the night. The Buddha was taking a walk in the open. Anāthapiṇḍika asked him, "Venerable sir, Exalted One, did you sleep happily

　　"

　　The Buddha replied:

　　Sabbadā ve sukhaṃ seti, brāhmaṇo parinibbuto;

　　Yo na limpati kāmesu, sītibhūto nirūpadhi.

　　Detached and dissociated from all sensual cravings and cooled, the brāhmaṇa (arahat) having experienced nibbāna always sleeps happily.

　　Then he added-

　　Sabbā āsattiyo chetvā, vineyya hadaye daraṃ;

　　Upasanto sukhaṃ seti, santiṃ pappuyya cetasā.

　　Having destroyed all desire, having removed fear from the heart, having acquired true peace of mind, a liberated detached arahat indeed sleeps happily.

　　Not only arahats, every follower of Dhamma sleeps happily. Therefore it is said:

　　Dhammacārī sukhaṃ seti.

　　A practitioner of Dhamma sleeps happily.

　　Ascetics who have renounced the worldly life and are steadfast on the path of Dhamma always sleep happily: sukhaṃ supanti muniyo.

　　Everyone whose mind vibrates with the thrilling rapture of Dhamma certainly sleeps happily: Dhammapīti sukhaṃ seti, vippasannena cetasā.

　　Well contented with the ambrosia of Dhamma (one) always sleeps happily: sukhito dhammarasena tappito.

　　A Buddha is dhammabhūto (Dhamma personified), brahmabhūto (brahma personified); completely cooled. He always sleeps happily. All the arahats who followed his teaching and attained liberation achieved happiness.

　　One more example:

　　Bhaddiya was from the Sākyan royal family. He was ordained by the Buddha. He often uttered the words "Aho sukha, aho sukha!" ("O happiness, O happiness!") spontaneously under the shade of a tree or in the darkness of his meditation cell.

　　The Buddha called him and asked him, "Bhaddiya, why do you utter …

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