A True Happiness

　　Thanissaro Bhikkhu

　　July 3, 2003

　　The Buddha”s teaching can be called a serious pursuit of true happiness. Remind yourself of that every time you sit and meditate. This is why we chant the passages for metta, or goodwill, before we meditate together: to remind ourselves that we really do wish for happiness, true happiness. Everyone wishes for happiness, but when you look at the way people go about looking for happiness in their lives, you wonder exactly how much serious thought they give to what they”re doing. True happiness has to be something that doesn”t change, that doesn”t depend on conditions, which means you can”t look for it in ordinary places. You have to look in an extraordinary place: your awareness of the present moment, something that”s right here all the time but that we tend to overlook. When we”re meditating we”re turning inward to look for true happiness right here, to see what we”ve been overlooking for so long.

　　And each time we meditate we remind ourselves of our main intention, which is to find that happiness, a happiness good not only for us but also for the people around us. After all, when we”re not creating unnecessary suffering for ourselves, we”re lifting a burden not only off of our shoulders, but also the shoulders of the people around us. So we wish not only for our own happiness, but for the happiness of all living beings. The reason we have to remind ourselves of this is because in the course of focusing on the breath, focusing on the present moment, all kinds of thoughts are going to come up to pull us away. If we”re not clear about why we”re here, we”re not going to stay here. We”re going to go running off someplace else. Another reason is that thoughts of goodwill are good comfortable thoughts to think. It feels good to remind yourself that, yes, you do want true happiness. You really do want living beings to be happy, all living beings, without being picky about this person or that person. You want to be generous with your goodwill. By creating that kind of attitude, you create a good space to settle down in the present moment.

　　Even though we may aim at focusing directly on the awareness of the present, it”s a difficult place to focus. So we give ourselves crutches to get there. The breath is one of these crutches, as are thoughts of goodwill. When we”ve extended goodwill in every direction, we focus on the breath. When the breath is coming in, know it”s coming in; when it goes out, know it”s going out. That”s all you have to be aware of right now. The other things, the mice crawling around in the ceiling, the sounds off in the distance, just let them be. All you”re responsible for is this awareness of the breath coming in, going out. If you want, you can use a meditation word to go along with the breath. Traditionally they use the word “Buddho,” which means awake: “Bud” with the in-breath and “dho” with the out, “Buddho,” “Buddho,” or just “in,” “out,” whatever word feels comfortable to help you stay with the breath.

　　Then you can focus on how the breathing feels. This is a very immediate, visceral way of showing goodwill for yourself. There”s no need to breathe in an uncomfortable way. And yet because we pay so little attention to the breathing, we usually leave it to its own devices. As a result, the breath gets shaped not by our awareness, but by other emotions that come through the mind. It gets shaped by our unexamined thoughts about how breathing happens. And so the breath gets constricted, parts of the body don”t seem to be participating in the breathing process.

　　Ideally the breathing process should be a whole-body process. Your whole nervous system should be involved. For that to happen, though, you need to give the breathing your full attention. Try to notice what…

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