What is happiness

We often say, “If ○○ comes true...” or “If I could become ○○...” I would define happiness.
However, when that hope actually comes true, I realize that I'm not happy.
Also, new desires are born and we are bound by those desires.

A “happy” state is a state where it is certain that dreams will come true.
For example, when you've finished the university entrance exam and received an acceptance notice for the university you want to apply to.
When marriage to the woman I was in love with was decided.
Even though my dream hasn't come true yet, I'm happiest when it's certain that it will come true.
In fact, if you go to college, you worry; if you get married, you worry.

Now let's talk about Buddhism.
The Buddha is an entity that doesn't suffer at all.
In Buddhism, people beg to become such a Buddha.
Therefore, a state where it is certain that one can become a Buddha is called happiness.
Also, if you become a Buddha, all suffering will go away, and you will practice altruism as if you were playing freely.
Becoming this Buddha is the greatest happiness.

Money has absolutely nothing to do with becoming a Buddha, so you can have it or not.
Enriching your life financially is important, but it's just a change of pace.
Pursuing only that doesn't make you happy in the true sense of the word.
It's just that one day your life will end in vain.

Additional note: In other words, habits mean that satisfying hunger (satisfying desires) = happiness.
This is absolutely natural, and I have no intention of denying it at all.
However, “hungry → eat → be satisfied →...” what lies ahead?
At the end of the day, nothing changed.
Rather, the desire to eat something more delicious, or something else because I don't care about meals... grows.

Certainly, even if they say “reincarnate,” it's not something I knew.
That's why the Buddha gave us a thorough explanation.
I need to get in shape in order to listen to that story.
You have to satisfy your hunger, and if you don't sleep well, you won't be able to listen to stories.
That's why I told you that money is enough to use for a change of pace.

The definition of happiness differs depending on the person, but it is unified in Buddhism.
“Happiness = becoming a Buddha.”
I'm not going to state my personal feelings or morals here.
I'm just going to talk about Buddhism.

Everyday life is very difficult.

Even if they say something like “with hope,”
If there is a reality where life is difficult, I don't think it's easy to feel that way.

In particular, there is no shortage of worries about money, and it is especially urgent when health is in general.
There may be many times when you can't find hope no matter which way you look.

And when my heart is impatient, I get into fights with my precious loved ones due to misunderstandings of words...
There might be something like that.

“What will happen in the future”... I think this is natural anxiety.

In this world, everyone's future is completely uncertain.
Even if you're the president of a rich company, your company may go bankrupt tomorrow and lose your way.
Even if you build a new house, buy a new car, and live a happy life, everything may be lost in a moment due to a major earthquake.

In the first place, it's just an implicit understanding that the future “exists.”
If you feel uneasy, there's no point.

Anxiety may cause anxiety and create more and more uneasy situations.
So, if you feel uneasy, first accept your uneasy self,
Let's rejoice in what we have now, what we can do now, even small things...
“Joy” and “gratitude” strangely bring good fortune.

What are people born for?

It seems to me that each person was born to realize what “I” is.

Don't be misled by the “past” that has passed away, the “future” that is completely uncertain and hasn't come yet
If I could separate all my prejudices and feel my “now” self
You are not a small vessel called “yourself,”
You might notice that it's even more precious.

Then, no matter what kind of situation it is, in everyday life...
and in your hands...
in every moment...
I think you'll notice that it's full of “happiness.”

Your heart is bigger than you think
much bigger... deeper...

Additional note: If you can feel the Buddha even a little bit within you, I think you will notice that you have always been with the Buddha at any time until now, and more importantly, you have been a Buddha. The difference between noticing and not noticing is actually small but big.
(I'm a monk who practiced Shingon Esoteric Buddhism, so I think what I'm saying is different from other denominations)

Custom-sama

This is Kawaguchi Hidetoshi. This is my humble answer to the question.

I believe that in most cases, “happiness” in the world can be called “happiness” due to satisfying some kind of desire. Also, such happiness is made up of relative comparative judgments and value judgments, and there are issues with individual values and perceptions in each person, so it is difficult to determine “this is happiness.”

Of course, Buddhism also teaches us to seek “happiness” in a sense, but that “happiness” is not “happiness” in a secular sense that satisfies our desires, but rather aims for “ultimate happiness” called “a state of nirvana and enlightenment,” and it is a completely different dimension from worldly happiness.

“If you have trust, love, and faith, you can't live without money”... of course. What comes first is of course important, but the point is that we must better adjust our daily actions so as not to make mistakes in how to use them.

We have dealt with “happiness” in the following questions until now, so please take a look.

http://blog.livedoor.jp/hasunoha_kawaguchi/tag/幸せ

“... As is the case with “happiness,” just as you can't live alone, you can't be happy by yourself at all in order to be happy. We are thankfully able to exist in countless relationships, and it is important to build various relationships better. To that end, I think it would be necessary to cultivate humility and a sense of gratitude, for example. ・・”

“... If you want to seek good rewards and good results in this life, you still need a cause and relationship (condition) for that. There is no way that good rewards or happiness will come by itself from somewhere without any cause or relationship. In order for seeds to germinate, water, light, nutrients, and causes and relationships for germination are necessary, and seeds alone do not result in germination without cause or relationship with water, light, nutrients, etc. In order for happiness to sprout, a certain cause and relationship is necessary, and in Buddhism, this is what becomes a “good act.” ・・”

Kawaguchi Hidetoshi Gassho

This is the part written as a thank you. “... I want to eat from now on, I don't want to feel cold
Would asking for this be bothersome too?”

This is the pain of being hungry and the pain of being cold. I don't think it's a pain to make an effort to get rid of pain, just like treating an injury. So I also said, “I feel happier if you are given food on the spot and get money to buy food.”