FIVE KEYS TO BECOMING HAPPY

> How do I become happy :-) ?

>If you lived in a palace where you could enjoy everything - beauty,
>health, money and power - would you consider leaving behind such a
>'happy' life? I probably would not.
>
>But one man did more than two millennia ago in his quest for genuine
>happiness. Shakyamuni's story still encourages millions around the globe
>to seek the meaning of suffering beyond pain and the meaning of
>happiness beyond pleasure.
>
>Shakyamuni's quest for genuine happiness paved the way for Nichiren
>Daishonin to reveal the essential law of life as Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
>Based on this truth, Nichiren Buddhism explains some key attitudes for
>building true happiness. The following five points - though by no means
>complete - provide us with an outline from which each person may begin
>painting a clearer picture of authentic happiness.
>
>The First Key: Happiness begins with a vow.
>Do you have a despotic boss who is unhappy no matter what you do? The
>reason why most tyrants are unhappy is that they are waiting for someone
>else to please them while they themselves do nothing but make demands.
>Happiness served on a silver platter turns sour after a few bites.
>Nichiren Buddhism explains that we begin and continue the quest for
>happiness of oneself and others by making a personal vow and renewing it
>every day. Each person must create his or her own happiness. Waiting for
>happiness is a formula for unhappiness. Happiness is born of action.
>
>
>The Second Key: Happiness is overcoming unhappiness.
>Happiness is not an absence of problems, and the presence of problems
>does not mean unhappiness. Nichiren Buddhism explains that genuine
>happiness lies in overcoming difficulties. The important thing is to
>learn how to face our problems, not how to avoid them. Through the
>practice of Nichiren Buddhism, we can transform meaningless sufferings
>into meaningful challenges.
>
>The Third Key: The solution to your problem lies within.
>It is always tempting to blame our environment for our suffering through
>our delusions and that we can overcome our suffering by manifesting our
>innate Buddha nature. It is a common myth that we will become happy when
>we acquire pleasurable things or meet someone wonderful. But the truth
>is that when we are happy, we can truly enjoy the niceties of life or
>good companionship. This is a Copernican change in our view of
>happiness. Put simply, we are the cause and the solution to our
>problems, and genuine happiness must be created from within. To realize
>this is to free ourselves from being a victim of circumstances. Being a
>victim is easy, but it doesn't make us happy.
>
>
>
>The Fourth Key: Don't compare yourself with others.
>We are trained by society to compare ourselves with others, to see our
>lives through the eyes of others. Over the years, we've learned to feel
>superior to the less fortunate and disparage ourselves when we are with
>the more fortunate - restlessly vacillating between arrogance and
>self-disparagement depending on our circumstances. Nichiren Buddhism,
>however, teaches us how to build a stronger self that need not seek the
>reference of its worth outside. Nichiren Buddhism encourages us to bring
>forth our unique quality that cannot be compared with anything else.
>Each person has a unique set of karmic circumstances and - by
>challenging them - can make unique contributions to the world. Our
>karmic suffering can be transformed into our precious mission in life.
>With this awareness, we can change arrogance into appreciation,
>self-disparagement into true confidence.
>
>The Fifth Key: Be in the here and now.
>We sometimes dwell in resentment and regret about our past: 'Because
>that horrible thing happened to me, I cannot be happy.' At other times,
>we are preoccupied with worries about our future: 'What if my
>relationship doesn't work out?' Nichiren Buddhism teaches that the
>present moment contains all the past and the future. In other words, by
>challenging our present state of existence, we can transform resentment
>and regret into appreciation for our past. Of course, we cannot undo our
>past, but - by developing a strong state of life Now - we can change the
>meaning our past holds for us and change worries into hopes.
>
>Nichiren Buddhism also teaches that we cannot create happiness simply by
>moving from one place to another. What's most important is to change our
>inner state of being where we are. Put simply, Nichiren Buddhism shows
>us how to create happiness in the past (appreciation), in the present
>(fulfillment) and in the future (hope) by challenging our lives in the
>here and now.
>
>by Shin Yatomi (passed away last month, he was the leader of the study
>department of SGI-USA)