Buddha’s Rules for Happiness

Listen to “Buddha’s Rules for Happiness”.

Buddhist teachings are universal, so you don’t have to be a Buddhist monk to benefit from the essential teachings of the Buddha.  

Moreover, they remain relevant to successfully navigating modern life and finding a more profound sense of happiness and contentment.

Perhaps more than any other religion, Buddhism is associated with happiness. According to Buddhist thinking, happiness and sorrow are down to individual responsibility and are entirely within our control. 

Buddhists say everything comes from the mind. If we train our minds properly, happiness will be the result.

If you look at your mind, you can see how sometimes you’re wholly blended with your thoughts and emotions. You’re overcome by anger, jealousy, or anxiety, for example. But at other times, you’re able to observe your thoughts and emotions and even alter your choices. For Buddhists, the method of achieving this is meditation.

Meditation, which usually involves fixing our attention on a body part, the breath, a mantra or an inspirational picture, helps us arrive at a state where we are not distracted by our thoughts. 

Psychologists agree that aside from any spiritual connotations, meditation is a powerful tool. It allows us to observe that negative emotions such as anger and desire cause most of our problems. Finding these emotional causes and applying antidotes makes it possible to free ourselves from their harmful influence.

In addition to meditation practice, if you want to be happy, the best thing you can do is choose positive actions. It’s easier to choose positivity when starting from a state of calm and clear seeing.

Here are some helpful tips for reflection.

1. Avoid harming others.
2. Be kind, compassionate, and loving as much and as often as you can.
3. Practice mindfulness to calm your mind and increase awareness of your patterns of unhelpful and unhappy behaviours – the ones that cause you unhappiness and suffering.
4. Practice positive alternatives to unhealthy and unhappy behaviours.
5. Understand that you are not your thoughts and emotions, and begin to identify with the awareness of your mind instead. Let negative thoughts and emotions float by.
6. Remember impermanence daily and make each moment count.
7. Don’t take the material world or everyday experiences too seriously.
8. Respect interdependence and grow good karma by establishing a positive intention for each new effort and engaging in positive actions.

Your happiness depends on the choices you make every moment. Unfortunately, if you don’t make the connection between your choices and their results, it’s easy to repeat the same self-defeating patterns over and over again. 

Ultimately, the Buddha’s teachings are about creating happiness for yourself and others.