old-path-white-clouds-thich-nhat-hanh

Chapter Seventy-Five
Tears of Happiness
Ten days later, the Buddha put on his outer robe, took his begging bowl, and left the city of Rajagaha. He headed north across the Ganga,
stopped along the way to visit Kutagara monastery, and then made his way to Savatthi. It would soon be the rainy season again, and he
needed to return to Jetavana to prepare for the annual retreat. Venerables Ananda, Sariputta, Moggallana, and three hundred other
bhikkhus accompanied him.
When they reached Savatthi, the Buddha walked directly to Jetavana. Many bhikkhus and bhikkhunis had gathered to await his arrival.
They had heard of events in Magadha and were relieved to see the Buddha unharmed and in good health. Bhikkhuni Khema was present.
She now served as abbess to the bhikkhunis.
King Pasenadi came to see the Buddha the moment he learned of his arrival. He asked the Buddha about the situation in Rajagaha and
listened as the Buddha recounted everything, including his meeting with Queen Videhi, King Pasenadi’s own sister. The Buddha told him
that while she maintained a calm composure, he knew her heart was filled with grief and sorrow. King Pasenadi told the Buddha that he had
already sent a delegation to Rajagaha to ask Ajatasattu, his nephew, to explain the imprisonment of King Bimbisara. A month had already
passed but no response had been received. King Pasenadi sent further word that if the new king deemed it necessary, he could come to
Savatthi in person to explain the situation. King Pasenadi informed the Buddha that in order to demonstrate his opposition to the events in
Magadha, he had reclaimed the territory he offered to Magadha many years ago on the occasion of his sister’s marriage to King Bimbisara.
This land was located close to the city of Varanasi in Kasi.
The first day of the retreat season arrived. All the spiritual centers and monasteries in the region were filled to overflowing with bhikkhus
and bhikkhunis. Every ten days, the Buddha gave a Dharma talk at Jetavana to all the monks and nuns. These talks always took place
following the noon meal. Monks and nuns who walked from the more distant centers did not have enough time to go begging if they wanted
to arrive in time for the discourse. Lay disciples in the city worked hard to assure there was always enough food waiting for these monks
and nuns.
The first Dharma talk the Buddha delivered that season was on the subject of happiness. He told the assembly that happiness is real and
can be realized in the very midst of daily life. “First of all,” the Buddha said, “happiness is not the result of gratifying sense desires. Sense
pleasures give the illusion of happiness, but in fact they are sources of suffering.
“It is like a leper who is forced to live alone in the forest. His flesh is wracked by terrible pain day and night. So he digs a pit and makes
a fierce fire, and he stands over it to seek temporary relief from his pain by toasting his limbs over the fire. It is the only way he can feel any
comfort. But, miraculously, after a few years, his disease goes into remission, and he is able to return to a normal life in the village. One day
he enters the forest and sees a group of lepers toasting their limbs over hot flames just as he once did. He is filled with pity for them, for he
knows that in his healthy state he could never bear to hold his limbs over such fierce flames. If someone tried to drag him over the fire he
would resist with all his might. He understands that what he once took to be a comfort, is actually a source of pain to one who is healthy.”
The Buddha said, “Sense pleasures are like a pit of fire. They bring happiness only to those who are ill. A healthy person shuns the
flames of sense desires.”
The Buddha explained that the source of true happiness is living in ease and freedom, fully experiencing the wonders of life. Happiness is
being aware of what is going on in the present moment, free from both clinging and aversion. A happy person cherishes the wonders taking
place in the present moment—a cool breeze, the morning sky, a golden flower, a violet bamboo tree, the smile of a child. A happy person
can appreciate these things without being bound by them. Understanding all dharmas as impermanent and without a separate self, a happy
person does not become consumed even by such pleasures. A happy person thus lives in ease, free from all worry and fear. Because he
understands that a flower will soon wilt, he is not sad when it does. A happy person understands the nature of birth and death of all
dharmas. His happiness is true happiness, and he does not even worry about or fear his own death.
The Buddha told the assembly that some people believe it is necessary to suffer in the present in order to have happiness in the future.
They make sacrifices and endure hardships of body and mind, thinking they can acquire happiness in the future. But life exists only in the
present moment. That kind of sacrifice is a waste of life. Other people think that if you want peace, joy, and liberation in the future, you
must practice self-mortification in the present. They practice austerities, starve themselves, and inflict pain on their minds and bodies. The
Buddha taught that such practices cause suffering for the person in both the present and the future. Still others contend that because life is
so fleeting, they should not concern themselves with the future at all. They may try to satisfy all their sense desires in the present. The
Buddha explained that clinging to sense pleasures this way causes suffering in both the present and the future.