Lecture Can an’t Buy Happiness Vicky Wong Lama Marut’s book, A Spiritual Renegade’s Guide to the Good Life a blueprint for creating and sustaining happiness in this modern age of consumerism, selfabsorption, and stress. He recently came to Hong Kong and gave a talk on the subject of happiness. “Hong Kong is full of talented, educated, driven accomplishment-oriented people who are depleted and often depressed,” Lama Marut says. “Because there is no correlation between money and happiness.” If happiness cannot be found in a good job and money, nor in exotic holidays, nights out or expensive dinners, then without having to look far, happiness lies in satisfaction. “We achieve contentment only when we stop being discontent,” he says. “Who is not content with contentment?” Only you have the power to make yourself happy. Real happiness is not a series of ethereal pleasures connected to the five senses. We cannot find it in consumer capitalism which is the mainstream ideology that rules the world: the heart and soul of capitalism is to keep you dissatisfied and miserable. Lama Marut described the YouTube clips, “Will it Blend?” as consumer capitalist pornography in which Tom, the presenter, blends the latest iPad and iPhone. He basically speeds time up because every gadget will eventually become a piece of junk anyhow, so why are people so crazy about them? He claims renunciation is the key to happiness. “Let go of things that hurt you and that can’t deliver. Nothing lasts forever. Get wiser and hipper and don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” he says. Happiness comes from generosity. The essence of a spiritual life is to stop thinking about yourself and start thinking about what you can do for someone else. The real causes of things are: if you want something, make sure someone else gets it first. Nothing goes around, nothing comes around. Work for others and their happiness; don’t do harm to others. Selfishness has been hardwired in human beings and is exacerbated by consumerism; if you want to keep something, share it, give it away and keep it in circulation. If there is less selfishness, there will be more selflessness. The best thing you can do for yourself is to stop thinking about yourself, stop thinking about your own happiness, which is the opposite of capitalism. True love is possessive, i.e. “you’re mine!” but, real love means “I just want everyone to be happy.” Lama Marut, and many others believe, the secret to happiness is loving kindness. Both misery and happiness love company. We must achieve that state first in order to help others. Some of the top regrets people have when they die are: having worked too hard and lived the life others expected them to. Love and compassion is the morphine to our suffering because we are focusing on others’ happiness and not our own. “Actions done for others have a momentum when done with enlightened self-interest.” Lama Marut says we can start to be happy when we can say ‘I have enough’ As a spiritual goal, we desire the end of desire, as opposed to making happiness a condition of ‘if only I have XYZ, then I’ll be content’ because we will always want more. Lama Marut offers us a mantra, “Om, I have enough (______).” He claims we have no excuse to not say we have enough when billions of people are illiterate and starving. “No one is bombing us, so what’s your problem?” he asks. When we look for happiness externally like, money, jobs, relationships and someone who would make you happy, you are setting yourself and others up for failure. LAMA MARUT’S 10 THINGS TO BRING HAPPINESS 1. Do at least one good thing and keep track of it. For example, be a secret agent and sneak money into someone’s purse if you know they need it, but don’t wait around for acknowledgement as it undercuts the virtues. 2. Every night, get a good night sleep or you will wake up cranky. 3. Wake up without an alarm clock. 4. Lull around in bed upon waking and think of things that you are grateful for: your prosperity, friends and education. Log onto www.globalrichlist.com, punch in your salary and you will realize you are better off than most people in the world. 5. Remember your own mortality: we don’t know when and how we are going to die, so what is going to matter when we die? Live as though it is your last day everyday, and one day you will be right. This way it saves you stress and makes you happy. 6. Meditate for 15-20 minutes a day. 7. Spend some quiet time alone – no phone, no music. 8. Every three hours or 6-times-a-day book, write down the negative and positive actions you have taken and what actions you could take to neutralize the karmic effect. 9. Do ‘coffee meditation’ – think about what it would feel like when you are completely happy – with your heart open, wishing all beings well. Visualize your own utopia. 10. Study a sacred text everyday, be it the Bible, the Koran or Dharma. Vicky has been a journalist since 2003. She specialised in travel and lifestyle journalism, then she shifted her focus on social and environmental issues. Since she started practising yoga in 2008, she documents teachings on Tibetan buddhism and yoga as she attends the classes. wickyvong@gmail.com 32
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