Chapter 01 Introduction

The Essence of Happiness and True Freedom

2.2-The.Essence.of.Happiness.and.True.Freedom Chapter01 Introduction Essence Happiness

Introduction

From the moment of birth, we begin experiencing all kinds of sufferings.

One of the first sensations that occur often immediately in infants is distress, mainly due to hunger and cold.

Infants in distress, cry to express their feelings. When fed, the anxiety of hunger gradually diminishes and happiness emerges. When they are full but continuously fed, they will feel uncomfortable and instinctively stop taking milk. When in excessively hot or cold weather, they scream and cry.
When the infants are not cold, hot or hungry, that’s their comfort zone, the expression on their faces will be that of contentment.

As they age, they grow from an infant into a toddler and then into early childhood, they love fun and are full of curiosity within their environment. They observe and try everything within their reach. Toys appeal to them during these years, if they get their favorite ones, they are joyful. Otherwise overall,they are unhappy. If their toys are lost or damaged, they will feel irritated.

In the phase of early childhood, they are outgoing and active, they enjoy their playtime with their peers; even though they have many desires, they are usually easily satisfied and happy.

In the phase of adolescence, their attraction to the opposite sex will be deepened and instinctively bring themselves to interact more with the opposite sex, and achieve happiness through this behavior. If it were otherwise, they will be emotionally down. If the opposite sex they admire were to refuse them, they will be emotionally down, they will experience suffering.

Reaching adulthood, as their knowledge and abilities expand, so do their desires. They may have various enjoyments such as: singing, dancing, acting and others artistic activities. Some love sports, reading and writing, some like to travel, some like to achieve prestige, and some keep their sense of curiosity and seek truth. Human beings will satisfy their own desire and pursue happiness through various methods.

Normally, human beings look for food when they are hungry and look for clothes when they are cold; just like any other animal. The principle of life is to act instinctively to relieve the distressed circumstances, in order to gain freedom and happiness. Few have the wisdom to think about the source of suffering, the essence of happiness, and the truth of freedom.

Now, let us begin with the exploration of these topics.

Chapter 1 The Different Types of Sufferings

There are two main human sufferings: the first one is physical pain, which is commonly referred to as pain of the body. The second one is psychological pain, which is mainly rooted in desires and emotions. We refer to psychological pain as the Suffering of Not Getting What We Want, The Suffering of Separation from the Pleasant, and the Suffering of Association with the Unpleasant.

Now, let’s analyze them in more detail, beginning with the physical pain of the body.

There are several categories of physical pain consisting of the following: the suffering of sicknesses; pain brought by injury; pain due to deterioration caused by aging; and pain brought by death.

For instance, the suffering of sicknesses: when a person is sick, the physical pain and the feeling of unwellness may intensify over time; it may also be accompanied by various psychological pains such as stress, fear of death, worry about work, worry about children and grandchildren, distress about money and other negative emotions.

To give another example, if a person suffers from an acute sinusitis, congestion in the nasal cavity, blockage of nasal by mucus, difficulty in breathing, or discomfort in the head and lungs, when medicine is applied, they will feel relieved, their mood will improve, and the decongestion of the nasal pathway will facilitate breathing.

When human beings are undergoing treatment of diseases, only when the inflammation and the viruses are cleared, the sicknesses will be eliminated or cured completely, and the body will feel comfortable. In the process of becoming well, the negative emotional feeling will gradually diminish as the body begins to recover and pain eases and disappears at the same time. The feeling of happiness that arises only lasts a short period of time.

Another example is when a person is hungry, weakness, unease in the stomach, and anxiety emerge in the body. If they start to eat, the pain of hunger will gradually ease, and physical strength gradually recovers, the negative emotional feeling fades, they feel happy once again.

In short, the source of happiness is suffering, and the essence of happiness is the relief or complete eradication of suffering, it is at that moment, when the negative emotion fades, and there is no other feeling accompanied by it. Human beings, in their ignorance and greed for happiness, only wish for relief but not to inquire into the suffering itself. Removing pain is a long process, and the relief of negative, emotional feeling is only an instance -brief and transient.

What is the meaning of 'kuài’?; It means brief and short-lived, while 'Lè' is to relieve and release.