From: v111q3r9@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (Yi L Chiang)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.eastern
Subject: Blue Print of Happiness --- part 6 of 7
Date: 15 Apr 92 20:32:23 GMT
Organization: University at Buffalo



           T H E   B L U E P R I N T   O F   H A P P I N E S S    
           ===================================================

                          BY VEN. ANOMA MAHINDA


	                    [ PART 6 OF 7 ]




THE PERFECT BLUEPRINT OF HAPPINESS


	It is a frequent request of Buddhist friends for a summary of Buddhism
in a few words.  Perhaps the best and the shortest definition I can give is that
Buddhism is the adaptation of one's life to harmonize with natural laws.  Can
the Dharma do this?  It both can and does.

	The Pali word Dharma is one of those all-embracing expressions which
mean several things, though all of them are related.  In its most common use it
means Doctrine, Teaching Law, but it also can mean, Justice, Righteousness or
simply Nature or Natural Law.  These definitions will help us to understand the
wide conception of the word and what it stands for.  If each and everyone
practices this Dharma, to the best of his ability, it means he is putting
himself in harmony with Nature and the natural laws which govern the universe.
This Dharma provides us with a pattern for living which we can truly call, A
BLUEPRINT OF HAPPINESS.

	The importance of happiness cannot be overstressed.  It can only come
about when we live in harmony with the natural laws which bring us health,
success, contentment, tranquility and peace of mind.  When we live in discord
with these laws we experience sickness, failure, discontent, worry and
unbalance.  In its practical application to our daily life, harmony is the
fruit of understanding the Dharma, while discord is the fruit of our ignorance
of it.

	First let us examine the negative aspect of discord and the manner in
which it arises.

	Discord arises through GREED, ILL-WILL AND DELUSION:

	1.	Greed is the cause of selfishness and avarice

		Selfishness is the cause of envy and jealousy, while avarice is
		the cause of covetousness and competitive spirit.

	2.	Ill-will is the cause of resentment and anger.

		Resentment is the cause of pride and revenge, while anger is the
		cause of malice and strife.

	3.	Delusion is the cause of attachment and fear.

		Attachment is the cause of craving and lust, while fear is the
		cause of superstition and intolerance.

	On the other hand, we can examine the positive aspect of harmony and the
manner in which it arises.

	Harmony arise through CHARITY, LOVE AND WISDOM.

	Charity is the cause of unselfishness and generosity.

	Unselfishness is the cause of sympathy and altruism, while generosity is
the cause of equanimity and love.

	Equanimity is the cause of humanity and goodwill.

	Goodwill is the cause of compassion and self control.

	Wisdom is the cause of renunciation and serenity.  Renunciation is the
cause of contentment and mental tranquility, while serenity is the cause of
sound judgement and tolerance.

	The right to be happy is accepted by nearly every nation, but
unfortunately, the interpretation of how this happiness is acquired, is
producing conflicting results.  There is a popular delusion that, when an
individual has piled up all the possessions he can, he will also have arrived
at the state of perfect happiness.  In practice we find that a state of
sufficiency is never reached and the more people get, the more they want.  Like
the sorcerer's apprentice, they conjure up a demon which they cannot control.

	Science and invention have become debased in the mad scramble to produce
more and more of these possessions, till the paraphernalia which begins to
clutter up our lives, becomes the weapon of our defeat.  Science in many ways
has the power to make life easier, but it cannot make us more happy.

	The wisest in the West are seeking a new path and are turning to the
East to find it.  The ancient wisdom of The Enlightened One, will yet prove
itself to be the only lasting solution to the ills of mankind.  The path which
the wise will follow is one which expresses clearly its theory and gives good
results when put into practice.