Sometime people have a mistaken impression that Buddhism is a pessimistic religion with an almost obsessive focus on suffering. However, for those who have read the suttas, they realise that while the Buddha does place strong emphasis on understanding suffering and its cause, the Buddha placed even more attention on happiness and the conditions one needs to put in place to create happiness in our lives.
One of the easiest ways to build more happiness in our lives is to learn to count our blessings. Many of the suttas encouraged us put our attention on the positive things in life rather than constantly having unrealistic expectations (wrong view) and constantly wanting more (greed).
In the Mangala Sutta, one of the most popular suttas in the Theravada Tradition, the Buddha told us that there are 38 blessings in life (Indeed, lots to be happy about)!
The sutta begins with 6 blessings that lay the foundations for a positive life. This is followed by 12 blessings of a ordinary lay person and 12 more blessings for an ordinary lay person who is embarking on the Buddhist practice. The final 8 blessings relates to one who practices the path diligently and achieved the fruits of Enlightenment.
“(1)Not to associate with the foolish, (2) but to associate with the wise; and (3)to honor those who are worthy of honor…
(4) To reside in a suitable locality, (5) to have done meritorious actions in the past and (6) to set oneself in the right course…
(7) To be learned, (8) to be skillful in handicraft, (9) well-trained in discipline, and (10) to be of good speech…
(11) To support mother and father, (12) to cherish wife and (13) children, (14) and to be engaged in peaceful occupation…
(15) To be generous in giving, (16) to be righteous in conduct, (17) to help one’s relatives, and (18) to be blameless in action…
(19) To loathe more evil and abstain from it, (20) to refrain from intoxicants, and (21) to be steadfast in virtue…
(22) To be respectful, (23) humble, (24) contented and (25) grateful; and (26) to listen to the Dhamma on due occasions…
(27) To be patient and (28) obedient, (29) to associate with monks and to (30) have religious discussions on due occasions…
(31) Self-restraint, (32) a holy and chaste life, (33) the perception of the Noble Truths and (34) the realisation of Nibbana…
(35) A mind unruffled by the vagaries of fortune, (36) from sorrow freed, (37) from defilements cleansed, (38) from fear liberated — this is the greatest blessing.
Those who thus abide, ever remain invincible, in happiness established. These are the greatest blessings.”
While most of us do not experience all 38 blessings, most of us do experience enough of them to lead a happy and meaningful lives, that is if we learns to appreciate our blessings. What is more important is that the sutta clearly state that these “blessings” are like building blocks for living a happy life and that we should pro-actively create the conditions for these “blessings” to arise.
In the Anana Sutta, the Buddha focuses more on money and wealth; Most people invest a great deal of their time working so that they can earn money to support themselves and their families. Clearly, having material wealth is an important determinant of happiness in the lives of most lay Buddhists.
In the Anana Sutta, the Buddha spoke on the blessing of knowing how to build and using wealth in a righteous manner as well as debtlessness and blamelessness. We can tell from this sutta that the Buddha clearly consented to lay Buddhist accumulating wealth that has been righteously earned. The Buddha also advice us to put the money to good use, support worthy causes and leading a balanced and positive live.
“There are these four kinds of bliss that can be attained in the proper season, on the proper occasions, by a householder partaking of sensuality. Which four?
(a)The bliss of having; …has wealth earned through his efforts & enterprise, amassed through the strength of his arm, and piled up through the sweat of his brow, righteous wealth righteously gained. When he thinks, ‘I have wealth earned through my efforts & enterprise… righteous wealth righteously gained,’ he experiences bliss, he experiences joy… (b)the bliss of [making use of] wealth; …’Using the wealth earned through my efforts & enterprise, … righteous wealth righteously gained, I partake of wealth and make merit,’… (c)the bliss of debtlessness; …owes no debt, great or small… (d)the bliss of blamelessness; …is endowed with blameless bodily kamma, blameless verbal kamma, blameless mental kamma.
These are the four kinds of bliss that can be attained in the proper season, on the proper occasions, by a householder partaking of sensuality.”
Pingback: The emotional(ly wise) Buddhist | Buddhist Blog: A Handful of Leaves
Without going details about the Dharma or Sutras etc, I personally feel BLESSINGS is happening in all religions on earth. It is very common indeed! Perhaps it is helping/encouraging to have confidence walking along the pathway for those existing suffering BEINGS, but how much degrees that the blessings can effectively or productively for those being blessed is yet unknown because simply each eats each feels full under the chains of cause & effect principle. Warm or cold it is up to any individual to taste/feel personally. Thank you for sharing.