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Happiness and Freedom in the Present Moment
The Dharma of the World-Honored One has two fundamental characteristics that we can directly touch and experience in our very own body and life in the present moment:
- Sandṛṣṭika (direct realization): the Dharma is not dry theory but a living truth, something we can “touch” and see right here and now.
- Akālika (timeless): liberation and happiness do not have to wait for the future but arise instantly as soon as we practice correctly.
The true nature of the Buddha and the Sangha is also the Dharma—when we see the true Buddha, the true Sangha, we naturally feel ease, solidity, and happiness. The purpose of practice is to attain inner independence and freedom (interbeing yet still free), because only freedom can give rise to true happiness.
Every moment in our daily life—eating, walking meditation, breathing, sitting, even urinating, cooking, carrying water—are all opportunities to generate more freedom, to be “at ease in the here and now.” Living in the Sangha, practicing together, helps us break the habit energies of slavery, maintain mindfulness, and increase the quality of happiness right in the present moment.