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The Path Leading to Happiness
In 2010, in Upper Hamlet’s Still Water Meditation Hall, Thay rose each winter-retreat morning to make tea in his hut, walk mindfully by starlight to the hall, and sit with us—breathing in the fresh, healing air, breathing out tension, and simply enjoying in-and-out breaths without effort. He called it “Still Water” because, like clear water, sitting still lets us see things as they are and reflect without distortion.
We have learned five mantras:
- Darling, I am here for you.
- Darling, I know you are there, and I am very happy.
- Darling, I know you suffer. That is why I am here for you.
- Darling, I suffer. Please help.
- Dear friends, this moment is a happy moment.
The fifth mantra (“this moment is a happy moment”) invites us to notice conditions of happiness—having parents alive, a home, fresh air or water, a healthy heart—and to practice it whenever we feel lucky. The fourth mantra is most difficult: when we believe the one we love most has caused our suffering, pride makes us refuse help. Thay told the tragic sixteenth-century tale of Mr. Trương and his wife of Nam Xương to show how a single wrong perception can destroy love, and urged us instead to go to each other and say: “Darling, I suffer. I want you to know it. I am doing my best. Please help me.”
The first two of the Buddha’s four nutriments guide our consumption:
• Edible food (đoàn thực), which we should choose and eat “mindfully so as not to feel we’re eating our own son’s flesh,” preserving compassion, reducing harm, and nourishing body, mind, and world.
• Sensory impressions (xúc thực), which include everything we see, hear, read, or hear talked about; we must refuse poisonous inputs—violence, hate, fear—and adopt a family- or Sangha-wide policy of Right Consumption.
