"Happiness is an imaginary condition, formerly attributed by the living to the dead, now usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults." (Thomas Szasz) What do you think happiness is?
I think happiness varies from person to person. I think some people are happy being unhappy as odd as that sounds. I'd say at best happiness is being at peace with yourself and your life.
Happiness feels good, but I don't think happiness IS feeling good because that would equate pleasure with happiness and the problem with pleasure is you are always bound to be left dissatisfied because of its impermanence.
happiness is the optimism that exists when one is aware and begins to realize that they could, at any point in time, consciously vary their state of mind and experience pleasure.
What is Happiness in Buddhism? by Rev. Nobuo Haneda Let me discuss one of the most basic questions in our life, “What is happiness?” About ten years ago, after a seminar held in a Buddhist temple in Seattle, a university student approached me and said to me, “Dr. Haneda, I am writing a paper on human happiness. I am comparing various religious definitions of happiness. Could you give me a Buddhist definition?” I answered, “If you can forget your individual happiness, that’s the happiness defined in Buddhism. If the issue of your happiness ceases to be an issue, that’s the happiness defined in Buddhism.” Then the student asked me, “How, then, can we forget ourselves, our individual happiness?” I answered him, “If you intentionally attempt to forget yourself or your happiness, you will not be able to do so. But if you encounter something more powerful than yourself something more important than your happiness, then you wifi be able to forget yourself and your happiness.” From morning to night, we are concerned with our individual welfare, with questions such as what we should eat and wear. Many of us believe that our happiness depends on how successfully we satisfy those personal needs. But is it really the case that our happiness depends on that? No, I do not think so. Actually, the more self-centered we become, the less happy we become. Generally speaking, who is an unhappy person? An unhappy person is a person who cannot forget himself, being always concerned with his individual happiness and welfare. Probably the Buddhist concept of “hell” symbolizes the condition in which one has only himself, only his self-concerns such as what he should eat and wear. Then, who is a happy person? A happy person is the person who can forget himself, his individual happiness. He is so fascinated with something outside himself that he can forget himself. A lover is happy because he is thinking of his girl friend, forgetting himself. An artist is happy because he is absorbed in a creative activity, forgetting himself.
Optimism refers more to the future surely. Complete happiness would not be focused on the future, but on now. Optimism may also be false. Things may not turn out as expected. - it would also seem that to feel good is to be happy. To be happy is to feel good. What's the point of disputing such a simple truth? Experience shows that people with negative feelings aren't usually happy.
happiness is what happens when you are creating and exploring. it's one of those effemeral things that cannot be tangably held in your hand but only exists as a byproduct of other proccessess. excitement is sometimes mistaken for it and that is how people are so easily conned. =^^= .../\...
Optimism doesn't necessarily refer to the future. You can be optimistic about things that have come to past... it's more of a state of mind. Optimism is a way of looking at things... it cannot be false, and on the other hand it cannot be "correct". I do not agree with the "happiness is to feel good" idea either.... I have many days where I feel like shit (sick, physically of emotionally wounded, tired) yet im still optimistic, and still fundamentally happy.
Happiness is what happens when you stop worring, fighting, and hating! Unless, worring, fighting and hating ,make you happy! In which case you should just kill yourself.....your already dead!
Can't you see how illogical it is to say happiness isn't feeling good? This is simply hair splitting in my opinion.
I don't think so. In any real happiness there is pleasure as an inherent part of the thing. Happiness is that which is pleasing - which is what pleasure really means - Few people would find pleasure in being unhappy, and that which is displeasing or causes pain can certainly take away happiness to some degree or another.. also pleasure can create happiness albiet temporarily.
