The Instinctive Hunt for Happiness
Dharma messages by Ven. SongChol
Korean Chogye Zen Master and Patriarch
Translated by Brian Barry
In oder to find meaning in their lives, people in general establish goals and work towards them. But there also are people without distinctive goals and others who change their goals along thw way. Regardless, everyone is on the hunt for happiness. It's instinctive, and that's why people throughout the ages and in nations everywhere have always talked about it and pursued it.
But happiness isn't something that is given and taken by an outside source; it's something that we make for ourselves. And happiness is something that is to be found in character, not in materialism. It's often easier to find it in an outstanding character amidst deprivation rather than in a flawed character amidst wealth. When we treat one another like Buddha, our unhappiness, misfortunes and miseries disappear.