Human beings seek happiness through everything they do throughout their lives. Since birth, our primary activities have been eating, drinking, sleeping and having sex. Getting an education, getting a job, building physical means, etc., are all secondary tasks that exist in the pursuit of the already mentioned primary tasks. Today’s society is based on competition. People strive to achieve happiness and fulfilment by achieving their life goals. No matter how many things a person acquires, the happiness derived from them is temporary. So, do we make the right choices in life to achieve happiness? Are the activities we do every day enough to make us happy? What is the true meaning of happiness? In this essay, I hope to present a philosophical study of happiness by searching for answers to several questions. I will explore the ideas of Buddha and other philosophers and combine them with my own thoughts to reach a conclusion about happiness at the end.
What is Buddhism? Buddhism is a spiritual tradition and philosophy. It was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha. Buddhism teaches the path to enlightenment through the Four Noble Truths[1], the Eightfold Path, and the cessation of suffering (nirvana).
The heart of Buddha’s teaching lies in the Four Noble Truths (Cattari Ariyasaccani) which he expounded in his very first sermon to his old colleagues, the five ascetics, at Isipatana (modern Sarnath) near Benares……..[2]
The Buddha’s take on happiness is also in the Dhammapada. The basic idea is that when you get a desire in your head, you can get rid of it by getting rid of the desire and by recognizing that everything is impermanent. When you understand this, the desire disappears, and with it, suffering. This allows you to be at peace and happy, no matter what challenges you face.
Buddha’s teaching is meant to carry man to safety, peace, happiness, tranquility, the attainment of Nirvana. The 10 whole doctrine taught by the Buddha leads to this end. He did not say thing just to satisfy intellectual curiosity. He was a practical teacher and taught only those things which would bring peace and happiness to man.[3]
Nietzsche says that happiness can be found by accepting life’s challenges and finding new purpose in them. We’ve all got to accept life’s challenges. When we overcome them and experience suffering personally, it shows how important it is to move away from social norms to find true happiness among those who have succeeded.
Three metamorphoses of the spirit do I designate to you: now the spirit becometh a camel, the camel a lion, and the lion at last a child.[4]
Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra talks about three changes in the spirit. The spirit changes into a camel, which represents strength and perseverance when dealing with hard times. This stage is all about being strong and working hard. Then, the spirit changes into a lion, which stands for breaking free from society’s rules to be free and independent. Breaking free from constraints to discover true desires and find happiness is essential. The lion’s transformation into a child symbolizes innocence, creativity, and fresh starts. In a state of pure potential, the child can create new values and perspectives, leading to genuine happiness. This metaphor illustrates Nietzsche’s view on personal growth leading to a fulfilling and joyful life.
For the new year. – I’m still alive; I still think: I must still be alive because I still have to think. Sum, ergo cogito: cogito, ergo sum. Today everyone allows himself to express his dearest wish and thoughts: so I, too, want to say what I wish from myself today and what thought first crossed my heart – what thought shall be the reason, warrant, and sweetness of the rest of my life! I want to learn more and more how to see what is necessary in things as what is beautiful in them – thus I will be one of those who make things beautiful. Amor fati: let that be my love from now on! I do not want to wage war against ugliness…..[5]
Nietzsche talks about something similar in the passage “For the new year.” He says it’s important to accept and find beauty in the necessary parts of life, even the hard or painful parts. He says we should embrace all experiences, both good and bad, as essential parts of our journey. This idea of embracing life, even when it’s tough, is connected to the idea of self-overcoming. It’s about growing and evolving by facing and overcoming challenges.
According to Buddhism, it is true that everything a person does throughout their life is essential and connected to culture and society, as life is not just about accumulating wealth, living a family life, or getting an education; instead, Buddhist philosophy teaches that material wealth cannot bring true happiness, and that happiness, sadness, satisfaction, and dissatisfaction all originate in the individual mind, cultivating mindfulness being key to addressing these.
“Mano Pubbagngama Dhamma, Manosettah Manomaya, Manasa Che Paduttehna, Bhasathi Wa Karothi Wa, Thatho Nang Dukkhamanvethi, Chakkangva Wahatho Padang”
One gets a noble mind according to the nature of the thoughts that arise from the mind. Therefore, if that mind is corrupt, what is done or said by him will also be evil. Since then, discomfort, oppression, and sorrow certainly follow him like the cartwheel, which carries a heavy load following the ox.
“Mano Pubbagngama Dhamma, Manosettah Manomaya, Manasa Che Pasannena, Bha sathi Wa Karothi Wa, Thatho Nang Sukhamanvethi, Chah yava Anapaini”
One gets a noble mind according to the nature of the thoughts arising from the mind. Therefore, if that mind is pure, what is done or said by him will also be pure. Since then, comfort, happiness, and calmness certainly follow him like his own shadow. [6]
These verses highlight the importance of the mind in shaping our reality. They emphasize the law of karma that our thoughts, words, and actions determine our happiness or suffering.
According to Buddhist philosophy, we can only find lasting happiness and peace by understanding the true nature of reality, which is called the dharma. The Abhidhamma Pathak of the Buddhist Tripitaka goes into a lot of detail on this. Basically, it’s all about the countless particles that make up everything in the universe, whether it’s living or non-living. These particles are like metaphorical zones. Everything in the universe, including you and me, is made up of these energies. There are eight basic energies, and the Buddha calls them the Suddhashtaka.
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- Pathavi-dhatu (Earth element): Represents solidity or hardness.
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- Apo-dhatu (Water element): Represents cohesion or fluidity.
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- Tejo-dhatu (Fire element): Represents heat or temperature.
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- Vayo-dhatu (Wind element): Represents motion or vibration.
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- Varna (Color or visible form).
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- Gandha (Odor or smell).
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- Rasa (Taste).
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- Oja (Nutritional essence or energy).[7]
These characteristics can be seen in everything in the universe, including our bodies. Everything is created by mixing different energies based on these Suddhashtaka.[8]
The Buddha said that there are about eighty-four thousand ways to understand the truth of the world. He gave a very long explanation about these energies, but he said that it’s too deep to explain each one. He said that all these mother energies are born and spent, changing from each other, and the nature of our thoughts is the same. So, the Buddha’s idea is that nothing in the universe is permanent and that change is the nature of the world. The Buddha says that the thoughts that arise in our minds, from the growth of the human body to illness, aging, and death, represent the various changing nature of energies.
The most special thing is the energy called mind that exists in humans. The Buddha says that it is a very powerful and extremely subtle energy that is not related to physical energies. The Buddha points out that it is a process of fulfilling desires and needs through the energy of thoughts that arise in our minds using the elements of the mind, such as the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body. No matter how much desire we pursue, the world’s dharma changes in energies. Therefore, we cannot achieve eternal happiness by pursuing desires with our minds, and by understanding the world’s truth with a scientific eye, we can achieve eternal happiness by gaining the strength to stand firm in the face of any challenge in life.
Buddha and Nietzsche both believe that life is suffering. However, these philosophers say that there are two ways to eliminate suffering and achieve happiness. Nietzsche says that we should accept life’s challenges and turn them into blessings that make us stronger and happier. The Buddha says that we should use our intellectual skills to understand the reality of life and learn to face challenges with joy.
In my opinion, to become greater when facing life’s challenges, a person must make an effort to endure and face them. But when you understand the truth of the universe and realize that the world is always changing, you won’t feel sad or worried every time something difficult happens. You’ll only feel that way if you think that’s just how things are.
Similarly, the Buddha of Nietzsche also left the process of eliminating suffering and pain up to the individual, and also pointed out that happiness comes from internal transformation rather than external things. However, the method of achieving this inner transformation varies.
The Nietzsche says that desire is a force that affects creativity and growth. This means that many new creations are born in the world as a result.
“Once hadst thou passions and calledst them evil. But now hast thou only thy virtues: they grew out of thy passions”[9]
This suggests that human drives and desires, which are often criticized by traditional morality, have the potential to be great if we understand them and direct them in a creative way.
However, the Buddha taught that no desire can be fully fulfilled. When desires are not fulfilled, it causes suffering. Although being with loved ones can make us happy and make us want more, according to the Buddha’s teachings, there is always a part of us that knows we will eventually be separated from these people. This causes suffering. The Buddha said that being attached to things makes us unhappy, just like being attached to things makes us want more of them. In fact, greed is the cause of it.
Tanha Jayathi soko
Tanha Jayathi bhayan
(One’s Craving causes him sorrow, One’s Craving causes him fear) [10]
If someone is attached to something in this world because they want it, that person does not understand the true nature of the world. This attachment to desire leads to a mindset of greed. Because of this attachment, people suffer. This is what the above verse means.
There are three types of thoughts that arise in the mind due to greed, which are called Raaga, Dwesha and Mooha in Paali.[11] These thoughts cause a person to be reborn again and again in the cycle of samsara and become unhappy.[12]
Nietzsche emphasizes the individual’s will to power, while the Buddha has called for overcoming ego because the idea of “I am mine” comes from wanting things and being attached to them, which leads to suffering.
As the Nietzsche says, a person can achieve happiness by creating, overcoming, and accepting challenges. The Buddha says that in life, we gain strength by facing challenges. People can experience a lot of pain and sadness. Therefore, the peaceful state of being, free from the cycle of birth and death, is happiness. This is achieved by understanding the truth of the world and letting go of mental attachments to it.
Buddha’s philosophy is more important in this scenario, and it can create a person who is free from mental attachments, who can withstand any situation in life, who can face any worry, and who lives a peaceful, merciful, and kind life.
However, since a person who has realized the ultimate truth of the world naturally leaves behind all the attachments of ordinary worldly life,[13] many such people, in order to achieve mental liberation in sentient life, either flee from all the attachments of ordinary life and go to the forest or develop their mind through meditation, thereby stopping the cycle of birth and giving liberation to the mind.
In my opinion, a person is born with a compound of emotions such as sorrow, happiness, loss, and gain. The nature of these feelings varies from person to person, depending on the strength of person’s spiritual flow. The eternal happiness of the worldly life is not a permanent one. Therefore, we must have some mental strength to face any situation. According to Nietzsche’s idea, when there is some strength to face challenges, happiness will arise.
But how can we gain this strength, and how should we obtain it? By understanding the ultimate truth of the world that Buddha spoke, by understanding the truth, we naturally gain the mental strength to accept any situation without being disturbed. Therefore, it is also applicable for worldly life. The new person born by understanding the four truths[14] of the world spoken by Buddha, which are more important for transcendental life[15], achieves a very peaceful and victorious happy life in this world and the next.
Bibliography
Chandawimala, Renukane Thero. (2007), Abhidharmaye Muulika Karunu.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. (2001), The Gay Science. Edited by Bernard Williams. Translated by Josefine Nauckhoff and Adrian Del Caro. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. (2006,digital version). Thus Spake Zarathustra. Translated by Thomas Common. New York: The Modern Library.
Rahula, Walpola Sri. (1974), What the Buddha Taught. Revised ed. With a foreword by Demiéville.
Goonesekera, Chula. (2020),Reflections of an Amateur: The Beginnings – The Noble Eight-Fold Path. Ariya Dhamma Meditation Group UK.
Chat GPT : ( for understanding meaning of Nietzsche’s writing and for some grammar corrections)
YouTube Videos :
[1] Four Noble Truths -i. The Existence of Suffering, ii. The Causes of Suffering, iii. The End of Suffering is Possible: Nirvana, iv. The Path That Leads to Eliminating the Causes of Suffering.
[2] Walpola Sri Rahula, What the Buddha Taught, revised ed. (New York: Grove Press,1974), with a foreword by Paul Demiéville, p12.
[3] Walpola Sri Rahula, What the Buddha Taught, revised ed. (New York: Grove Press,1974), with a foreword by Paul Demiéville, p 9-10.
[4] Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra, trans. Thomas Common (New York: The Modern Library, 2006),p 23.
[5] Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science, ed. Bernard Williams, trans. Josefine Nauckhoff and Adrian Del Caro (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), p 276.
[6] Wijetunga, S. D. (2024), Dhamma Padaya (p. 1), Aaryasathya.
[7] Renukane Chandawimala, Thero(2007), Abhidharmaye Muulika Karunu, (p.116)
[8] Suddhashtaka – Eight pure or fundamental elements.
[9] Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra, trans. Thomas Common (New York: The Modern Library, 2006),p 35.
[10] Wijetunga, S. D. (2024). Dhamma Padaya (p. 1). Aaryasathya.
[11] Paali-Pali is an ancient Indo-Aryan language primarily used in the scriptures of Theravāda Buddhism, known for preserving the teachings of the Buddha in the Paali Canon (Tipiṭaka).
[12] Chula Goonesekera, Reflections of an Amateur: The Beginnings – The Noble Eight-Fold Path, Ariya Dhamma Meditation Group UK(2020), p17.
[13] worldly life – having a wide and refined knowledge of the world especially from personal experience.
[14] Four Noble Truths -i. The Existence of Suffering, ii. The Causes of Suffering, iii. The End of Suffering is Possible: Nirvana, iv. The Path That Leads to Eliminating the Causes of Suffering.
[15] Transcendental life – mystical or beyond the natural world.