Tila, as a monk, had travelled far and wide, staying in many spiritual places, in search of happiness. He recently moved into my neighbourhood to look after our local meditation centre. When I heard about this, I jumped at the chance to learn from his experiences. I made an appointment to meet him, expressing my desperate desire to learn how to be happy. He invited me to visit me at the meditation.
As I walked into the centre, Tila startled me, “So you want me to help you find happiness?”
Somewhat startled by this direct question, all I could manage to say was, “Yes!”
After guiding me to sit on a sofa, he spoke, “Well, let us start at the beginning! What do you think is the meaning of happiness? After all, we need to know what we are searching for.”
Despite having desired happiness for so long, I suddenly realised that I had never really thought about what happiness meant.
Tila, probably realising that my answer was not going to come in a hurry, said, “Don’t worry, I struggled to come up with an answer when I was asked the same question many years ago. Even now, I have to think about it. In my current thinking, happiness means different things to different people. To me, happiness means having a mind that is at peace despite all the stresses the world throws at it. Even with many challenges and difficult circumstances, if one’s mind remains stress-free, in a good mood, without worry or fear, I think we can describe that person as “happy”. What do you think?”
Thankful that Tila had answered most of it, I just added my bit, “Yes, I think I agree with what you describe as happiness. I suffer, in various combinations, anxiety, depression and stress. I suppose not having these would make me a happy person.”
Tila smiled, “Yes, that makes sense. I am sure as we go along, we will both discover more and more about what it is to be happy. I am pleased to accompany you on this journey.”