Discovering Joy | BEing Happiness

01 Why is Joy Before Happiness?

  𑽇   Transcript    𑽇 

Why is Joy Before Happiness?

Objective: To water seeds so Joy erupts into our awareness.

How Do We Get There?

• • Discourse on the Full Awareness of Breathing

Steps 1. and 2.   In - Out

Steps 3. and 4.    Whole Body - Calm

Steps 5 and 6.  Discovering Joyful - BEing Happiness

• • Mindfulness, Concentration and Insight

  • Be Kind. Be Gentle. Be Loving.

  • Mindfully Watering Seeds

Sangha Sharing

What joy, insights, wonderment, questions and moments would you like to share?

Dharma Talk

Joy Before Happiness?

At first, this struck me as odd that the Buddha would place Joy before Happiness.  After all, we've been cultivating Happiness from our mindfulness.  Mindfully listening to the experiences of our breathing body.  Then inviting our bodies and breath to become calm.  Being mindful we arrive in the here and now where Peace and Contentment bloom into Happiness.  So why then start with Joy?

Listening and Mindfully Watering Seeds

So much of meditation, so much of being mindful, is listening.  We listen to our breath.  We listen to our bodies.  We listen to our thoughts and feelings.  We listen to Peace and Contentment.  We listen to Happiness.  We listen to the insight that comes from being mindful.  So I posed the question in a meditation and listened.

In breath - I enjoy my in breath.  

Out breath - I share the peace found within my in breath with my question.  

Insight was not there so I just continued to enjoy the moment by being with my breath.  I know an answer always comes, it's just a matter of when.  The 'when' is when we're most ready for the answer.  : )  

As the days continued, there were moments where I shared my mindful breath with the question.  Some of these moments where at work, walking to a meeting, or taking a 30 second break from whatever I was doing so I could just Be with my breath.  Sometimes it was during a longer sit that I shared my breath with the question.  Sometimes a few days went by and I forgot about the question.  : )  In each one of those moments, I was mindfully watering seeds within me.  Insight has patiently taught me to be mindful whenever I can, if only for 5 seconds.  It's the only way for me to be Home.

Watered Seeds Grow and Insight Blooms

As watered seeds can surprisingly do, I turned my head and BAM, I walked into the answer!  Steps 1 through 4 are all about discovering and cultivating Peace and Contentment.  Happiness is flowering all around those steps.  Also, there have been many moments of insight which has been the intrinsic motivation to become more mindful throughout the day.  The more mindfully we are, the more happiness fills our awareness.

Let's reflect on happiness.  Maybe when you are sitting at the end of the Calm-Ease meditation, Present Moment, Wonderful Moment.  You are filled with Aimlessness.  You don't need anything.  You are so content and fulfilled.  You are very peaceful.  "I don't want this meditation to end." is your experience.  After a few moments experiencing so much peace and contentment you felt the gentle rise of Happiness' warmth. "Ah, this is blissful.  I am home".  

Happiness is like a very long horizontal line.  Think about going to the lake or the ocean.  You don't want to move so you stop and rest right there.  The long peaceful horizon where the sky meets the water becomes our focus.  It is very calming.  Experiencing Happiness is just like this because it has come from Peace and Contentment.   

From where does Joy come?

Mindfulness, concentration and insight has brought to our awareness the Wonderment of Life.  The Life that I am.  The Life that is all around me.  I am here because of the life around me.  The life around me is here because I am here.  Interbeing.  Within each insight, you can find interbeing.  It takes just a little awareness of interbeing to begin producing Wonderment.  "Wow.  I am alive!"  "So much time has passed since the Earth formed.  Now, I am here.   I get to enjoy this moment!"  "So much life has lived and died so I can be here right now.  Whoa."  

It doesn't take long before Gratitude begins to bloom from Wonderment.  "I am so deeply grateful for this moment.  To know this moment.  To be alive in this moment."  "I am so thankful for all that has died so I can enjoy this moment."  "I am deeply honored that this body will die one day so that life will get to enjoy this moment too."  "I get to pass on this beautiful gift of self awareness."  

Remember, you have been cultivating more mindfulness in your life, hence, you are having these moments of Wonderment and Gratitude on top of the deeply peaceful horizontal line of Happiness.  Moments of Wonderment and Gratitude are happening more frequently.  Wonderment gives way to Gratitude which only deepens the Wonderment of the Life that you are.  Each time you mindfully experience Happiness or Wonderment or Gratitude you are watering beautiful seeds that will sprout at surprising moments.  It's during one of these surprises that Joy erupts.  It's like a geyser that springs forth.  You immediately beam a broad smile and tingle with radiating Joy.  Joy comes from Wonderment and Gratitude dancing together on the horizon of Happiness.

So the Buddha places Joy ahead of Happiness in steps 5 and 6 because we have been cultivating Happiness in our life, in our awareness.  Happiness is the long horizontal line that keeps us steady in our choice to be Mindful.  Our mindful practice offers us insight so we can become aware of Life and its interbeing.  This then leads us into Wonderment and Gratitude.  Those two dancing together causes Joy to erupt into our awareness.  Therefore, Step 5 must be discovering Joy.

Soon enough, the vertical Joy will settle and we again find ourselves Peaceful and Content with the long horizon of Happiness.  "Hello, Step 6.  I am glad Happiness is my home."  

Let's Water Seeds By Recognizing Life's Beauty

A few reminders for our meditation:

• Be Kind. Be Gentle. Be Loving.  

• Let your mind fill with all the experiences happening in your breathing and body.  Each one of those is happening in the moment.  As this happens, your breathing and your body will become one and your mind will enjoy the moment.

18 minutes meditation with bells at 2 mins.

As I breath in, I am aware of my full in breath. | As I breath out, I appreciate that I am aware of my breath.

Aware of Breath | Appreciate Awareness

Breathing In, I become aware of my whole body.  | Breathing out, I appreciate that I am aware of my body.

Aware of Body | Appreciate Awareness

Breathing in, I listen to my body and breathing as one motion. | Breathing out, I enjoy BEing.

Body and Breathing as One | Enjoy BEing

With a warm smile, I Kindly greet my self.  |  With Love, I invite all parts of me to release tensions.

Kindly Smile to Self | Release Tensions

I realize I have arrived in the Moment.  |  What a wonderful moment.

Arrive in Moment | Wonderful Moment

Breathing in, I realize all that I'm experiencing is Life.  |  Breathing out, I become grateful.

I am life.  |  I am Grateful

With my in breathe, I realize I am breathing in Life.  | With my out breath, I realize I'm breathing out Life.

Breathing Life  |  Life Breathing

I become aware Life is all around me.  |  I touch the Life within me.

Life around me  |  Touch Life Within

Breathing in, I realize I am Life Flowering.  |  Breathing out, I feel fresh.

Flower | Fresh

Invitation

As you go about your day, I invite you to find little moments of mindfulness to enjoy.