What do we mean by happiness? There may be as many answers to that as there are stars in the night sky, everyone has their own idea of what makes them happy, and equally what doesn’t.
Maybe it is the love of a partner, being part of a family, the pay cheque at the end of the month or that new car you had always promised yourself. Whatever your idea of happiness, we all crave more of it.
We can probably agree that it is all too often a transitory state, punctuated by periods where we are unhappy, or at least a bit glum. So what would you give to have more of this illusive life-state, and how can you go about achieving a happier life?
Well speaking personally, I can almost guarantee happiness from my Buddhist practice. That might sound a little trite or even rather far-fetched, but for me it is true. My practice helps me see life from all angles, the ups and downs, from my view-point and from that of others, and it ‘smoothes’ out the emotional bumps we encounter each and every day.
The idea at the very core of Buddhism is the removal of suffering, and that in itself helps us to be happier. Seeing the beauty in nature, the best facets of another’s personality, the joy in helping others, happiness is there for us all, all of the time and all around us. Living a life that is more concerned with others than ourselves, giving more than we take, and so on, will also bring feelings of happiness. All we have to do is look out for it.
Living in a society that is more concerned about what we own, than who we really are, we all struggle to put those ideas into action. We hear about people earning ridiculous sums, whilst providing little by way of return, and wonder how they can live with the guilt. If society valued the good in people more than the goods of people, the world would be a much fairer, happier place.
Whatever flavour your own happiness comes in, I wish you more of it, now and in the future. And when it arrives, please make sure that you share it around. That way you will find it grows and grows, and that it lasts just that little bit longer.
The title and the very purpose of this blog, is to record events that accompany me along my path to enlightenment. Far from being a pipe dream or vague wistful notion, Nichiren Daishonin set out the very simple, practical method for attaining enlightenment, and hence Buddhahood, within this lifetime. 
Following on from my post about change yesterday, I thought this may help us to make the changes we wish to see in our lives.
In his writings, regarding Buddhist practice, Nichiren repeatedly emphasized the importance of the heart. 
When life doesn’t go quite as smoothly as we would like, we might be tempted to feel that we are being singled out, or being forced to suffer unduly. Taking a different view point, we see that everyone is subject to similar trials and challenges at one time or another.
There are times when we need to be reminded of the important things in life. When distractions come along it’s all too easy to get side tracked and let our focus slip. It isn’t that we forget that our Practice is the centre of our lives, it’s just that sometimes life itself can get in the way, albeit temporarily. 
Since starting the medication prescribed by my doctor on Monday, my cough seems to have been getting better day by day. But as with many things in life, with a little progress also comes the odd setback, and so it was today.
Despite having the best antibiotics money can buy, and upping the chanting to levels barely covered by the latest health and safety directives, this flippin’ cough is hanging on in a most tenacious manner.
After the initial question “do you chant?” we are then asked “what do you chant?” followed closely by “how long do you chant?” and almost certainly “what does it mean?“. After a little practice, no pun intended, most people can master the phrase Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, but explaining why we chant it, and what it means may take a little longer.
The Search For Enlightenment 
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