Expert: Justin Choo - 1/6/2010

Question
what does peace mean in Buddhism?
what does happiness mean in Buddhism?
how to achieve peace and happiness?
peace and happiness important in Buddhism?compare to other things?

Answer
Hi Miki,

"what does peace mean in Buddhism?"
The Buddha spoke about inner peace.  Peace inside oneself, where the mind is contented and in equanimity. In a normal, average person, it is the degree of inner peace that he can feel, and also at different times and under different circumstances.  When we have lots of problems, we certainly cannot feel "peace".  Also, when we have lots of greed, hatred, and delusion in life, our minds will be very aggitated and we will not feel the peace in us.   


"what does happiness mean in Buddhism?"
What is the basis of happiness? In common term, the basis of happiness is the presence of specific factors which make us happy. The most classic example will be having lots of money. Once this condition is present, the person will immediately feel a sense of happiness. After a certain period, this condition of just having money is no longer the main factor for his happiness. He will have to seek new factors to experience new happiness, like having a new house, new cars, and other things. Once these are fulfilled, the law of diminishing returns sets in; together with boredom. These conditions which previously generate lots of happiness are now stale. If no new conditions are satisfied, then the person will no longer experience the happiness again. In short, "happiness" is a "conditioned" experience. Without the prerequisite condition, happiness will not appear. The Buddha warned that all conditioned things are transient, they cannot last forever. Anyone who seeks or chases after happiness will be very disappointed in the end. However, this does not mean that a person should not be happy when conditions are right. The warning is that at any time these happy conditions may change. To an uninitiated person the absence of such happy conditions or the presence of negative conditions will trigger a state of unhappiness. The wise Buddhist approach to life is to be contented with the things we have, be happy when conditions are right, and be careful when conditions are not right. We have to ride through the waves of living conditions, the ups and the downs. In so doing, we live a guarded contented life. Since happiness is a conditioned state of mind, we cannot be happy if sad events occur. To be happy when our loved one dies is madness.


"how to achieve peace and happiness?"
This has been partly answered above.  If a person is very lucky to live a life of plenty without much problem, he will enjoy happiness most of the time.  Most happy conditions are present in his life.  So no problem.  However, most of us are not so lucky.  It is up to us to cultivate the right approach and right attitude towards responding to the various vicissitudes of life.  It is not easy.  I too failed most of the time, when unhappy conditions strike me.  It is not easy not to feel unhappy when unhappy events strike us.  It takes a lot of training the mind and discipline to stay equanimous when faced with unhappy events.

To give you a direct answer; to achieve peace (inner peace) one needs to reduce greed, hatred and delusion in life.  With less negative and hateful thoughts, one will eventually experience more peace inside oneself.  As for happiness, be contented with what you already have. This will result in one becoming less unhappy.  This does not mean that one should not seek greater things in life.  Just enjoy what you already have, and at the same time continue to improve your life.


"peace and happiness important in Buddhism?compare to other things?"
It is indeed most important that one should have peace and happiness.  I don't know for the other religions, but common sense will say "yes".

Hope this helps.

Take care.

Justin Choo