“He who does no harm to beings who longs for happiness, will find it for himself.”

“He who does no harm to beings…”

Most of us don’t deliberately seek to cause harm. In fact, many harmful acts occur through carelessness or negligence. Have we ever accidentally bumped into someone in a crowded supermarket muttering “Sorry, didn’t see you!”

‘Not seeing’ is the root of the problem. We are often asleep in the dream of ‘me.’ This ‘I’ is preoccupied with fantasies mainly concerned with my happiness.

The Buddha taught that the ‘I’ is constantly nurtured through such musings driven by the force of strong emotion. Until ‘I’ am emptied out, there can be no direct communion with the lonely neighbour waving on the opposite side of the street or the broken glass littering the pavement.

“… who longs for happiness…”

As children, we read stories that invariably ended with ‘and they lived happily ever after’. As we mature, we aspire to the same goal. We often, however, confuse happiness with gratification. We ruthlessly chase after it through possessions, relationships and ideas. The Buddha taught that all these are transitory. Possessions wear out. There is often conflict in relationships. Ideas change. The loss of such acquisitions causes us distress. Ultimately, they fail to assuage the deep longing of the heart.

“… will find it for himself”.

King Pasenadi remarked that the Buddhist monks always looked “very joyful, very exultant, contented and cheerful”. The secret of such joy is discovered in following the Buddha’s Path which he promised leads out of suffering. The path involves diving right down into our feelings of unease whether in the form of longing, hating or worrying.

After the covid pandemic, many of us had a longer than usual wait for hospital appointments. During this period, I developed symptoms that needed investigating. One day during zazen, the thought arose concerning what may be revealed. This was followed by a wave of anxiety which drove more thoughts. It wasn’t long before I was lost in self- concern. Suddenly there was the realisation that this was the path to unhappiness.

The Zen Way is to recognise such emotion as fear, to greet it and invite it to work on ‘me’. Then the spaciousness of ‘Choiceless Awareness’ opens. With ‘me’ out of the way, fear also vanishes. Joy arises naturally.

Throughout the two months wait for the hospital appointment, all that was necessary was to wholeheartedly give myself into whatever was arising in each moment. Compassion arose for all those also waiting.

In the following story Miserable Beggar seeks self- gratification. Cheerful Beggar accepts whatever occurs.

In Lhasa there were two beggars. One was greedy and self-centred. He was called Miserable Beggar. The other was kind and contented. He was called Cheerful Beggar. The news broke that a rich man was holding a grand feast for all the Lamas from the local monastery. Miserable Beggar announced that he intended to go post haste to the rich man’s house to grab some food before the Lamas arrived. Cheerful Beggar said there was no hurry. He would wait until the Lamas had had their fill.

Miserable Beggar sneered at these words. He said there would be no point in going later because all the food would have gone. He hurried off and sat at the entrance of the rich man’s house. He shouted ‘Im starving, give me some food’. The guards, however, told him to move on as the Lamas were to be served first. Miserable Beggar was furious and snarled at them but to no avail. With a scowl on his face, carrying his empty bowl, he joined Cheerful Beggar.

Cheerful Beggar was still sitting peacefully. Miserable Beggar began to complain. He said it was a complete waste of time going to the rich man’s house. Everyone there was selfish and mean. Cheerful Beggar told him not to be angry. He said he would wait until the feast was over. When he saw the Lamas returning to the monastery, he walked up to the rich man’s house. He humbly sat down outside and waited. The guards were touched by his peaceful gaze. Without being asked they filled his bowl with delicious food. Cheerful Beggar blessed them and expressed his deep gratitude. He took the food back to share the food with Miserable Beggar who was amazed.

When ‘I’ am emptied out, the beauty of the world fills the heart, as Cheerful Beggar’s bowl was filled. The birds, the flowers are ‘seen’. We participate joyfully in their lives.

John Keats wrote:

“The setting sun will always set me to rights - or if a sparrow comes before my window I take part in its existence and pick about the gravel.”