Monday, May 08, 2006

The experiences that you normally regard as pleasurable and happy

Generally, the experiences that you normally regard as pleasurable and happy, such as having the physical comfort of good facilities and so forth, if they are examined at a deeper level, will be revealed to be changeable and therefore in the nature of suffering. They provide you with temporary satisfaction; because of that temporary satisfaction you regard them as experiences of happiness. But if you keep on pursuing them, they will again lead to the experience of suffering. Most of these pleasurable experiences are not really happiness in the true sense of the word, but only appear as pleasure and happiness in comparison to the obvious sufferings that you have.

--H.H. the Dalai Lama, Path to Bliss: A Practical Guide to Stages of Meditation, Snow Lion

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