What is Happiness? (Wisdom of Daisaku Ikeda)

What is the purpose of life? It is to become happy. Whatever country or society people live in, they all have the same deep desire: to become happy.

Yet, there are few ideals as difficult to grasp as that of happiness. In our daily life we constantly experience happiness and unhappiness, but we are still quite ignorant as to what happiness really is.

A young friend of mine once spent a long time trying to work out what happiness was, particularly happiness for women. When she first thought about happiness she saw it as a matter of becoming financially secure or getting married. (The view in Japanese society then was that happiness for a woman was only to be found in marriage.) But looking at friends who were married, she realized that marriage didn't necessarily guarantee happiness.

She saw couples who had been passionately in love suffering from discord soon after their wedding. She saw women who had married men with money or status but who fought constantly with their husbands.

Gradually, she realized that the secret of happiness lay in building a strong inner self that no trial or hardship could ruin. She saw that happiness for anyone - man or woman - does not come simply from having a formal education, from wealth or from marriage. It begins with having the strength to confront and conquer one's own weaknesses. Only then does it become possible to lead a truly happy life and enjoy a successful marriage.

She finally told me, "Now I can say with confidence that happiness doesn't exist in the past or in the future. It only exists within our state of life right now, here in the present, as we face the challenges of daily life."

I agree entirely. You yourself know best whether you are feeling joy or struggling with suffering. These things are not known to other people. Even a man who has great wealth, social recognition and many awards may still be shadowed by indescribable suffering deep in his heart. On the other hand, an elderly woman who is not fortunate financially, leading a simple life alone, may feel the sun of joy and happiness rising in her heart each day.

Happiness is not a life without problems, but rather the strength to overcome the problems that come our way. There is no such thing as a problem-free life; difficulties are unavoidable. But how we experience and react to our problems depends on us. Buddhism teaches that we are each responsible for our own happiness or unhappiness. Our vitality - the amount of energy or "life-force" we have - is in fact the single most important factor in determining whether or not we are happy.

True happiness is to be found within, in the state of our hearts. It does not exist on the far side of some distant mountains. It is within you, yourself. However much you try, you can never run away from yourself. And if you are weak, suffering will follow you wherever you go. You will never find happiness if you don't challenge your weaknesses and change yourself from within.

Happiness is to be found in the dynamism and energy of your own life as you struggle to overcome one obstacle after another. This is why I believe that a person who is active and free from fear is truly happy.

The challenges we face in life can be compared to a tall mountain, rising before a mountain climber. For someone who has not trained properly, whose muscles and reflexes are weak and slow, every inch of the climb will be filled with terror and pain. The exact same climb, however, will be a thrilling journey for someone who is prepared, whose legs and arms have been strengthened by constant training. With each step forward and up, beautiful new views will come into sight.

My teacher used to talk about two kinds of happiness - "relative" and "absolute" happiness. Relative happiness is happiness that depends on things outside ourselves: friends and family, surroundings, the size of our home or family income.

This is what we feel when a desire is fulfilled, or something we have longed for is obtained. While the happiness such things bring us is certainly real, the fact is that none of this lasts forever. Things change. People change. This kind of happiness shatters easily when external conditions alter.

Relative happiness is also based on comparison with others. We may feel this kind of happiness at having a newer or bigger home than the neighbors. But that feeling turns to misery the moment they start making new additions to theirs!

Absolute happiness, on the other hand, is something we must find within. It means establishing a state of life in which we are never defeated by trials and where just being alive is a source of great joy. This persists no matter what we might be lacking, or what might happen around us. A deep sense of joy is something which can only exist in the innermost reaches of our life, and which cannot be destroyed by any external forces. It is eternal and inexhaustible.

This kind of satisfaction is to be found in consistent and repeated effort, so that we can say, "Today, again, I did my very best. Today, again, I have no regrets. Today, again, I won." The accumulated result of such efforts is a life of great victory.

What we should compare is not ourselves against others. We should compare who we are today against who we were yesterday, who we are today against who we will be tomorrow. While this may seem simple and obvious, true happiness is found in a life of constant advancement. And the same worries that could have made us miserable can actually be a source of growth when we approach them with courage and wisdom.

One friend whose dramatic life proved this was Natalia Satz, who founded the first children's theater in Moscow. In the 1930s, she and her husband were marked by Soviet Union's secret police. Even though they were guilty of no crime, her husband was arrested and executed and she was sent to a prison camp in the frozen depths of Siberia.

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After she recovered from the initial shock, she started looking at her situation, not with despair, but for opportunity. She realized that many of her fellow prisoners had special skills and talents. She began organizing a "university," encouraging the prisoners to share their knowledge. "You. You are a scientist. Teach us about science. You are an artist. Talk to us about art."

In this way, the boredom and terror of the prison camp were transformed into the joy of learning and teaching. Eventually, Mrs. Satz even made use of her own unique talents to organize a theater group. She survived the five-year prison sentence, and dedicated the rest of her long life to creating children's theater. When we met for the first time in Moscow in 1981, she was already in her 80s. She was as radiant and buoyant as a young girl. Her smile was the smile of someone who has triumphed over the hardships of life. Hers is the kind of spirit I had in mind when I wrote the following poem on "Happiness":

A person with a vast heart is happy.

Such a person lives each day with a broad and embracing spirit.

A person with a strong will is happy.

Such a person can confidently enjoy life, never defeated by suffering.

A person with a profound spirit is happy.

Such a person can savor life's depths

while creating meaning and value that will last for eternity.

A person with a pure mind is happy.

Such a person is always surrounded by refreshing breezes of joy.
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(Abstract from http://www.ikedaquotes.org/what-is-happiness)

The 9 Habits of Highly Healthy People

By Jonny Bowden

For years, business and motivational gurus have known that there are basic habits that seem to predict professional success and excellence. Books like“The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, by motivational speaker and business guru Stephen Covey, PhD has sold over 15 million copies alone, to people hungry for the secrets of success.

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We don’t yet have the perfect formula for long life, happiness and physical health, but a little careful distillation of the massive amount of research on health and longevity reveals that cultivating nine basic habits will significantly increase the odds of your living long, well and happily, in a robust, healthy, weight-appropriate body.

1. Eat your vegetables. No kidding. And I’m talking at least 9 servings a day.. Unless you’re following the most stringent first stage of the Atkins Diet, you should be able to consume 60-120 grams of carbs a day (depending on your weight and exercise level), and you’d have to eat a stockyard full of spinach to get to that amount. Every major study of long-lived, healthy people shows that they eat a ton of plant foods. Nothing delivers antioxidants, fiber, flavonoids, indoles, and the entire pharmacopia of disease fighting phytochemicals like stuff that grows.

2. Eat fish and/or take fish oil. The Omega-3’s found in cold-water fish like salmon deserve the title of “wellness molecule of the century”. They lower the risk of heart disease, they lower blood pressure, they improve mood and they’re good for the brain. And if you’re pregnant, they may make your kid smarter!

3. Connect. And I’m not talking about the internet. In virtually every study of people who are healthy and happy into their 9th and 10th decade, social connections are one of the “prime movers” in their life. Whether church, family, volunteer work or community, finding something you care about that’s bigger than you that you can connect with and that involves other people (or animals) will extend your life, increase your energy, and make you happier. Only always.

4. Get some sun. At least 10-15 minutes three times a week. Interestingly, a recent study of four places in the globe where people lived the longest and were the healthiest noted that all four places were in sunny climates. Sun improves your mood and boosts levels of cancer-fighting, performance-enhancing, bone-strengthening vitamin D, a vitamin most people don’t get nearly enough of.

5. Sleep Well. If you’re low in energy, gaining weight, grumpy and looking haggard, guess what?- chances are you’re not sleeping nearly long enough nor well enough. By sleeping “well”, I mean uninterrupted sleep, in the dark, without the television on, in a relaxing environment. Nothing nourishes, replenishes and restarts the system like 7-9 hours sleep. Hint: start by going to bed an hour early. And if you’ve got a computer in the bedroom, banish it.

6. Exercise every day. Forget this 20 minutes three times a week stuff. Long lived people are doing things like farm chores at 4:30 in the morning! Our Paleolithic ancestors traveled an average of 20 miles per day. Our bodies were designed to move on a regular basis. New studies show that merely 30 minutes a day of walking not only reduces the risk of most serious diseases, but can even grow new brain cells!

7. Practice Gratitude. By making a list of things you’re grateful for, you focus the brain on positive energy. Gratitude is incompatable with anger and stress. Practice using your under-utilized “right brain” and spread some love. Focusing on what you’re grateful for- even for five minutes a day- has the added benefit of being one of the best stress-reduction techniques on the planet.

8. Drink red wine or eat grapes. The resveratrol in dark grapes is being studied for its effect on extending life, which it seems to do for almost every species studied. (So does eating about 1/3 less food, by the way.) If you’ve got a problem with alcohol, you can get resveratrol from grapes, peanuts or supplements. (And if you’re a woman, and you choose the alcohol option, make sure you’re getting folic acid every day.)

9. Get the sugar out. The number one enemy of vitality, health and longevity is not fat, it’s sugar. Sugar’s effect on hormones, moods, immunity, weight and possibly even cancer cells is enormous, and it’s all negative. To the extent that you can remove it from your diet, you will be adding years to your life and life to your years.

This list may not be perfect and it may not be complete, but it’s a start. As my dear grandmother used to say, “Couldn’t hurt”. Not one of these “habits” will hurt you, all will benefit you, and some may make the difference between life and death.

And it’s never too late to start cultivating them.

Enjoy the journey!

Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS is the author of the Poliquin Manual for Nutrition. He's a board certified nutritionist, a nationally known expert on weight loss, health and nutrition, and the best-selling author of 8 books including “The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth”. Visit him at www.jonnybowden.com

Correct Way to Cook Instant Noodles

The correct way to cook instant noodles without harming our bodies and health.

Normally, how we cook the instant noodles is to put the noodles into a pot with water, throw in the powder and let it cook for around 3 minutes and then it's ready to eat.

This is the WRONG method of cooking the instant noodles.

By doing this, when we actually boil the ingredients in the powder, normally with MSG, it will change the molecular structures of the MSG causing it to be toxic.

The other thing that you may or may not realize is that, the noodles are coated with wax and it will take around 4 to 5 days for the body to excrete the wax after you have taken the noodles.

CORRECT METHOD:

1. Boil the noodles in a pot with water.

2. Once the noodles is cooked, take out the noodles, and throw away the water which contains wax.

3. Boil another pot of water till boiling and put the noodles into the hot boiling water and then shut off the fire.

4. Only at this stage when the fire is off, and while the water is still hot, put the ingredient with the powder into the water to make noodle soup.

5. However, if you need dry noodles, take out the noodles and add the ingredient with the powder and toss it to get dry noodles.

Dietician's Note:

A large number of patient with the ages ranging from 18-24 years are ending up with pancreatitis(胰腺炎) either as a swelling or infection of the pancreas due to regular consumption of instant noodles... If the frequency is more than 3 times a week, then it is very hazardous...
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(Courtesy of forwarded mail from Chan Chun Mun)

Lady Finger's Treatment for Diabetes

Last month in one of TV programs I learnt of a treatment of Sugar (Diabetes). Since I am diabetic, I tried it and it was very useful and my Sugar is in control now. In fact I have already reduced my medicine.

Take two pieces of Lady Finger (Bhindi) and remove/cut both ends of each piece. Also put a small cut in the middle and put these two pieces in glass of water. Cover the glass and keep it at room temperature during night. Early morning, before breakfast simply remove two pieces of lady finger (bhindi) from the glass and drink that water.

Keep doing it on daily basis.

Within two weeks, you will see remarkable results in reduction of your SUGAR.

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My sister has got rid of her diabetes. She was on Insulin for a few years, but after taking the lady fingers every morning for a few months, she has stopped Insulin but continues to take the lady fingers everyday. But she chops the lady fingers into fine pieces in the night, adds the water and drinks it all up the next morning.

Please try it as it will not do you any harm even if it does not do much good to you, but you have to keep taking it for a few months before you see results, as most cases might be chronic.

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Please note that another name for Lady Finger (Bhindi) is "OKRA".

(Courtesy of forwarded mail from Eric Pok)

Further reading recommended: Open Discussion Forums http://www.knowledgesutra.com/forums/topic/63659-lady-finger-for-diabetes/

Are You Happy?

Inside the Wave

This photographer is from Oahu, Hawaii and he is gaining international fame. He's a surfer himself and often gets wiped out just getting the shot, and you can see why!

These incredible images of waves were taken by the Number One Photographer of Surf… Clark Little. He has dedicated his life to photographing the waves and has published a selection of the best images of his career.

He captures magical moments inside the "tube", as surfers say.

Sun... Glints off wave
Sand... In surf
Tubular... Shining
Beach... Surf crashes down
Molten... Liquid gold
White... Tumultuous water

Splash... Stunning shot

Red... Mysterious shot

Break... Wave crashes down

What a Magical Wave!

(Courtesy of a forwarded mail from Josephine Wong)

A Farewell Letter from a Genius

(Courtesy of a forwarded mail from Chan Chun Mun)