So often we look to external forces and blame them for our inability to experience true happiness.
When of course, the source for our dissatisfaction is always much closer to home.
Watch this 5-minute video to hear his Holiness, the Dalai Lama, explain why we need to be at peace with ourselves in order to achieve lasting happiness.
Here is the transcript (which has been slightly altered for simplicity):
“So the important thing is afflictive emotion.
Afflictive emotions are the ultimate enemy; or the source of suffering. Once afflictive emotions develop, within our mind, they immediately destroy our peace of mind and eventually destroy our health. And they also destroy our friendship with other people.
So all these negative activities, such as killing, bullying, cheating… All these negative actions come out of this afflictive emotion.
So that’s the real enemy. The destroyer of our peace. The destroyer of our fortune, and even our health.
An external enemy today maybe harmful to you, but the next day they may be very helpful. But the inner enemy, wherever you live, is always there.
An external enemy, we can escape from. But the inner enemy is with you, wherever you go. So this is the point now; we have to realize that.
So you see, the real destroyer of our happiness is always there… but what do we do now?
If there is, let’s say, low possibility for you to work on that, then you’d better forget it. There are better things!
But if there is a possibility to eliminate that enemy, then I think we must take this good opportunity – this is human body, human brain, human good heart. Combine these three things and try, to reduce and eventually eliminate the inner enemy.
So, according to Buddhist teaching, a human body is precious. Why? Because of human intelligence, and the shaping and changing our mind; not only through emotion, but mainly through intellect and reasoning.
So when you can connect your intellect, reasoning, and positive emotions (like compassion, forgiveness, and unconditional love), you can shape our inner world.
For so long, we are under the enemy’s control (our suffering, negative emotions), and there cannot be any permanent happiness. But once you develop some keen desire to overcome that enemy, that is the true realization of the aspiration to seek freedom, which is technically called renunciation in the Buddhist language.
So you see, this practice (our inner world) is the key practice.”
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