Happiness in Austerity – Buddha
I was introduced to the teachings of Buddha for the first time when I was in middle school. Those days the ‘eight fold path’ to salvation was just another chapter in my history book. As years went by I realized that every religion offered some check points to regulate the conduct of humans in the society, be it Vedas in Hinduism or Ten Commandments in Christianity. Every religion prescribed almost the same techniques to attain freedom from shackles of life. However, one thing which caught my attention in Buddha’s teachings was his emphasis on ‘happiness in austerity’. All of us want to be surrounded by good people and live happier and joyful lives but the fact remains that we hardly get to learn anything from such happy moments. It’s only the bad time which helps us evolve spiritually and makes us wiser. It only happens in the darkest hour of our life that we shut the doors to the outside world and turn inward. It seems highly impractical, insensitive and unrealistic to ask someone to treat the most horrible and soul wrenching moment of his life as a blessing in disguise but …that’s what it is IN FACT.
