A few days ago I thought really hard to find out the real meaning of the phrase “Happy New Year.” Let’s start with the word “Happiness.” Happiness is our daily goal, the quest of sense pleasures, material prosperity, dhamma, and letting go. People seek these things with their hungry mind, the mind of greed. Why? Because they think sense pleasures, material prosperity, dhamma, and letting go will bring them happiness so they set the standard for happiness based on those things. Isn’t that true? Yes, it is true. But happiness does not come from sense pleasures, material prosperity, etc. The real happiness comes from the utilization of one’s right intention (Yonisomanasikara) as it offers us a skillful and well-directed mind in our daily life.
So what is right intention? It is the reason for great skillful mind (maha-kusala citta) arising. Only great skillful mind can bring us happiness. Let’s examine the explanation in the Supplementary of the Dhammasangani:
In a javana, (or running through the object) great skillful mind includes these elements:
(Quality) Skillful, peaceful
(Function) Destroy immoral in actions
(Showing) Purity
(Reason) Right intention (DhsA 105)
Although we seek real happiness from the Dhamma and letting go, if we don’t know how to use our right intention, real happiness may not happen, as our mind is still impure and full of grasping. Therefore we have to develop our right intention. According to the Buddha’s teaching, a person gone forth should often reflect: 'What am I becoming as the days and nights fly past?” (Anguttara Nikaya, Dasadhamma Sutta - AN X.48)
(Note: This part I translated based on the Sutta AN X. 48 as the Vietnamese version is different and it is not close to the Buddha’s teaching. The Vietnamese version goes like this: Every day and night passed by what did we do? And the reference is from the Middle Length Discourse and the title of the Sutta is Reflection Sutta which I don’t recognize.)
In the same way, looking back over the past year I wonder: “How did the year 2008 pass by me? And, “New Year” warns me that this body grows older and this is an obvious truth. Age increases with the calendar years, doesn’t it? I wonder: “Now, my body is older but is my mind as old as my age?” Because of our ignorance, and greed, our mind never gets a chance to develop as equally as our age. While our hair turns grey, we never get rid off the worldly material like cosmetics, new vehicles, lipstick, high heeled shoes, and fancy clothes, but we attach to them to create temptation. We rejuvenate this body to match the worldly qualities but that is the sign of a wrongful, immature mind.
What about the Bhikkhus? It’s the same. Despite the fact they are old because of their ages, they are still weak, and immature if they’re still enslaved and impatient in their life, satisfactorily accept the respect from people, forget practicing three categories of training: moralities, concentration, and wisdom, and attach to their important situation or high position in the temple. These things come from ignorance, greed, and the nature of a weak and immature mind.
“A man is not an Elder
Though his head be grey,
He's just fully ripe in years,
"Aged-in-vain" he's called.”
(Dhammapada, verse 260)
According to the Buddha’s teaching, because of ignorance, and greed, our mind is not right and mature. Therefore, we have to train our mind by continuously practising three categories of training: moralities, concentration, and wisdom. With right intention in every action, thought, and speech, we will develop our mind better. That is true happiness. That is my thinking about the meaning of a “Happy New Year.” In the New Year, let’s use our right intention to develop a mature mind as this is the only way to attain real happiness. And that is the way that I will live in the coming year 2009.
In the New Year, I wish you all a mature, great skillful mind as well as right intention so that you can attain real happiness.
May all be peaceful and happy in the New Year.
Bhikkhu Dhammapala
(Pa-Auk Forest Monastery, Myanmar)
Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam, 17/01/2009
Translated into English by Sumana
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