(picfor.me)The 26 Happiest Animals In The World
(BuzzFeed.com) Here are some ridiculously happy animals who have clearly figured something out that they will [we hope] share with the rest of us when they are done frolicking or whatever.
What does it mean to be happy?
Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly
What is happiness (sukha), and is it limited to humans? It is contentment, appreciation, and joy in spite of one's circumstances. If it depends on circumstances, it will soon change according to the Mark of Existence anicca (flux, transience, impermanence).
Buddhism aims at happiness and greater happiness. But because it frames it as "ending suffering" or the cessation of disappointment, it is cast as negative. The framing is a function of Pali and Sanskrit because the Buddha was often speaking of expansive categories. What falls into the definition of "suffering"?
Happiness and unhappiness affect all living beings, and there is no need for anthropomorphizing to find it.Crying, sadness, dejection, disappointment, distress, worry, pain, illness, aging, death... all come under the single term asukha, nonhappiness. It is called dukkha, things being "not quite right," "off-center," "off-kilter." The Four Noble Truths begin this way, but also include the greatest happiness, nirvana, and the path to nirvana.
Crying, sadness, dejection, disappointment, distress, worry, pain, illness, aging, death... all come under the single term asukha, nonhappiness. It is called dukkha, things being "not quite right," "off-center," "off-kilter." The Four Noble Truths begin this way, but also include the greatest happiness, nirvana, and the path to nirvana.
In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, Douglas Adams observes that most independent observers agree that dolphins are the smartest and happiest beings on the planet. Their brains are bigger and their lives, apparently, are easier. After all, what do they do but muck about in the water all day playing, eating, and socializing, while humans slave away in cities, choking on smog, polluting the planet, chasing paper, making war, and being utterly miserable?
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