The Buddha on happiness

Patience interrupted the cycle of anger

In the Dhammapada, he taught that responding to hostility with more hostility prolonged it. Calm, patience and kindness offered a different response. His account of happiness therefore covered how people treated others, rather than only how they felt within themselves.

Training could not be handed over

He held each person responsible for their own training and taught that nobody could purify another. Wise companions supported that effort, but did not replace it. Progress toward calm required personal attention and effort rather than dependence on another person's achievements.

Careful attention mattered in daily life

The Dhammapada contrasted an attentive life with one spent drifting. Its image of an archer straightening an arrow made mental training concrete: the mind needed care and correction. He treated awareness as an active practice, not merely a passing peaceful feeling.

Mer av the Buddha