Pleasure Is Different Than Happiness

Dorian Gray, or perhaps Oscar Wilde once said that pleasure is different than happiness.

Aristotle said “Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” [1]

According to Buddhist teachings, there are two types of happiness, relative and absolute. Relative happiness is temporary, while absolute happiness is permanent. The key is to learn the difference. Many people make the mistake of believing that they cannot be happy in this lifetime and decide they must wait until they reach heaven or some other type of afterlife. However, this is simply not the case. Often, people look for happiness in the wrong place. They believe someone or something else is required to make them happy, yet when that person or source of happiness is taken away, they plunge into the depths of misery, and never really understand what true happiness is.

People confuse happiness for many different things: a soulmate/lover/husband or wife/boyfriend or girlfriend/drugs/car/house/job/the list goes on. Yet, according to Buddhist teachings, happiness can only be found within one’s own life and no one else can give it to us.

Notes

[1] Aristotle [https://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/aristotle/]