Until it becomes a 'Theory of Happiness' — ①
The Mystery of Happiness
There are many words written about happiness. Even though being happy is one of life's most important themes, it is not easy to express what happiness is. This fact has given rise to countless discourses on the subject. And so, even now, we live our lives wanting to be happy while leaving what happiness actually is ambiguous. Or so it feels. Happiness is difficult.
Masahiko Shimada — '100 Minutes on Masterpieces: Let's Think About Happiness'
According to Masahiko Shimada, who wrote an article with the heading 'Happiness is enlightenment after renunciation,' what a person must do ultimately boils down to three things: to be born, to die, and to love in between. However, that doesn't quite resonate with me. 'To love'...?
Before that, I wonder if there is really anything a person 'must do.' Wouldn't it be more natural to call being born and dying 'states of being' rather than things one 'must do'? If we likewise view loving as a human 'state of being,' then the enlightenment connected to it must also be inseparable from suffering. In Buddhism, love is a symbol of that which can never be fulfilled within oneself, and it is also the source of the pain of separation.
Happiness is broader than love. Or so it feels. Because there are times when I feel happy while looking at something that has no meaning, without thinking about anything in particular. Like when I find a medaka fish swimming in water where a light rain is falling, or when I listen to the sound of dead leaves being crushed under my feet while walking on a winter-withered mountain path behind my house.
Shuntaro Tanikawa — 'On Happiness'
I don't really like summarizing living with the word 'life.' That's why I don't like theories of life either. I believe life is something to be lived in the flesh, not something to be discussed in words, but thinking about living and writing about it in words is also a part of living, just like drinking or eating. I wonder if this book will be classified as a theory of life in libraries too.
Because words are accompanied by meaning, it is easy to become unhappy. Because music has no meaning, it is easy to become happy.
The word happiness, 'truth be told,' is unnecessary.
Perhaps there is no happiness beyond the question of what happiness is. Yet, on the other hand, the word happiness exists and means something.
Yutaka Haniya — 'I Believe Because It Is Irrational'
A person's enlightenment is like a die. A six has come up, now, go ahead and make a sour face.
Does this mean that what we see when we define the meaning of happiness is also just one side of a die?
I am documenting the process of thinking about happiness in preparation for the talk and live event 'Rhino's Horn, Fourth Night: Theory of Happiness,' scheduled for November 2025.
< The "Rhinoceros Horn" so far >
いいなと思ったら応援しよう！
精進します……！
合掌。礼拝。ライフ・ゴーズ・オン。