How to Become Happy

First, you need to understand what happiness is.
If you do not define it based on understanding, even things that could be fulfilled will not be.
For example, just as someone who does not know a curry recipe
cannot make curry, things are only understood
once they are defined.

The Definition of Happiness

So, I would like to start with the definitions of happiness and unhappiness, and if we define happiness, it is the intensity of gratitude for being satisfied with the current situation.

Unhappiness and Dissatisfaction Are Different

Also, unhappiness occurs when you feel dissatisfied because your desires or the things you wanted were not obtained equally. People confuse this with unhappiness.
Dissatisfaction and unhappiness are different languages and are different things.
Therefore, when people in the past felt emotions close to dissatisfaction, they called it a state where there is a calamity in the heart.
It is a state where there are negative emotions like jealousy or worldly desires.

Happiness Is Invisible

Saying you want to become happy is a mistake.
Saying you are happy is correct.

People say they want to obtain happiness, but that is a mistake.
Happiness is not something visible that can be obtained,
and it is not sold in supermarkets or department stores.

There are many people who try to see invisible happiness, try to obtain the wrong kind of happiness, and end up unhappy.

For example, working recklessly for the happiness of the family,
earning money, neglecting the family, and failing at child-rearing,
or ending up in a divorce in middle age.

This is the result of a mistaken view of happiness that says if you have money, you will be happy.

Happiness is not found in special scenery.
Happiness is found in very ordinary daily life.
It is strange to say you want to become happy or obtain it when you should originally be happy right now.

Having Consciousness

When I visit a shrine, I always say, "Thank you for giving me consciousness."
First of all, because I have consciousness, I can perceive and recognize things.

Experiencing growth or success, feeling joy, anger, or sadness,
is possible because you have consciousness, allowing you to have such wonderful experiences.

If both fortune and calamity can be experienced because you have consciousness, if you can be grateful for being given consciousness, then even hardships become dear,
and the word for "grateful" (arigatai) exists because there are difficulties (nan).
Being able to be grateful is the foundation of happiness.

You often think that person looks happy, but
the reality is very often different.

A woman who looks wealthy, dressed head-to-toe in Gucci.
But, due to high self-esteem, self-defense to avoid being looked down upon by others, or becoming a shopping addict because she is not fulfilled at home, the information on the surface is not everything.
Politicians, celebrities—if you look into it, there are countless such cases.
Happiness is not objective; it is subjective.

It is a belief and self-satisfaction, so happiness and unhappiness are not antonyms.
The opposite word of happiness is "taken for granted."
Taking things for granted and not being grateful is the opposite of happiness.
Also, what is easily confused is "misfortune" (fugu).

Misfortune means not being blessed by the environment, but saying "I am unhappy because my family is poor"

is a mistake; that is misfortune (fugu), not unhappiness (fukou).
Just because you are not blessed by the environment does not mean you are absolutely unhappy.
Happiness is also the power to carve out a path from such misfortune.

It has nothing to do with not being able to be happy because of misfortune.
Happiness is not swayed by the environment.