Q. My question is regarding happiness. Most of the time, I find myself seeking something, but I do not know exactly what it is that I am looking for. Is just feeling happy a practice in itself?

A. You may feel happy during your practice because you can escape from the challenges causing you agonies by directing your attention to practice away from your sufferings, but it is not the essence of Zen meditation. This is not different from drinking, or gambling in that you can enjoy temporary happiness while indulging in them by forgetting your suffering.

Struggling to achieve something we don’t know; what it is like and where it is, is said to be being deluded by illusions. The core of Zen meditation is to realise who is seeking what. I’d like to advise you to try to realise what the essence of your being is by seeing everything just as it is. When you have realised it, what you are seeking will be seen clearly before you.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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