10,000 Hours To Happiness

[garro]

I was just surfing some Buddhist websites and came across the following article;

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_brit...icle2171679.ece

It would seem to suggest that hapiness is just 10,000 meditation hours away.

What do you guys think?

[meadish_sweetball]

There are 8760 hours in a year.

3 hours per day is 1095 hours per year.

I'll let you know in just under 10 years.

[camerata]

In a more detailed report of this study I remember they said it was metta meditation the monks had been doing. If that's the case, I think they would be pretty happy after 10,000 hours.

[chownah]

The Buddha did not teach that happiness was the goal.

[garro]

The Buddha did not teach that happiness was the goal.

You are correct but I think it is a nice side effect so long as it isn't attached to.

[chownah]

The Buddha did not teach that happiness was the goal.

You are correct but I think it is a nice side effect so long as it isn't attached to.

Yeah....its sad when people teach side effects instead of the real deal.

Chownah

[jumnien]

The Buddha did not teach that happiness was the goal.

You are correct but I think it is a nice side effect so long as it isn't attached to.

Yeah....its sad when people teach side effects instead of the real deal.

Chownah

Is it happiness? Is it sad? It is everything and it is nothing. Ah, the 10,000 joys and sorrows....

[garro]

The Buddha did not teach that happiness was the goal.

You are correct but I think it is a nice side effect so long as it isn't attached to.

Yeah....its sad when people teach side effects instead of the real deal.

Chownah

Is it happiness? Is it sad? It is everything and it is nothing. Ah, the 10,000 joys and sorrows....

I spent quite a bit of today listening to an audio talk by your mentor Ajahn Jomnein. Excellent teachings. He asked the American audience to refer to him as Mr Happy. He also claimed that although it couldn't really be described the only word that he could find to describe emptyness was happiness.

[jumnien]

Thanks, garro. Nice image to retire the evening on!

[IMA_FARANG]

I was just surfing some Buddhist websites and came across the following article;

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_brit...icle2171679.ece

It would seem to suggest that hapiness is just 10,000 meditation hours away.

What do you guys think?

If a man sits for 10,000 hours in meditation, what reward will he get?

If a corpse lies dead for 10,000 hours, will it be born again?

Perhaps both are but a dead corpse

Niether will gain enlightenment.

Only walking the true path will bring the one second that gives enlightenment.

All the rest is wasted effort.

[lannarebirth]

I was just surfing some Buddhist websites and came across the following article;

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_brit...icle2171679.ece

It would seem to suggest that hapiness is just 10,000 meditation hours away.

What do you guys think?

If a man sits for 10,000 hours in meditation, what reward will he get?

If a corpse lies dead for 10,000 hours, will it be born again?

Perhaps both are but a dead corpse

Niether will gain enlightenment.

Only walking the true path will bring the one second that gives enlightenment.

All the rest is wasted effort.

I'm not at all sure that metta and metta bhahavanna isn't enlightenment. A monk I admire very much tells me it is the key to everything. I tend to believe him.

[sabaijai]

That's a lot of time to invest ...

What is 'enlightenment' and might not metta be a by-product thereof? Abhidhammists will say that the fruit of the path ripens when right view is attained, and that arrives with the development of panna or wisdom, through dhamma study.

At any rate prescribing a time duration for an objective the Buddha (in the Tipitaka) says can take a half month to seven years seems a bit presumptuous. Aside from what we find in the Tipitaka, from a psychological point of view I think it's difficult to prescribe a single time duration or a single method that will work for all people.

From the Maha Satipatthana Sutta, as short as half a month (for stream entry):

Assurance of Attainment

"O bhikkhus, should any person maintain the Four Arousings of Mindfulness in this manner for seven years, then by him one of two fruitions is proper to be expected: Knowledge (arahantship) here and now; or, if some form of clinging is yet present, the state of non-returning (the Third Stage of Supramundane Fulfillment).

"O bhikkhus, let alone seven years. Should a person maintain these Four Arousings of Mindfulness, in this manner, for six years... for five years... four years... three years... two years... one year, then by him one of two fruitions is proper to be expected: knowledge here and now; or, if some form of clinging is yet present, the state of non-returning.

"O bhikkhus, let alone a year. Should any person maintain these Four Arousings of Mindfulness, in the manner, for seven months, then by him one of two fruitions is proper to be expected: Knowledge here and now; or, if some form of clinging is yet present, the state of non-returning.

"O bhikkhus, let alone seven months. Should any person maintain these Four Arousings of Mindfulness in this manner for six months... five months... four months... three months... two months... one month... half-a-month, then, by him one of two fruitions is proper to be expected: Knowledge here and now; or, if some form of clinging is yet present, the state of non-returning.

"O bhikkhus, let alone half-a-month. Should any person maintain these Four Arousings of Mindfulness in this manner for a week, then by him one of two fruitions is proper to be expected: Knowledge here and now; or, if some form of clinging is yet present, the state of non-returning.

"Because of this was it said: 'This is the only way, O bhikkhus, for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the destruction of suffering and grief, for reaching the right path, for the attainment of Nibbana, namely, the Four Arousings of Mindfulness."

[chownah]

I was just surfing some Buddhist websites and came across the following article;

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_brit...icle2171679.ece

It would seem to suggest that hapiness is just 10,000 meditation hours away.

What do you guys think?

If a man sits for 10,000 hours in meditation, what reward will he get?

If a corpse lies dead for 10,000 hours, will it be born again?

Perhaps both are but a dead corpse

Niether will gain enlightenment.

Only walking the true path will bring the one second that gives enlightenment.

All the rest is wasted effort.

I'm not at all sure that metta and metta bhahavanna isn't enlightenment. A monk I admire very much tells me it is the key to everything. I tend to believe him.

It seems that the common agreement is that metta and metta bhavanna are not enlightenmnet but rather are practices which can help to bring about the conditions necessary for attaining nibhanna.

Chownah

[jumnien]

As regards the OP, remember the buddha was speaking to members of the spiritual community of the time about how to spiritually progress within the fertile bounds of that community. 10,000 hours alone counting breaths is not necessarily going to produce anything but an increased awareness of counting. If you are interested in the fruit of spiritual path, seek spiritual community. I mean this in a very open and un-restrictive manner.

[lannarebirth]

I was just surfing some Buddhist websites and came across the following article;

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_brit...icle2171679.ece

It would seem to suggest that hapiness is just 10,000 meditation hours away.

What do you guys think?

If a man sits for 10,000 hours in meditation, what reward will he get?

If a corpse lies dead for 10,000 hours, will it be born again?

Perhaps both are but a dead corpse

Niether will gain enlightenment.

Only walking the true path will bring the one second that gives enlightenment.

All the rest is wasted effort.

I'm not at all sure that metta and metta bhahavanna isn't enlightenment. A monk I admire very much tells me it is the key to everything. I tend to believe him.

It seems that the common agreement is that metta and metta bhavanna are not enlightenmnet but rather are practices which can help to bring about the conditions necessary for attaining nibhanna.

Chownah

Yes, I agree with that, though it's a focus of mine all the same. Attaining nibbana has never been my goal. Improving the quality of my life and by extension other peoples is. So far, so good.