We’re scared of sadness. We’re scared of suffering.

HAPPINESS

The waves hit hard from all sides in the ocean; the boat was broken into pieces drifting on the water. After the violent storm, the rough sea wasn’t calm yet. Binh tried to grasp the lifebuoy tightly and left himself to fate. As the dawn came, he realized his feet were touching the sand. A beach with big stones and trees appeared in front of him. It looked like an island. Binh tried to reach the beach. Then he passed out until the sun had risen high and a voice woke him up.

As it turned out, there were two men who also drifted in here, still alive. But there was no news about the other ten. Were they alive or dead? Lan and the old man Dang disappointedly looked at the sea.
Binh greeted them and asked them to go around exploring the island. Ironically, the island was exactly like what people said in books. It was a large beach with an area of about 2 hectares. There was nothing to drink or eat, only sand and stones. Without water, they would die in the next few days.

Binh stood on top of a high stone overlooking the sea. He saw some piles of garbage drifting close to the beach. Hoping that could help, he swam out and pulled them in. The three people tried to salvage useful items from the garbage. They took a lot of bags, old clothes, and silver papers, which was likely some kinds of packaging. Binh arranged the stones into a parabolic block, then attached silver papers on top to make a concave mirror and collect sunshine for cooking. Binh asked the other two to find some dead animals drifting to the shore, so they could use the hand-made cooker to cook the meat.

Binh found some more things in the garbage to make a kettle and plastic can. He boiled the seawater and collected the steam down to the plastic can. Thanks to his doing, they could survive with a little freshwater. Seeing Binh’s tireless effort to survive, the two men started to rekindle their spirits. They tried to gather garbage to make some shelter.

At night, they sat on the beach, watching the waves and talking with each other about life. Suddenly, Lan asked Binh:

“Hey Binh, how optimistic you are in this situation, you don’t look sad at all. What’s your happiness?”

Binh smiled and said:
“My happiness is very simple. It is just helping people with every little thing. Thanks to your being here, I have a motive to work. I’m happy when trying to serve you guys.”

Lan seemed surprised:
“What do you do at home?”

“I am just like you. I have my family to take care of. I have a job to make ends meet. I also have friends and colleagues, and especially a country to love.”

“Your talking is so nice. There’s something strong hidden inside your heart. It sounds great when you said you have a country to love.”

“No. I don’t think it’s great at all. It’s very normal. When we love the little things that are close and dear to us, we should also love something bigger to balance our psychology.”

“Getting shipwrecked and staying on this island, we don’t know if we can be saved. Why don’t you feel worried? Mr. Dang and I were devastated from being homesick and worrying for our families. How are you so calm?”

“Sadness and worrying can’t make anything better. I haven’t allowed myself to be upset for a long time. Feeling sad because of our own issues only makes us selfish. I only allow myself to be sad for others’ stories such as a friend losing his mother, someone’s house burning, an earthquake causing great damage, the terrorists killing villagers, wars breaking out all over the world, the forests being destroyed...”
“Then, you don’t care about your family?”

“I always tell my wife and kids to do the same, so no matter what happens, they can go on living without me.”

Mr. Dang joined the conversation:
“I’ve lived a life of debauchery, because I supposed people should enjoy their life to the fullest. So, falling into this situation makes me so painful. Now I realize that enjoyment is not happiness. Happiness is something different.”

Lan asked Binh:
“What about your income?”
“My income is enough to live sparingly and to save some for helping those in need. When meeting heart-rending circumstances, my wife and I both agree to help them more than we should. We accept to live a little less comfortably that month. In the end, everything turns out well and our hearts are at peace. If we didn’t help those in need, we wouldn’t be short of money but we would be unhappy. We think money can help us live, but it’s morality that brings us happiness. So, we try to be kind to others every day, then we can enjoy happiness. Without morality, we are just existing, and not truly living. Living in morality is a life of happiness.”

Mr. Dang shed tears saying:
“I wish I could listen to you sooner... When we were on the boat, I saw you helping and caring for the people, but I just couldn’t understand. I thought enjoyment brings us happiness, so I indulged myself in dissipation as much as possible. I didn’t know the more we enjoy the depraved life, the more we become selfish and suffer.”

Lan said:
“What if we are not rescued and we die here?”
“Here’s the point. I live right every day, so I have no regret. Death can come whenever it wants. If I didn’t live right, I would regret many things when death suddenly knocks on the door.”
“Yes, you’re right. I am stuck here and keep thinking, if I die now, it’s really wasted because I haven’t done so many things yet. If only I could take good care of my parents. If only I could help the old lady in my neighborhood. If only I could refuse my female colleague’s affection determinedly ...”

Binh said:
“You can’t do anything now. It may be better if you spend this time vowing to love everyone. Then your heart and your mind may be easy at the end of life.”

“Death is coming, how can I love everyone now?”

“Death is not the end. If death is an end then there’s no fairness in the universe. Everyone lives their life differently. This person is kind. That person is bad. It doesn’t make sense if they’re treated equally by death. After we die, there appear so many interesting things, which we don’t know yet. However, we must believe that death is just a change of states; while the fairness of the universe is still working. That’s why we should vow to love all people when we’re alive in order not to waste our last minutes.”

Mr. Dang asked Binh:
“Did you do yoga early this morning?”
“Oh, no, Mr. Dang. I practiced meditation. Having a peaceful mind is also a kind of happiness. It’s useless to let our minds run wild. But, it’s very joyful to keep our minds serene.”
“If so, could you please instruct Lan and me to practice meditation?”
“Yes, of course.”

Lan said:
“It scares me when I think about dying here because the rescue team couldn’t find us. But, thank you for talking about happiness and morality, I have felt easier. If I can be saved, I wish to follow you to live such a life of nobleness, then I can find happiness.”

Mr. Dang said:
“So do I. If I can get through this situation, I’ll live for people, and be nice to people. I shouldn’t live for myself anymore.”

As soon as Mr. Dang finished talking, there came a helicopter flying in the air...

We’re scared of sadness. We’re scared of suffering. We love joyfulness. We look for happiness. However, we don’t know what happiness is, so we get lost. Sometimes, we go to the end of our way and we face misery. If we go the right way, we will find true happiness in the end.

Hopefully, all people will go the right way to have true love and true happiness.

Greatest wisdom of mankind
Is to work hard all our life,
Building merits and good deeds
Then smile at the sunset sky.

Spring will blossom in our souls
With compassion, no sorrow
Sometimes we may have some loss
But regardless, peace will grow.

Written by:
Janna

Related Articles:

Friendship – The Meaning of True Friendship

Spoken Words – The Power of Courtesy and Respect

Fear of Ghosts: How Love Can Overcome Fear

Carefulness: The Wisdom of Foreseeing Risks and Dangers

Return to the Starting Point: Love, Wealth and True Wisdom

Instruction on Meditation: Essential Methods and Practice Guide

Three Foundations of Meditation – Morality, Merit and Qigong