1. The View

1.1 THE NATURE OF THE PHYSICAL WORLD

ALL INTELLIGENT human beings are united in their desire for happiness in this

lifetime and the next. But the cause of happiness, the way to obtain happiness, is a
matter of broad disagreement. Some people try to obtain happiness in business,
some in politics, some by farming the land, some in government jobs, and some
with machines and technology. Others, driven by bad karma, even try to find it as
thieves, gangsters, or terrorists.
All anyone ever wants is happiness, which first of all means freedom from
present suffering. Most people want this for themselves, and they think that they
know what is good for themselves and their community, and what is good for their
children, partners, and family. Essentially they want just four things: to get rich
and have money in the bank, to have a healthy body and a quick mind, to have a
good reputation, and to be appreciated and respected by the people around them.
What they get, however, is the contrary: poverty, pain, criticism, and anonymity,
and they are bitterly disappointed. They find it extremely difficult to fulfill their
desires according to their dreams, and, even if they do accomplish something, at
the end of the day, they lapse into regret and remorse.
At the time of Shakyamuni Buddha, there was a rich landlord called “Pelkye.” In
those days, in the sacred land of India, princes, landowners, and those who could
afford it had many consorts, and their status and renown was measured according
to the number of women they possessed. Pelkye had eight consorts, and each of
these bore him a son and a daughter, making sixteen children in all. His eight sons
were given splendid wedding parties, and his eight daughters were married into
rich families. For years he enjoyed community, wealth, and reputation together,
but eventually he became old and senile. His eyes dimmed, his hearing faded,
and, as his power diminished, he could not function as before. His lovely women,
who previously had followed him like shadows, and his children, who had catered
to his every whim, now ignored and despised him, and the old man became
depressed. “I have cherished my children and given them everything,” he thought,
“both love and money. I have covered my women with expensive jewelry and
designer clothes and now none of them, children or wives, pay me any attention.”
Unable to stand his situation, he was filled with deep frustration with the world.
But then, spitting it out like a glob of phlegm, he made his way to the feet of the
Buddha and there begged the master to accept him as his disciple. Shakyamuni
ordained him, and at the end of his life, he attained constant happiness at the level
of an arhat.
In A Collection of Elegant Verses, the wise Gendun Chophel expressed it like this: