Episode 57: Four Limitless Aspirations

The context for talking about happiness in the Buddhist tradition comes from an aspiration that has four parts:  •  may all beings enjoy happiness and the root of happiness   •  may they be free from suffering and the root of suffering  •  may they not be separated from great happiness or joy devoid of suffering  •  may they dwell in great equanimity, free from passion, aggression and prejudice  •  in the first aspiration we want both kinds of happiness for people – we want them to be healthy and happy, but there is also a wish that they uncover a deeper level of happiness, the root of happiness  •  the second aspiration is for people to be free from suffering, but also that they find a deeper root of well-being that is not captured by suffering  •  the third aspiration is about joy, which comes about from celebrating the happiness and success of others  •  the fourth aspiration is that we wish for others equanimity—a grounded stability, like a mountain, where you don’t cover over pain and you don’t avoid pleasure; you are just settled, stable, and content  •  the final point has to do with looking at limits: what do we exclude from our loving kindness, from our compassion, from our joy, from our equanimity?