พระอาจารย์อธิบายผ่านโอวาทของหลวงปู่ว่า ความสุขทางโลกเป็นเพียงความพึงพอใจ ไม่ใช่สุขแท้ ความสุขที่แท้จริงเริ่มปรากฏตั้งแต่รูปฌานเป็นต้นไป และยิ่งละเอียดขึ้นเรื่อยๆ จนถึงพระนิพพานซึ่งเป็นบรมสุข ผู้มีปัญญาจะละสุขน้อยไปหาสุขที่ใหญ่กว่าอย่างไม่หยุดยั้ง โดยอาศัยการฝึกใจหยุดนิ่งเป็นหัวใจสำคัญDrawing on a teaching from his own preceptor, the teacher explains that worldly happiness is merely satisfaction, not true bliss. Real happiness begins to appear from the form-jhanas onward, growing ever more refined until it reaches Nibbana, the ultimate bliss — and one of wisdom keeps letting go of the smaller happiness to reach for the greater, without ever stopping, through the practice of stilling the mind.
A lay follower asked the teacher to elaborate on the topic of , based on a teaching from his mentor describing as merely "a corpse" — not true happiness at all.
Worldly Happiness Is Satisfaction, Not True Bliss
The teacher explained that what the world calls happiness is, in truth, merely sfaction — not genuine happiness. Consider eating a bland piece of sushi: because it satisfies us, we feel we're enjoying it. A child eating bitter melon feels nothing pleasant, while an adult feels good about it, simply out of familiarity. Worldly happiness thus depends on satisfaction, which in turn depends heavily on what we're accustomed to. The teacher compared this to a candle: it feels good to have one only when we need it to dispel darkness — the candle itself is not happiness. This is why the Buddha taught () — being satisfied with what one has and is — as a form of happiness suited to worldly beings.
The teacher added that this craving and aversion toward form, taste, smell, sound, and touch is exactly the tool unwholesomeness uses to draw in unwholesome energy — the more satisfied we are, the more we crave; the less satisfied, the more irritation and displeasure arise — feeding an endless cycle of greed, aversion, and delusion.
True Happiness Begins With the Form Jhanas
The teacher cited his mentor's teaching that sensual pleasure is merely "a fragment of happiness," not real happiness. Only upon leaving sensuality behind and entering the four form-jhanas does one begin to perceive the true state of happiness, not mere satisfaction. Yet upon reaching the formless jhanas, the happiness of the form-jhanas becomes, by comparison, coarse — the happiness of the formless jhanas is gentler and more refined still. But even this remains "happiness within existence," not happiness beyond existence. Only upon reaching Nibbana does one arrive at happiness that is truly genuine and most profound — called the supreme bliss.
Nibbana Is the True Bliss to Be Pursued Without End
Every Buddha becomes, in a sense, "attached" to this supreme bliss too — but attachment to Nibbana is nothing like worldly attachment, because someone of wisdom never stops there, but continues seeking ever-greater happiness, as the teaching goes: "letting go of the smaller happiness to take up the greater." The Buddha, the very embodiment of complete wisdom, continued developing his further and further, refining himself and passing from one level of Nibbana into another, ever subtler level, without end. Only those who do this receive the happiness described in this teaching.
Stilling the Mind Is the Key to True Bliss
The teacher explained that reaching this ever more refined happiness requires training the mind to become still. A still mind is the ultimate point of merit. When we resolve the mind to stop, the breath momentarily stops along with it — and in that instant, every system stops together, and a stream of merit representing the ultimate point of merit arises, purifying our elemental nature. All we need to do is steadily accumulate the states of stopping and quiet stillness, again and again — each carries a different quality. The state of stopping halts every system at once, while quiet stillness means simply not reacting to the stimuli that try to entice us. Both states are tools we can put to different uses, but a truly still mind is, as the teacher's mentor said, the ultimate point of merit. Developing the attainment of cessation (nirodha-samapatti) means stilling the mind so completely that it passes from one gross dimension into the next, ever subtler dimension, continuously.