Happiness at present vs. Happiness in the future — talk about foresight

　

    Living in the world, we often need to make various kinds of big or small choices, and these choices are probably the key to whether we are really happy; in many situations, if we covet the happiness and benefits at present, it will often cause future pain or loss. When making a decision, we must not only consider short-term benefits, we must take a long-term perspective: to think from the perspective of a lifetime or the perspective of the next lifetime in order to get real benefits.

　

    Take “drugs” as an analogy: “The happiness at present” is the pleasure brought by drugs, but everyone knows that although the happiness at present makes us very happy, but after addiction in the future, it will bring more pain. Let's use salary as an example next: when we work in the society the first time, if we choose a job with a higher salary but cannot increase our experience, then, because we have not improved our abilities, we will not be able to increase our salary later; if we choose the work that can enhance our experience and ability the first time, not to care too much about the salary, then, after we have accumulated work experience and ability, we will be able to find a higher-paying job. Choosing a higher salary at the beginning is like choosing the happiness at present, but in the long run, there is no guarantee that we will also be happy in the future. It is the same as the health of the body; if we are greedy for the deliciousness of the food at present, but ignore the vigilance and control of high sugar, high fat, food additives, and degraded oil, then,in the long run, it will often lead to obesity and disease. During elections, someone buys votes; if we, for the benefits at present, vote for those who buy votes, then those who are elected will start embezzling and contracting projects in the future, and all taxpayers will pay the bills, and no one can stay aside. Let's look at the pollution of our environment; product manufacturers continuously produce pollution-causing products in order to make money. If consumers covet their dependence and demand on these products and purchase them, then, In the long run, agricultural land and food will be polluted by manufacturers and that will affect everyone's health.

　

    After reading these examples, we should be able to understand: Coveting immediate happiness often causes future pain. Far-sighted people don’t care if they are profitable and happy in the short term. They can look far ahead and focus on future success. Even if they suffer a short-term loss or have to endure hard work, in the long-term, they will surely surpass short-sighted people in the future.

　

    It is the same as the practice of Buddhism; some people see that Buddhists have to be a vegetarian, keep precepts, and cannot do this, should do that……so they feel troublesome and don’t want to sacrifice the happiness at present; but in fact, Buddhists are focused on getting relief in the future. In the short term, practicing Buddhism does not have many attractive benefits, but if viewed from the perspective of one life, the next life, or even reincarnation, the practice of Buddhism can provide us with a happier future.

　

    Regardless of world affairs or Buddhist practice, we should not only see short-term happiness and benefits when we deal with things. For long-term happiness and benefits, we don’t have to worry too much about the inconvenience and hard work at present, so that we can be called “far-sighted people”.