If meditation makes people happy, why must happy people meditate?

The happiest people in this world have the most beautiful minds. Their successful lives are filled with lightness and joy and their relationships are fulfilling and harmonious. Even when life is challenging, their strong mind protects them from anxiety, depression and painful feelings. But the question is, if these happy people are already happy with themselves, do they have to meditate in order to make themselves happy?

Let’s put it this way, this question is quite similar to: “why do clean people have to take a shower?” No matter how clean your body is, we are subject to dirtiness internally and externally all the time. Our mind is the same. It is subjected to challenges from our life and even our own way of thinking. A person can feel happy today. But it does not mean that he or she will never feel sad in the future.

Nobody in the world has never felt sad right? So, we’ve got to prepare well for that. If we don’t clean our body, it will become smelly. Sometimes we are not aware of this until someone tells us “hey your body is smelly”. But because our mind does not smell, you will never know when it needs to be cleaned.

The best way is to clean the mind regularly. The phrase “clean people” can have two interpretations: people who are clean momentarily or people who have a habit of cleaning. The first meaning does not guarantee that we will remain clean. Our body or our clothing can become dirtier with each moment.

The second meaning doesn’t guarantee we won’t get dirty, but it guarantees that we will remain clean. Our body and our clothing may get dirty, but with each moment we can clean them. It is our responsibility to be clean, likewise it our responsibility to be happy. And just like after getting out of a warm shower you feel clean and fresh, after meditation you will feel clean and happy. Likewise, the word happy people can have two interpretations: people who are happy momentarily and people who have a habit of being happy.

Those who are happy for a moment seek happiness through pleasure, which rises and falls back into suffering, up and down, and unending search for more. Those who have this habit of being happy don’t seek for happiness, but are content with what they have.

It’s like if you love eating pizza, you would want to try different restaurants that serve pizza. If you’ve heard that there is a new restaurant that serves the best pizza around, you’ll surely want to find out what it would taste like. How do you know that the Pizza you are having at the moment has the best taste in the world? Could it be that you cook the best pizza? Meditation is your tool to reveal the happiness that is already within you. It’s very simple, quick, easy and anyone can try it. So, if you have a habit of being happy, you won’t miss any chance of meditating regularly.