Happy with an Open Heart

It’s good to begin the day with thoughts of goodwill. Start with a wish for your own happiness. And ask yourself, “What would it mean to be truly happy?”

It would mean, for one thing, that you found something that doesn’t change on you, that doesn’t disappoint—and two, it doesn’t harm anybody. There’d be no sense of remorse, no sense of guilt. No denial. You can be happy with an open heart.

That comes from doing good things. Acts of generosity, virtue, meditation: All these things are good things to do. They’re ways of looking for happiness that harm no one at all. And they’re answers to the Buddha’s question that lies at the beginning of discernment: “What, when I do it, will lead to my long-term welfare and happiness?” These are activities that harm no one at all. They really do lead to happiness in the long run.

So you can reflect on your virtue; you reflect on your generosity. You realize you’ve been doing good things. Take some nourishment from that. Then, when you feel confident in your own happiness and your own well-being, in the skillfulness of your own actions, that’s when you spread thoughts of goodwill to others. You’re coming from a place of strength, and you have some goodwill to share. If you’re not feeling good about yourself and you try to feel goodwill for others, it’s pretty hard. But if it comes from an abundance of happiness inside, then goodwill for others is a lot easier.

After all, it is something you do have to work on.

We hear so much about how we’re innately good—we have innate goodwill for everybody. The Buddha never taught that. There’s so much that’s taught in his name, you wonder what he would think. This is one of the things.

He said goodwill is a determination. It’s a form of mindfulness. You’ve got to keep it in mind all the time because it’s so easy to forget. You sit here thinking goodwill, “May all beings be happy.” And you leave the room, and then you start thinking, “May this particular being, may this particular being, not be happy,” for whatever reason.

So try to develop an abundance of goodwill inside for yourself. Then have plenty to share with others. And keep in mind the fact that, that you’ve got to maintain this. After all, ill will comes naturally too. So work on your goodwill. It is a skill to be developed.

Ajaan Mun would send thoughts of goodwill to all beings three times a day: when he woke up in the morning, when he woke up from his afternoon nap, before he went to bed at night. Goodwill in all directions.

It formed the frame for the day. It was a frame for the practice. After all, why are we here meditating? Because we have goodwill for ourselves, and we’re trying to develop goodwill for others. We’re looking for happiness in a way that’s responsible, so goodwill is our motivation. Make sure it’s strong.