The World of Religions No. 41, May-June 2010 —
Because it is essential to all human existence, the question of happiness is at the heart of humanity's great philosophical and religious traditions. Its resurgence in Western societies at the beginning of the 21st century is due to the collapse of the great ideologies and political utopias that sought to bring happiness to humanity. Pure capitalism has failed as much as communism or nationalism as a collective system of meaning. This leaves personal quests, which allow individuals to attempt to lead a happy existence. Hence the renewed interest in ancient and Eastern philosophies, as well as the development in monotheistic religions of movements, such as the evangelical movement in the Christian world, which emphasize earthly happiness, and no longer only in the afterlife. Reading the many points of view expressed in this issue by the great sages and spiritual masters of humanity, one senses a permanent tension, which goes beyond cultural diversity, between two conceptions of happiness. On the one hand, happiness is sought as a stable, definitive, absolute state. It is the Paradise promised in the afterlife, of which one can have a foretaste here below by leading a holy life. It is also the quest of Buddhist or Stoic sages, which aims to acquire lasting happiness here and now, beyond all the sufferings of this world. The paradox of such a quest is that it is theoretically offered to all, but that it requires asceticism and a renunciation of ordinary pleasures that very few individuals are ready to experience. At the other extreme, happiness is presented as random, necessarily temporary and, all things considered, quite unfair since it depends greatly on the character of each individual: as Schopenhauer reminds us, following Aristotle, happiness lies in the fulfillment of our potential and there is in fact a radical inequality in the temperament of each individual. Happiness, as its etymology signifies, therefore owes to chance: "good hour." And the Greek word eudaimonia refers to having a good daimon. But beyond this diversity of viewpoints, something is understood among many sages of all stripes, to which I fully subscribe: happiness has above all to do with a proper love of oneself and of life. A life that one accepts as it presents itself, with its share of joys and sadness, trying to push back unhappiness as much as possible, but without an overwhelming fantasy of absolute happiness. A life that one loves by beginning by accepting and loving oneself as one is, in a "friendship" for oneself as Montaigne advocated. A life that must be approached with flexibility, in the accompaniment of its permanent movement, like breathing, as Chinese wisdom reminds us. The best way to be as happy as possible is to say "yes" to life.
Watch the video: