Search in the Right Place

           

There was once a great master who used to teach his students in many different and sometimes bizarre ways. One evening, they arrived at his house to find him crawling around on the ground. There was a lamp by the front door and he was moving around within the lamp light.

           

“Master, what are you doing?” One of the students asked.

           

“Searching for the front door key.” The master answered.

           

The students then joined him, crawling around, hunting for the key.

           

After quite a period of fruitless search, one student asked, “Master, where were you when you lost the key?”

           

“Over there.” The master pointed to a distant spot, which was in darkness.

           

“Then why on Earth are you hunting for it here?”

           

“Oh, because it’s much easier to hunt here in the light.”

This is what we all tend to do. Due to our ignorance, we look for happiness in places where it cannot be found. We keep on doing this because superficial appearances delude us into thinking that it can be found where we seek it – within the world of desires and senses. Happiness cannot truly be found there, so our efforts lead instead to frustrations, dissatisfaction, unhappiness and sometimes suffering.

Are you searching in the right place for your happiness?