Happy New Year!

January 1st: Happy New Year!

Well, at least that is what we wish for, right?

The name of the month January comes from the Roman god Janus. In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Janus is the god of beginnings and transitions, then also of gates, doors, doorways, endings and time. He is usually a two-faced god since he looks to the future and also to the past.

Each December 31st we look back at the year just past, noting our trials and our tribulations, relieved that we have survived them all. And each January 1st we look ahead toward what the New Year will bring, wishing and hoping for happy days, or at least happier days.

Abstract of an article by Matthieu Ricard, “A Buddhist View of Happiness:”

In Buddhism, happiness is achieved when a person can perceive the true nature of reality, unmodified by the mental constructs we superimpose upon it. This authentic happiness comes from having an exceptionally healthy state of mind that underlies and suffuses all emotional states and that embraces all the joys and sorrows that come one’s way. The mental states necessary for authentic happiness are not simply found or happened upon. Rather, happiness is achieved through mental training that purges the mind of afflictive emotions, such as hatred and compulsive desire, which literally poison the mind, and above all through the eradication of ignorance. [Ignorance of our true nature.]

It is said that the Buddha points the way, but we have to walk the path ourselves. No one can do the work for us. No one can find happiness for us. It is our own commitment to practice, both on the cushion and in daily life that brings us to the healthy state of mind that Matthieu Ricard describes.

So, if you make only one resolution this year, resolve to practice meditation regularly!