Since a long time ago, I was taught by my parents to achieve something so that one day I will be happy after being able to achieve something. I was forced and taught something fake to gain recognition from the people around me, especially my family.
I was taught by my family to earn a lot of money because, with a lot of money, I can be respected and get recognition from my family. If I can't earn a lot of money, I have to be famous. To be famous, I have to make a scene so that it can be known by the wider community. Somehow being famous can be equated with happiness.
Not only from family and parents but even advertisements in various media also teach something false to get pleasure and happiness. Starting from shopping and using luxury goods, being handsome, having a beautiful wife, to traveling the world. Otherwise, I'm considered an outmoded.
Of all that, no one taught or told me that all the pleasures and happiness one gets will end in a sense of emptiness. Pleasure and happiness appear only for a moment. Everything is so fragile and mortal. With the emptiness that is felt, alienation will be created.
For Karl Marx, alienation was born because of the injustice of social relations. I agree with that, but alienation is also born from the attitude of someone who pursues mortal ambitions that end in nothingness. The proof, many rich people suffer inwardly. His money, titles, and honors became torture for him. His mind becomes fragile, he can even commit suicide when there is a slight problem.
Although all desires come true, In the end, the void appeared. Why did it happen? Because everything in the universe is constantly changing, there is no perfect satisfaction in life.
What we think today can satisfy our desires, may become inner torment in the future. If today we get everything we want, the feeling of emptiness may disappear for a moment, but after that, the feeling of emptiness returns. The happiness that comes from contentment is only temporary.
Likewise, if we do not get what we want. We also feel miserable, feel like a failure, and feel useless. Unable to make the family proud. Really all this is in vain. Like a dog chasing its tail, it keeps turning and never ends.
If we think about it, getting what we want and failing to get what we want is like an old saying that says "meet the simalakama fruit", which means it is eaten mother will die, not eaten father will die. In the dharma tradition, it is called "Samsara", i.e. something that keeps repeating in vain.
To avoid "samsara", humans must be able to distinguish between things that are fixed and changing. In the dharma tradition, we call it "Viveka", i.e. considering something with common sense and a clear mind. Everything that changes is not worth pursuing. Don't rely on things that change, such as money, titles, honors, and titles. In the end, we will be disappointed.
Instead, we have to find the unchanging (stay). What is it that stays? That is pure consciousness. This pure consciousness is within us. We need to recognize the pure consciousness within us. Once we know this pure consciousness, then we will be able to let go of everything impermanent (which changes). We will also feel calm and peaceful even though we no longer have money, titles, titles, etc. We will meet true happiness.
By knowing pure consciousness, there is nothing to be pursued and nothing to be rejected. When things change exist, we can use them, when they don't exist or go away, we can let them go. That is true happiness. Find pure awareness within yourself, to find true happiness.
