Not looking for Nirvana

Buddhist practices make me happy, but I'm not looking for Nirvana.  I don't want what Buddha wanted.  My tastes are more modern and not as ideal.

In the "Psychology of Nirvana", Rune Johansson argued that Buddhists were looking for one kind of happiness 2500 years ago, but people today are looking for another kind of happiness.  There is overlap--both in our goals and our methods--but "the end of the road" in the search for happiness is different for people today than it was for Buddhists in ancient times.

Back then, Buddhists were looking for a perfect happiness, perfectly accepting of each moment, with zero desire or craving for change.  They felt this type of perfection was needed to achieve a completely new state of mind--Nirvana.  Nirvana--the happiness that comes from complete and permanent enlightenment--was needed to end the cycle of reincarnation and suffering.  Nirvana wasn't just being MORE happy, it was supposed to be a totally new happiness, a transformation that leaves ordinary happiness behind.

To achieve this, Buddhist monks had to avoid attachment and craving.  Better not marry or you might feel pain when your loved ones suffer or if they leave you.  Better not get a demanding job because you'll be upset if you don't meet your goals.  Better not own anything or you could get upset if you lose it.

I'm not looking for this kind of perfect peace, free of the ups and downs of family, career, possessions, and community goals.  In his book, Johansson says that, for early Buddhists, the main goal of life was to personally achieve enlightenment, to have and maintain a euphoric sense of awareness of the present moment and of connection to the universe.  But Johansson says that the goals of people today are more of a balance between personal happiness, connecting to family and friends, and the desire to accomplish things.  That fits my experience.  I want friends, families, volunteer work, possessions, and fun even if these things sometimes lead to disappointment or grief.  I'm not looking for consistent happiness, just MORE happiness balanced with goals and desires that sometimes don't work out.

What modern folks and Buddhists from 2500 years ago have in common is METHOD:  whether you just want to be happier or you want Nirvana, it helps to meditate--to train the mind to focus on the now.  It helps to accept change.  It helps to recognize that there is nothing inside of me or you that stays the same moment to moment, that we are like rivers in that everything within us shifts moment to moment so that we are continuously reborn.  As the Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, "You can never step in the same river twice".  These practices helped the early Buddhists reach Nirvana.  They also help me and can help others today, even if we're trying to reach a different kind of happiness.