Self-concept and happiness
In meditation we learn to see clearly the cause of our dissatisfaction and unhappiness. Dissatisfaction, we are taught, is just part of life. You can't get away from it. There will always be something that we want more of or less of, and when things don't go our way, we eventually become irritable and dissatisfied. We might try to avoid dissatisfaction, or run away from situations that we don't like. We might rebel against it or fight it. But when we do this, we just increase our levels of dissatisfaction.
The second premise we learn of in meditation is that nothing outside us is the cause of our suffering or dissatisfaction. It's not our boss, our neighbour, our annoying friend, spouse or children. The cause comes from within us because we grasp or cling to things.
We grasp and cling to belongings, opinions, people, achievements. But most of all, we cling to our concept of Self. When this idea we have of ourselves is challenged, anger, frustration, impatience and dissatisfaction arises. Most of our anger and struggle comes from us trying to maintain or cling to this idea of Self.
So if clinging to the idea of Self causes us dissatisfaction, then it stands to reason that letting go of this fixation will make us a happier person.
In meditation we learn to work with our mind in order to let go of this obsessive fixation of Self. Or at least to recognise that our dissatisfaction comes from our Self-concept and not from things outside ourselves.
For many people sitting in meditation is a very difficult thing to do. Habitual distraction and activity means that many people find it almost impossible to sit still.
In Vipassana we learn to sit quietly, without distraction, without phones, without media, without talking. We just sit.
In this way we train the mind to become calm, see more clearly what our motivations and desires are, what causes us to behave in a certain way, causing us unhappiness.
Recognising that our unhappiness comes from a our ego fixation, we can become more at ease with ourselves, becoming happier, healthier, and more content.
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