Why peace is better than happiness?

Extract from Tommy Wong's book, "Wisdom on How to Live Life"

Tom: I thought one main goal in life is to be happy.

Guru: Happiness is really a commercial goal, that’s why we have “Happy New Year”, “Happy Birthday” and so on.

Tom: Can you elaborate?

Guru: In the commercial world, their business is to sell you things, right?

Tom: Right.

Guru: It’ll be much easier for them to sell if they can convince you that happiness is your main goal in life and their product can bring you happiness.

Tom: You mean they don’t.

Guru: Some products do but whatever happiness they bring, it’s only temporal. In fact, it can be very short.

Tom: Is there a better goal in life?

Guru: Peace.

Tom: I thought peace is to do with dying, like “rest in peace”.

Guru: How about “live in peace”?

Tom: Yes, how will peace affect the living?

Guru: Suppose shopping makes you happy, but you don’t have money. What’ll you do?

Tom: I can work, earn some money and then do my shopping.

Guru: Let’s say you don’t like to work and in any case, you want your money fast. How can you get it?

Tom: Steal?

Guru: Yes. If happiness is your goal, you can justify stealing because by stealing, you’ll get your money and after you got your money, you can do your shopping and you’ll be happy.

Tom: But what happens if I’m caught.

Guru: This is the man-made laws part. So you can take your chance because you may or may not get caught.

Tom: How will it be different if peace is the goal?

Guru: If peace is your goal, then you can’t justify stealing because getting your money through stealing won’t make you feel peaceful.

Tom: Can I steal and pretend to be peaceful?

Guru: Peace belongs to divine laws. So you can’t escape the consequence.

Tom: So I can’t rest in peace?

Guru: You can, by not stealing!

Tom: But I want to be happy?

Guru: Yes, there’s another problem with happiness as the goal.

Tom: What’s that?

Guru: It leads to immorality.

Tom: I was told that it’s better to be rich and immoral than poor and moral.

Guru: Who told you that?

Tom: The rich and powerful.

Guru: Exactly, if happiness is your goal, you’ll conclude that it’s better to be rich and immoral.

Tom: What happens if peace is my goal?

Guru: Then you’ll conclude that it’s better to be poor and moral.

Tommy Wong

The book "Wisdom on how to live life" can be purchased here: www.easysearch.sg/ishop