A few questions?

[shivatar]

Originally Posted by keokutah

Being happy and content IS the definition of enlightenment in Buddhism.

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Probably a huge percentage of the population are unhappy, because all they do is focus on doing things they hate doing.

actually I'm pretty sure enlightenment in Buddhism means 2 things.

First, a person has knowledge of the casual nature of things.

second, a person has freedom from the cycle of birth and rebirth.

Neither of which require happiness or contentment. A person may be happy they believed they are free from rebirth, but being happy is not going to free a person from rebirth. it would actually make them more likely to rebirth because they enjoyed life!

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Life ain't a merry go round for most people, maybe people are unhappy because of the nature of the world and it has very little to do with how much they try or how much effort they put forth.

Have you ever heard that life is cruel and unfair? What about life is suffering?
I've heard them a lot and I think life ain't such a nice place to begin with, it takes a lot of effort to be happy so thats why i think so few are.

[mulyo13]

Originally Posted by bflare

1. Can you be happy or at least content without been enlightened?
2. Why isn’t spirituality taught in schools especially meditation?
3. If attachment creates suffering then how do we love someone & evolve as a species if we shouldn’t get attached?
4. Is 99% of the population unhappy?
5. Why isn’t depression & substance abuse looked at from a spiritual point of view?
6. Is achieving things such as promotions at work & good grades futile

1. Yes
2. In some point(as a knowladge), I agree spirituality should be taught in school, but in some other point(as a path), I also agree that spirituality should not be taught in school.
These days most of the people insert thier own purpose/intention into spirituality teaching to directing a person to a specific path.
3. Attachment creates blindness.
4. Depends on the measurement/benchmark of being happy and unhappy
5. Can't answer, don't understand the question.(Sorry, English is not my native language).
6. Yes and no. Depends on that person understanding, from what of point of view and how he/she see it