Is it true that material things can't make you happy?

[Molearner]

Does not happiness come at the expense of others ? Who is happy when their team loses….when your horse loses…when your lottery ticket loses….when someone else gets your promotion ? Happiness is a shallow goal…..

[lemex]

Originally Posted by traceyacey12

Is it true that material things can't make you happy?

Consider looking to balance and harmony as a way equal to happiness which may not be consider happy by definition. There are other possibilities to explore. Don't think it is only one thing.

I think necessary things for pure survival would make you happy but the rest we don't really need, but it is often connected with status. there is also some chemical reward system in the brain that can light up but it won't last long after a purchase.

[RedEmbers]

Material things make me very happy when they are the right things for me specifically. When something is the right thing for me specifically, it gets to fulfill its purpose. It is a match.

I love my car because it is a manifestation of freedom for me. It also allows me to help other people to get to where they want and need to go. I rely on my car for work and I love to keep it clean and in good condition. It is a physical manifestation of my love for myself and for others.

I also love a specific brush which I purchased because it makes my hair shiny and wavy. This makes me feel happy, beautiful and confident which in turn makes other people feel happier to be around me because I have more love to share and by feeling more confident, I can open the door for others to feel more confident in themselves.

As a gift, someone purchased me a musical instrument, which I still love after many years even though this person and I no longer speak, It reminds me of this person and how they expressed their love for me through this well thought out and heartfelt gift.

We live on a physical plane of existence, for every material thing we manifest, energy went into that process.

When I was younger, I used to busk for money in the mall. A kind family gave me $100 which I used to pay for a music stand so that I didn't have to use clothing pegs and a string across a doorframe to hang my sheet music.
The money gave me the freedom to purchase a material item which is a physical manifestation of love.

Every single thing which went into me obtaining that music stand was a manifestation of energy and love, this is a gift which keeps on giving.

[Miss Hepburn]

Originally Posted by traceyacey12

So its helpful but true happiness comes from within, is that right?

This is another opportunity for me to quote CS Lewis, (and the copyright is over, 50 yrs). :)

"If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, or even into, the thing that has them.
They are not a sort of prize which God could, if He chose, just hand out to anyone.
They are a great fountain of energy and beauty spurting up at the very center of reality.
If you are close to it, the spray will wet you: if you are not, you will remain dry."

It's a double edged sword. Material things in and of themselves can make you happy. For a while. That shiny new car can make you very happy. Wreck it and it will make you very unhappy. Such is the way with all things material and that is the central message of the Buddha.

[Miss Hepburn]

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

For a while.

Hey, stop quoting me! xo

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

Hey, stop quoting me! xo

Hahah! I missed that.

But it's so true.

The funny thing is I was going to phrase it as "for a time" but something urged me to change it to "for a while". Queue Twilight Zone theme. LOL!