Is happiness a product of causes and conditions (according to Buddhist thought)?
To my own surprise I just realized today that I had automatically assumed that if I just practiced enough at some point lasting happiness would somehow automagically be a byproduct of my realizations. It never occurred to me that perhaps a state of very ordinary, everyday happiness is simply something to be cultivated that can also be lost again at any time due to causes and conditions. The implication being that even after deep realization you keep practicing simply because you would rather be happy than unhappy. This quote says it all very nicely.
(Quote allegedly by Thich Nhat HanhI wondered why the Buddha kept practising mindfulness and meditation even after he had already become a Buddha. Now I find the answer is plain enough to see. Happiness is impermanent, like everything else. In order for happiness to be extended and renewed, you have to learn how to feed your happiness. Nothing can survive without food, including happiness; your happiness can die if you don’t know how to nourish it. If you cut a flower but you don’t put it in some water, the flower will wilt in a few hours.