小狗和老狗彼此相依為命，小狗聽說幸福就在自己的尾巴上，從此拚命轉圈，要咬住自己的尾巴抓到幸福。

老狗笑說：「我尋找幸福是向前走，對過去無悔，對現在無懼，對未來無憂。只要我的腳步向前，尾巴上的幸福快樂自然跟隨我。」

幸福在哪裡？猜忌使我們遠離幸福的目光，懷疑使我們錯過幸福的召喚，嫉妒使我們模糊幸福的面貌，妄想使我們失去幸福的擁抱。何必向神祇乞求幸福降臨，要佛祖喜捨幸福的地圖？幸福，原在我們的心靈。

──選自《人生的階梯》

Where is Happiness?

Venerable Master Hsing Yun (1927 -)

English translation: Venerable Zhi Yue

A puppy and an old dog lived together. One day, having heard that a dog’s happiness is on its tail, the puppy kept running in circles chasing its tail to find happiness.

The old dog laughed and said,“I find happiness by walking forward, without any regrets about the past, without any fears about the present, and without any worries about the future. As long as I take a step forward, the happiness on my tail will naturally follow.”

Where is happiness? Suspicion distances us from happiness. Doubt deafens us to the calls of happiness. Jealousy confuses us to what happiness truly is. Delusion causes us to push away the welcoming arms of happiness. Why keep praying to the divine for happiness or begging the Buddha for a way to find happiness? Happiness has always been in our hearts.

── from Rensheng De Jieti (The Stairway of Life)