iMEDITATION

The Buddha emphasizes that from harmlessness (virtue) one gets gladness, joy, tranquility, inner happiness, the bliss of jhana, and the freedom that flows from wisdom.  Theses are various forms of happiness occurring in a gradual and natural progression.  The process of renunciation , or ever-increasing happiness, culminates in seeing things as they truly are, which is enlightenment. In the Dhammacetiya Sutta, King Pasenadi remarked how much he enjoyed visiting the Jeta Grove monastery because he would always see happy, smiling monks.  The Buddha acknowledged that this is how it is when one successfully develops one's meditation.  The more one renounces what is only suffering, the more one experiences real happiness. 

Transcendental Dependent Arising

In the sequence of conditions for enlightenment , each factor arises dependent on the previous factors:

- Faith (saddha)-  From understanding one develops faith in the practice of the Noble 8 Fold Path. 

- Joy(pamojja)  arises automatically in one who is free from remorse.

- Rapture (piti) arises automatically in one who is glad.

- Tranquillity (passaddhi) arises automatically in one who is joyful.

- Inner Happiness (sukha) arises automatically in one who is tranquil.

- Samadhi ( jhana) arises automatically in one who is inwardly happy.

- Wisdom (Seeing things as they truly are) arises automatically in one who has jhana.

- Disenchantment (nibbida)

- Dispassion (viraga)

- Liberation (vimutti)

- Knowledge of destruction of the cankers/taints (asavakkhaye ñana) or knowledge and vision of release.