The Enlightened Smiles of Life’s Happiest People
I was 22 years old when my spiritual teacher took me to meet Garwa Nyakwang Zangbo, Abbot of Wendu Monastery in Qinghai Province, China.
It was like a scene straight out of a movie: A group of Westerners embark on a spiritual pilgrimage to a remote area in China. They sought the secret teachings of a wise Buddhist Abbot. It was the third week of October. The year was 2012.
After a 17-hour journey from Beijing, we had arrived at Wendu Monastery. We stepped through the colorfully arched entrance and walked into the temple grounds. An elderly monk was sweeping the courtyard. She had a wide and gleaming smile that welcomed us, the foreign travelers from a land far away.
It was a smile that I will never forget.
She donned an ethnic garment, a dark, long shawl bearing the resemblance of a monk’s robe. Her face was sun-weathered and creased. The motion of her broom was slow and steady. It was as if she had been sweeping this temple her entire life.
Maybe she had?
We approached the courtyard and that’s when she noticed us; a mixed bag of Westerners far removed from their modern environment. She looked up at us. Her eyes were shining and her smile was wide. It was the enlightened smile of pure joy.
Imagine the smile of a first-time mother as she cradles her newborn child. It was a smile I had never seen before. A smile you can almost feel. Her eyes were glowing, meeting each of our gazes as if she had just made eye contact with her long-lost friends.
She greeted us, motioning us to come inside, her smile never wavering. Who would have thought this sweeping monk would have the happiest smile I had ever seen?
Maybe her broom was a magical tool that unlocked the secrets of happiness? Maybe she had uncovered a hidden mantra carved beneath the courtyard floor — the mantra for attaining supreme joy.
Whatever it was, her enlightened smile was her personal gift to me. It taught me that the smile of happiness is a universal expression. No matter the culture, no matter the country, regardless of distance, a smile of true happiness is a smile of true happiness.
Almost ten years have passed since this moment. I frequently reminisce about her smile. I can still see it clearly in my mind until this day. She was the smiling monk who swept the temple courtyard every day.
It was a smile that I will never forget.
Inner Happiness, Outward Smile
If the eyes are the windows of the soul, then emotions are the reflection of your mind. The smiles of the happiest people I’ve met are often glowing, glistening, and radiating with light. And they don’t just smile with their mouth. They smile with their eyes. It’s easy to fake a smile with your mouth; it’s hard to fake a smile with your eyes.
As you are reading this, think of the happiest person in your life. Now, think of their brightest smile you’ve seen. Where does this smile come from? This smile must come from somewhere.
Matthieu Ricard, known as the happiest man on Earth says,
Happiness is a state of inner fulfillment, not the gratification of inexhaustible desires for outward things.”
This state of inner fulfillment is something you must passionately discover. Your happiness depends on it. You no longer need to chase the fleeting pleasures of life. No future moment, no temporary desire, no outward thing will ever bring you lasting happiness. Although we’ve heard it many times, the phrase that ”happiness can only be found within” hasn’t lost its meaning. We’ve just forgotten how to find that source of happiness within ourselves.
Now is the time to discover your birthright that has been hidden inside you all along – inner happiness.
The Story of Polly
She was 95 years old when I first met her. As a volunteer at an assisted living home, I often cooked breakfast for her and the other elderly residents. Polly stood out from the rest; her bright smile was often contagious, and it seemed to ignite a sense of joy within me. Her soft, innocent, and sweet voice always spoke the kindest words.
It was her 96th birthday in just a few days. I asked Polly what her secret was for living a long and happy life. With a wide and gleaming smile, she said,
Oh dear, it’s quite simple. Avocados, fruits, vegetables — whatever the sun touches are the foods you should eat.
She looked at me and smiled, knowing the emotional impact her short answer had on me. It’s the moment in life when you hear something so simple, yet so profound that words can’t be spoken, your mind can’t think, and your body can’t react. You just sit there and take it in. Then her answer dawned on me.
She wasn’t talking about the actual food we eat. She was talking about the experiences and things we take into our lives. Her secret was simple: Nourish your body with the food of happiness. Taste the sweetest fruits of joy. Absorb the wisdom and experience of life. This is how you live and long and happy life.
The brightest smiles are often shining from the world’s happiest people.
And Polly was one of them.
She was now gazing outside the kitchen window. Her radiant smile appeared once again as she noticed a small bird near the windowsill. “Would you look at that beautiful little bird outside”, she said. “Isn’t it just adorable?”
Polly was a resident who seemed to have life figured out. She had reached the end of her journey and had discovered what this story of life was all about. She seemed fully content, never spoke of regrets, and went about the rest of her days in a state of complete happiness and joy.
In my eyes, she was enlightened. Polly was the highest expression of life satisfaction and fulfillment. She was someone that always brought a smile to my face.
A few weeks later, Polly passed away. Silently and peacefully. She was 66 years my senior.
The brightest smiles are often shining from the world’s happiest people.
I don’t claim to be the happiest person in the world. I don’t claim to never experience anger or sadness.
What I do claim is my inner truth.
It’s a knowing that says: I am the creator of my happiness. I am the craftsman of my destiny. I am the reaper of what I sow.
It’s time for us to awaken to this inner truth. I empower you all to manifest it within. We are at a place and time where the truth of happiness needs to be preached to the world.
You plant the seeds of happiness in your life. You cultivate the experiences that make you smile. You reap the joy of the good deeds you sow.
So, what will you be thinking of when you reach the end of life’s journey? Will you still be happy when your body begins to fail and your mind starts to waiver? Will you have the enlightened smile of the monk who sweeps the monastery courtyard? Or will you have the radiant smile of 96-year-old Polly?
The choice to smile is yours. Happiness begins with this very moment.
