Insight meditation is an accessible way for everyone to make their mark on the world. But developing insight is different from conventional ways that people make merit. When we practice insight meditation, we are not reallocating limited resources. Mindfulness leads to happiness but it doesn’t require someone else to have less so that I can have more. In other words, happiness born of wisdom is never a limited quantity. Everyone who practices is creating immeasurable benefit for the world because those who practice are removing greed, anger and delusion from the equation.
There is a certain kind of mindfulness that is specially conducive to this impact. That is the mindfulness that arises when a person undergoes formal insight meditation training. This kind of mindfulness has the capacity to penetrate into the true nature of realty and thereby leads to unconditional happiness. It works because when we observe that all arisen phenomena are impermanent, we realize that we don’t have to hang on to them. We can let them come and go according to their own nature.
This realization makes a profound impact on the person who practices but it also has an impact on everyone in his or her family and community. A person who successfully practices insight meditation will be less greedy, less angry and less deluded than before. He or she will be less likely to harm others and more likely to contribute to society in a positive way. Both the means and the ends of his or her actions will be peaceful. Everyone who practices insight meditation can therefore feel happy that, by doing their own practice, they are building the foundation to help others to be happier and to suffer less.