Letter 1.2

...When laymen have told me that they lighted candles at the altar to achieve happiness I've always smiled inwardly with the knowledge that this popular superstition was not really part of Buddhism. Several evenings ago I suddenly realized that they were right, and I looked at the candles which I had purposelessly lighted and realized that they would make me happier. This is a very good thing to know, that you will become happier, and this knowledge filled me with joy, and suddenly I was happier, and it worked. So simple, once the method is mastered, I suspect this 'popular superstition' is 3 more essential part of Buddhism than all the scholarly studies made about the state of Nibbana by people who ain’t been there…