愉 can be defined as pleasure, well-pleased, contented, and happy.

Note: 愉 is no longer in common use in Japanese.

See Also:  Passion

苦は楽の種 is a Japanese proverb that means “One cannot have pleasure without pain.”

It's one of a few Japanese ways to say, “No pain, no gain.”

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

鼓腹 means happiness and contentment in Japanese Kanji.

The first Kanji represents your internal beat or drum.
The second Kanji represents your mind and body.
Together, it suggests that your internal rhythm or beat is regular, soothing, and at the proper tempo.

See Also:  Satisfaction | Pleasure | Well-Being

滿足 is the kind of happiness that involves being satisfied and content.

This can also suggest the actions of “to satisfy,” and “to meet the needs of.”

Other single-word definitions include satisfaction, contentment, sufficient, enough, adequate, full, or complete.

In Japanese, the Kanji for this word is an alternate Chinese form. You can see and select this version at the right (recommended only if your audience is specifically Japanese).

See Also:  Satisfaction | Contentment | Pleasure | Well-Being

欲樂 is the Chinese and Japanese title representing the Buddhist and Jainist joys of the five desires.

Kama comes from the Pali/Sanskrit काम. The meaning is “desire, wish, longing.”

In Jainism, it can include sensual pleasure, sexual desire, and longing.

However, the Buddhist context refers more to any desire, wish, passion, longing, the pleasure of the senses, desire for, longing to and after, the aesthetic enjoyment of life, affection, or love, enjoyment of love is particularly with or without the enjoyment of sexual, sensual and erotic desire, and is often used without sexual connotations.

快感 is a Chinese, Japanese, and old Korean word meaning pleasure, thrill, delight, joy, pleasurable sensation, or pleasant feeling.

吃喝玩樂 is the short version of, “Eat, drink, and be merry.”

This is a Chinese proverb that suggests abandoning oneself to a life of pleasure.

欣 is the type of happiness that you feel on the inside. It is the feeling of being released and delighted as well as being in a state of contentment. 欣 is more the internal happiness that perhaps only shows by the smile on your face. It can also be translated as “to take pleasure in” or “to rejoice.”

Note: 欣 is often used in compound words - especially in Korean Hanja.
As Japanese Kanji, this is so rare, that most Japanese people are not aware of its existence.

See Also:  Happiness

喜 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and Korean Hanja for the kind of happiness known in the west as “joy.”

喜 can also be translated as rejoice, enjoyment, delighted, pleased, or “take pleasure in.” Sometimes it can mean “to be fond of” (in a certain context).

If you write two of these happiness/joy characters side by side, you create another character known in English as “double happiness,” which is a symbol associated with weddings and happy marriages.

There is another version of this character that you will find on our website with an additional radical on the left side (exactly same meaning, just an alternate form). The version of happiness shown here is the commonly written form in China, Japan and South Korea (banned in North Korea).

See Also:  Contentment | Happiness | Joy

人生を楽しみにしている is one way to write “enjoy life” in Japanese.

The character breakdown:
人生 (jinsei) life (i.e. conception to death) human lifetime, living.
を (o) connecting particle.
楽しみ (tanoshimi) enjoyment; pleasure; anticipation; looking forward to.
に (ni) connecting particle.
し (shi) to do; to cause; to become; to make (into).
て (te) connecting particle.
いる (iru) indicates continuing action or resulting state.

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

快樂 or joyfulness is an inner sense of peace and happiness.

You appreciate the gifts each day brings. Without joyfulness, when the fun stops, our happiness stops. Joy can carry us through hard times even when we are feeling very sad.

快樂 can also mean pleasure, enjoyment, delight, cheerfulness, or merry. In some ways, this is the essence that makes someone perceived as a charming person.

See Also:  Happiness

快 is the single character for “fast” in Chinese.

This applies to race cars, airplanes, rockets, etc.

This can also mean rapid, quick, speed, rate, soon, to make haste, clever, or sharp (of knives or wits). In some context it can mean cheerful or happy.

This is not a common choice for a wall scroll but if you're a speed freak, this may work for you.

Note: In Japanese, this usually has a meaning of pleasure, cheerful, delight, enjoyment, or the female given name Yoshi.

正定 is one of the Noble Eightfold Paths of Buddhism. Right Concentration, along with Right Effort and Right Mindfulness, constitute the path to Concentration or Perfect Thought.

Right Concentration has to do with leaving behind sensuality, unwholesome states, as well as pleasure and pain. 正定 is a complex idea, but once you have achieved the shedding of worldly sensation, you can truly concentrate and find a higher level of awareness.

Another definition: Concentration of mind that finds its high point in the four absorptions.

This term is exclusively used by devout Buddhists. It is not a common term, and is remains an unknown concept to most Japanese and Chinese people.

See Also:  Buddhism | Enlightenment | Noble Eightfold Path

十法 is the title of the ten perfect or perfecting Mahāyāna rules.

The order of rules is as follows:
1. right belief.
2. right conduct.
3. right spirit.
4. the joy of the bodhi mind.
5. joy in the dharma.
6. joy in meditation.
7. pursuing the correct dharma.
8. obedience to, or accordance with dharma.
9. departing from pride, desire, etc.
10. comprehending the inner teaching of Buddha and taking no pleasure in attaining such knowledge or noting the ignorance of others.

This title is only used in the context of Buddhism. Japanese and Chinese people who are not familiar with Buddhism will not recognize this title.

八風吹不動 is an ancient Buddhist phrase from about 1000 years ago.

Literal meaning: “The Eight Winds cannot move [me].”

The original famous anecdote is from Song Dynasty China, involving the poet-official 蘇東坡 (Su Dongpo / Su Shi, 1037–1101) and Zen master 佛印 (Foyin).

Su Dongpo wrote 八風吹不動，一屁打過江
“The Eight Winds cannot move me; Yet one fart blows me across the river.”

Foyin’s irreverent reply exposed Su Dongpo’s ego, which is kind of a classic Zen/Chan teaching story.

There is a shorter Japanese Zen version, 八風不動, which drops the middle character. Often romanized as happū fudō. The romanization of 八風吹不動 is arguably happū fukedomo ugokazu or happū sui fudō.