The Buddha never talks about deserving happiness or not deserving happiness. He was here to put an end to suffering, whether deserved or not.

"Someone was saying today that she had trouble seeing that she deserved happiness. But the Buddha never talks about deserving happiness or not deserving happiness. He was here to put an end to suffering, whether deserved or not. We can think about lots of different ways we might deserve to suffer or other people might deserve to suffer, but that’s part of our views that are making us continue to suffer, unnecessarily. The opportunity to stop making yourself suffer is here. And in not placing the burden of suffering on yourself, you’re putting less of a burden on other people. You’re actually more able to help them."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Clinging, Addictions, Obsessions" (Meditations8)

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