1、Are You Getting Richer Or Poorer?你是在变穷还是变富？It goes without saying that a certain amount of material wealth - for example, those things related to food, clothing and shelter - is a necessity to sustain our life. Every individual has to work to survive, but when earning a living becomes the exclusive
2、focus and priority of ones life, problems can arise. When we live to earn rather than earn to live, there can be problems of excess and greed.However, there are also other forms of wealth, required not just to sustain the physical body, but to sustain and develop our mind.In this perspective, it may
3、 be interesting to look beyond the traditional ideas of financial wealth and really reflect on why our human species, among the many different types of existence, is so special and valuable.As a Buddhist practitioner and teacher it is my hope and belief that Buddhism may have some interesting and va
4、luable input to offer in this area. First of all, when trying to identify the causes for the present crisis from a Buddhist perspective, the root problems are certain human traits such as greed and laziness, all of which arise on the basis of ignorance.It is one thing to cultivate just enough crops
5、for your day-to-day needs. But when you start to collect crops, and start to stock up with the idea that youll have less work and more money, this can sow the seeds of unchecked greed. So it is really important to be aware of certain human traits which bring a lot of unnecessary problems. Sometimes
6、when we think we are getting richer, from a different perspective we are becoming poorer.Though I never went to school myself (as the head of a lineage, I had a special type of education), I had the good fortune to learn about all this from my parents. Later on, when I got into Buddhist studies and
7、teachings, I learned more and more about the faults and qualities of humanity, and that helped me to learn about life.The inner wealth is our mind, our consciousness. I believe that this mind is like a wish-fulfilling jewel. If you know how to utilise this mind, it can produce the most beneficial ef
8、fects. The best way to utilise and develop this mind is to absorb knowledge, and the most important kind of knowledge is the one that makes us a kind person, a decent person, a person worthy of respect. The qualities which make an individual kind, decent and respectable are qualities such as patienc
9、e, generosity, and kindness. The good news is that we do not have to adopt or create these qualities, since they are already potentially there in all of us. In this way, the Wealth lies latent within each and every one of us.So all we need to do is give ourselves, every day, a bit of a reason to gen
10、erate these qualities, bit by bit. If we do this, it will not make society perfect, but it will enable us to appreciate whatever circumstances we might face.From a Buddhist perspective, we actually have to be grateful for obstacles, because without them we never learn. It is thanks to difficulties a
11、nd challenges that we can come up with solutions, some of which will work and some not. But even if they dont work it doesnt mean we should give up. It only means we should try again.你是在变穷还是变富？不用说，一定量的物质财富，如与衣食住行相关的，是维持生命的必需品。我们每个人都需要工作来维持生计，但是当谋生成为一个人生活中的重点和中心的时候，就会引起一些问题。当我们觉得“活着是为了谋生“ 而非“ 谋生是为了活着
12、”的时候，就会产生过剩和贪婪等问题。但是，我们还有其他形式的财富，它们需要的不仅仅是健康的身体还要发展健康的心智。从这个角度看来，超越金融财富的传统观念、对在如此多的物种中为何我们人类是如此的特殊和宝贵的真实反映可能会比较有趣。作为佛教工作者和教师，我希望也相信佛教在这方面有一些有趣而又有价值的贡献。首先，当我们试图从佛教的观点来确定目前危机产生的原因，根本的问题是人类的某些特征，如贪婪和懒惰，所有这些出现皆源自人类的无知。种植足够的庄稼来供日常所需是一件事。但是，当你收获农作物时、当你满脑子觉得你可以少工作一点却有更多钱的时候，这就可能种下无尽贪婪的种子。因此，意识到人类的某些特质会带来许多
13、不必要麻烦是十分重要的。有时当我们觉得我们变富的时候，从一个不同的角度看来我们却在变穷。尽管我从没有上过学（但作为家族的长子，我受过一种特殊形式的教育），我却很幸运的从我父母那学到了关于这的所有。后来，但我开始学习佛教并从教的时候，我对人类的错误及品质等有了更深的认识从而是我对生命理解更深。思想和意识是我们的内部财富，我坚信思想是一颗实现愿望的宝石。如果你知道如何运用你的智慧，它就会产生最有利的影响。运用与提高智力的最好方法就是多学习，而最重要的一类知识就是那些能使你成为一个善良、体面而又值得尊敬的人。而这些品质的获得又是需要其他品质，如：耐心、慷慨和仁慈。一个好消息就是我们没必要接受或培养这些品质，因为我们都已经拥有它们。这样，财富就已潜藏在我们每一个人的身上。因此，我们所需要做的就是每天给自己一些来唤起这些品质的理由，循序渐进。我们这样做虽不会使这个社会就会更完美，但能使我们在各种情况下感激我们所面对的一切。
