Benefit 4
4. The Endowment of Balanced Livelihood: Knowing how to spend money in a way that is appropriate to the realm of wealth or learning to live in a state of peace or moderation, it is said that spending money should not exceed the amount earned. If you earn less, spend less, you should refrain from unnecessary spending and save some for future poverty, that is, spending not more than your income. A family and a nation that will grow and develop only if you spend your wealth, both on the part of the family and the part of the nation, must be frugal in things that are not spent, and try to use what you produce yourself. Using only foreign goods that are not necessary will lead to a loss of national currency. Living a life that is honest and fair, not too stingy, and not too wasteful. The idea of ​​​​balance and division is the scale of life. Living should be balanced in terms of income and expenses. If you earn a lot and spend a little, you will be satisfied because things are not constant, both wealth and life. But if your income is low, you must also limit it accordingly. Spending too much will not happen. Therefore, you must be thrifty and not be called a miser or a greedy person. You must be thrifty with your belongings, do not buy old things, and quickly buy new ones. You must be thrifty and save them for when there are crises. It is not forbidden to spend, but do not be happy about spending too much. If you have a lot of money, you can donate it to help the hungry or help your family or society. There are many people who do not have enough things to live in. A small house can be lived in. When you have to earn money, you have to spend money on materials. A small house is cramped, a large house is cramped. Flats are not comfortable because they are too crowded. In other words, because they are next to each other, institutions are not suitable because they are too noisy. ៘ Dissatisfaction makes people unable to pay off debts and forever owe debts to lust. The four qualities for the present benefit are that Buddhism does not teach people to be lazy, but teaches people to be diligent in the right path, to have good manners, to know who should associate with whom, and to know oneself, to respect one's role, and to know the limits of life. We humans always desire to have wealth. If we come with strong dharma, it will be even better. This desire is natural and common to everyone. This desire is the dharma, not a person. This is the first desire. We humans are rich in wealth, and our desires are endless. We still want to have wealth, whether it is honor, family, or fame, and have all the satisfactions. Then we still want relatives and friends and children. This is the second desire. Wealth is abundant and all the benefits are there, there are relatives, supporters, children and grandchildren, but we still want to have a long life and live a long life. This is the third desire. The fourth desire is that after my death, I wish to go to the heavenly realms. This is the desire that is needed, loved, and desired, and is rarely found in the world, namely, for the four objects of desire. The four faculties are 1-the faculty of virtue, 2-the faculty of morality, 3-the faculty of intellect, 4-and the faculty of wisdom, which are the causes that lead to the achievement of the four objects of desire. As already mentioned, if these four faculties exist in previous lives, they also lead to the achievement of the four objects of desire in this life. If they exist in this life, they achieve benefits both in this life and in the future lives. Therefore, the four faculties are the refuge of all beings at the time of death and as a refuge in the next world. This article about peace is a teaching that helps people live in peace, happiness, and harmony in their daily lives, not under the control of greed, having peace because they have the right understanding, a peaceful mind that knows how to ask for forgiveness, know how to forgive, be tolerant, and understand, a mind that is free from disease, free from guilt, a mind that is intelligent, full of merit, and has the results of happiness, a mind that is peaceful, knows how to be kind to others, does not compete with fate, lives a life of virtue, and has the ability to celebrate efforts. If you earn less, spend less, and you should refrain from unnecessary spending and save some for future poverty, that is, spend not more than your income. Families and nations that will grow and develop only when they spend their wealth, both the family and the nation, must be frugal in what they do not spend, and try to use what they produce themselves. The use of foreign goods that are not necessary leads to the loss of national currency. Living a balanced life means knowing how to determine your income and expenses, living within your means, not always wanting to be extravagant and lavish with your spending, but not being too stingy. These four principles will be a piece of light for every family economy to take as a guide in maintaining and managing wealth to grow. Balanced life is living a balanced life, living according to the Dharma according to the law, not too high or too low, meaning knowing how to measure your income and expenses. Living a balanced life, earn less, spend less, do not spend more than your income, do not spend on bad deeds, spend on things that need to be considered. Dharma brings about these four benefits to any person, which will bring prosperity and success to that person in this present nation immediately. To live a balanced life means that we know the destruction of food because of this, the pleasure of eating because of this, and know how to eat without being too stingy, without being too wasteful. We should eat in proportion to the food we have. It is not that we are rich but go to eat dirty and unpalatable things, like a person who is too rich but looks like he has no money to buy food. If we are very poor and suddenly spend excessively, as the proverb says, "Eat like a mosquito, poop like an elephant," this is also not right. When money is earned by working hard,Weary day and night, and having enough money, we dare not eat, as if we were poor and had no wealth. The wise call us "excessive misers." O sage, the son of this world knows clearly the increase of all food, and knows clearly the destruction of all food, and lives a balanced life, not being too wasteful, not being too stingy, thinking that my increase will outweigh this destruction, and my destruction will not outweigh my increase. "Venerable sir, just as a person weighing a scale, the student of a person weighing a scale, having lifted the scale, knows that it is too heavy on one side and too light on the other. However, venerable sir, your son knows clearly the increase of all things, knows clearly the decrease of all things, and lives a balanced life, not being too extravagant, not being too stingy, thinking that the increase of my self will outweigh the decrease, and the decrease of my self will not outweigh the increase." If a son of a certain clan is of little means and lives in a very small way, the sages would say to him, "This son eats all kinds of food like a fig." (If you want to eat figs, you would not pick them all, but would eat them to your heart's content. You would go to a fig tree and pluck all the figs and pick only the ones that are fit to eat. There would be many other figs left.) If a son of a certain clan is of great means and lives in a very small way, the sages would say to him, "This son is about to die, helpless." Venerable sir, when this son of the family clearly knows the growth of all things, clearly knows the destruction of all things, and lives a balanced life, not too wasteful, not too stingy, thinking that my growth will outweigh this destruction, and my destruction will not outweigh my growth, this, venerable sir, is called a balanced life.
Spending according to income
A balanced life is a balanced life, a life that is in accordance with the Dhamma, according to the law, not too high or too low. It means knowing how to be moderate, such as knowing how to measure one's income and expenses, not being too tight to the point of causing hardship, not spending too much to the point of being indebted, and not living a life of stinginess to the point of being angry and not being relaxed to the point of becoming a slave.
Some people strive endlessly because they want something high and unattainable. If you don't have a salary of a few hundred dollars, you want to buy a hundred-dollar appliance or a high-priced car. Doing things without thinking about yourself will create problems in your mind, and it will make you want to restrict yourself even more. If we know how to spend according to our status, not wasteful and save, we will definitely live comfortably, without having to work hard and get angry.
About the purpose of the Buddha not to let people be greedy
The word greed or greed comes from the Pali word lopho, which means the state of making the mind stuck in the feelings. This greed is one of the three root causes of unhappiness: greed, delusion, and delusion. These three root causes are the root of all unhappiness. Some people have misunderstood that if the Buddha did not let people be greedy, it would hinder the growth of the national economy. This understanding comes from people not understanding the word greed. Maybe they think that not being greedy means not wanting too much, which is not what it means. Not to be greedy does not mean that one is forbidden to study, not to work to earn a living. Even Buddhist monks who have given up almost everything and become monks seek the four conditions to earn a living. Therefore, learning and working to earn a living are normal activities that the Buddha not only does not prohibit, but also encourages them to work harder, such as the words "upadhana sakshi" (one must work hard to study and work to earn a living), but one must avoid work that is not in accordance with the Dhamma, namely, work that is unjust and unjust. "Arakh sakshi" (one has knowledge and knowledge, has wealth, and must be preserved and maintained, etc.) This Dhamma is said to have four present benefits. The Dhamma that the Buddha does not allow to be greedy has a very profound meaning, which is a formula for killing human mental suffering. The word "viggaha" means "lust, greed, and lust." Some places translate it as "desire," while others translate it as "attachment." All things, both sentient and non-sentient, are always in flux, always changing, and ultimately perish and die. If a person's mind is still attached (covetous) to things that are perishable, he will experience mental suffering for the beings (sentient beings) and the samskaras (inanimate beings) that have perished. In the 12 groups of suffering, one group of suffering is said to be suffering from the loss of one's beloved (pyyehi vipayo ko dukha). Therefore, if the mind is not attached (alobha), mental suffering does not exist. In Buddhism, it is taught to consider that all samskaras are born and die, and all beings are always scattered, so regretting and lamenting cannot be revived, only leading to mental damage. The mind should be an object, considering the karma of humans and animals. If we consider in the context of compassion, compassion for the beings and samskaras that have died and are lost and will not be revived, regret always remains in the mind. Some people are so sad that they commit suicide, even killing themselves. This sadness comes from the mind of attachment (covetousness), not considering the true nature of things and giving up this attachment. It is said that if parents, grandparents, siblings, and children are alive and still respect each other, save each other, and love each other, then when death comes, they must use a different mindset than this one, considering the karma of humans and animals, and the conditions of the mind. If the mind is The mind of a common man is different from the mind of a noble person, such as a Buddha. The mind of a noble person, such as an Arahant, sees the truth that the human body, which is composed of the five elements, namely, body, mind, and consciousness, is not a living being, an individual, a state, nothingness. It is understood that the five elements are just elements that arise, remain, and pass away naturally, are self-contained, self-contained, and cannot be controlled by suffering. Therefore, an Arahant, such as a Buddha, is not afraid, fearful, or sad about life, even when it comes to death. He considers the suffering of the body to be the four elements like the external elements. This lack of fear and sadness is because he is not attached (alopāha). He maintains the body and uses the four conditions, the conditions of life, etc., but if the body and those things perish, he is equanimous, not afraid, not sad at all. Greed, desire, or strong attachment can motivate people to steal other people's property and motivate people to kill others to get their wealth, such as thieves killing the owner of the property or kidnapping to demand money, etc. If government officials commit corruption through greed, beyond the pale, abhichaya, and vice versa, it becomes a desire to covet other people's property and national property. The unfortunate dharma is greed, which causes countries in the world to have thieves, robbers, and border crossings, causing disputes between neighboring countries, such as Cambodia, which is currently having territorial disputes with three neighboring countries, etc. The violation of citizens' rights by those in power also comes from this excessive greed. The two world wars were also caused by greed, the desire to control the world alone. Greed suppresses and prevents individuals from remembering the impermanence (impermanence) of the body. Buddhist scriptures say that when a person's mind is filled with greed, there will be famine and other disasters for people in the present, and people who are reborn as ghosts are born from this greed. As mentioned, the Buddha explained in the Abhidhamma that greed is the root of all unwholesome things, causing suffering to animals and causing them to act without greed. Non-greed is the root of all wholesome things, causing animals to be happy. When the mind is not greedy, it means that it is not attached to something, even if it perishes, it does not cause suffering. This is the highest mental liberation for the purification of the mind, the desire to eliminate suffering, because all things that arise from the elements always perish naturally. The virtue of non-greed leads people to engage in all activities with the Dharma (samma ajiva), not only making themselves happy, but also making society happy because there is no such thing as unwholesome giving, stealing. Not only does not hinder the growth of the family economy and the national economy, but it also makes both economies grow more. People who are not greedy are people with high minds and deep wisdom, who strive to make their own lives and social lives flourish, both materially and morally, with dharma. Whatever comes or is created through dharma, it remains stable. This dharma is an important virtue in making wealth acquired through good deeds, preserving it through good deeds, and not wasting it through good deeds, to achieve a wide range of benefits. For this reason, the Blessed One, the Supreme Master, has mentioned the four sub-families and the three sub-families as the means to manage the three faculties in a good manner. These four qualities, namely, the ability to be happy, the ability to be happy, the ability to be happy, and the ability to be happy, are all qualities that can make a householder become wealthy and well-organized, which is beneficial for the well-being of the body, happiness, clear vision in the present, and in accordance with one's desires. They are worthy of praise from all wise men.

Read More