英文原文
Buddhist Wealth: How to Spend, Acquire, and Relate to Money The following reflection originally appeared in the newsletter I sent out on September 2nd, 2024. Introduction If a financial advisor wrote about wise money, perhaps they would discuss basic financial literacy, retirement accounts, budgeting, investing, risk tolerance, financial planning, or how to make bundles of money, among other things. Most of that stuff would probably be useful and wise to learn — maybe I would even read the article! However, as I am not a financial advisor, today I wish to discuss money, wealth, and finances from a Buddhist perspective; that is, a tradition ultimately focused on inner freedom, as opposed to the freedom to do whatever you want that’s championed in modern society. More succinctly, I’ll explore how to have a clear sense of purpose, integrity, and contentment in how one spends, acquires, and relates to money. Even though the Buddha’s 2,600-years-ago economic world was very distinct from ours, his teachings feel timelessly relevant. Let us dive in! Purpose Part I At the deepest level, what motivates all our actions, whether conscious or not, is the desire to be well and not suffer. Our society says the way to do this is to accumulate riches, either using it for abstract ends like power, status, and fame, or more concrete ends like pleasure, trips, nicer things, and material goods. However, people can get rich, have all of that, and still be miserable. And other people can be very poor, with none of that, and be quite happy and fulfilled. I’ve met folks in both categories. In other words, money as a way to true & deep well-being is questionable at best. Of course, many studies as well as the practical experience of anyone who has ever struggled to make ends meet, all reveal that having enough money to meet our basic needs, like food, shelter, medicine, and clothing, is actually quite important. And yet, Buddhist monks & nuns traditionally live without money, but they are also embedded in a system of generosity where other people provide those requisites for them. This is to say that while it’s important to have a baseline of financial resources, we quickly see that money is just a tool to help us achieve... what exactly? Relating to Money Before we go further, it’s helpful to explore our underlying views and feelings towards money. When you think about your bank account, financial planning, budgeting, capitalist society, spending money, what’s required of you to earn a “good wage,” the financial ramifications of vacation or putting your kids through school, what comes up for you? Are there initial feelings of anxiety, excitement, desire, sadness, aversion, anger, or anything else? Just notice that. Not good, not bad. Just notice the feelings that are part of the money constellation. When we notice the feelings actually present, we have the chance to touch into a deeper wisdom and act from that place, rather than our conditioned reaction — mindfulness can hold quite a lot. And then, on a deeper level than feelings, we hold various subconscious views and beliefs. A common view in spiritual circles is that money is bad or evil. However, in many discourses, the Buddha affirmed the role and value of having wealth. In one text he lists five reasons to get rich, and in another, he lists four types of happiness, two of which involve having and using wealth. The citations could go on and on, but in basically all of them, he affirms the worldly purpose money serves, while also emphasizing that a significantly deeper happiness comes from what you do with your money, as well as the depth of integrity with which you earn and spend it. To put it simply, for the Buddha, wealth is simply a tool — neutral in tone, but similar to a hammer, can be used to create suffering or well-being. Whether we see it or not, it’s also hard not to be influenced by the cultural bombardment of more is better — that more money, more comfort, more pleasure, more luxury, more security, and on and on, means more well-being. It’s really powerful to see where this view impacts you — maybe in terms of how much you work, what types of jobs you choose, or the various things you spend your money on, ranging from trips to possessions. On top of this, we are all impacted greatly by our upbringing. How did we see money modeled by our parents and communities? Personally, my parents instilled in me a strong sense of differentiating needs from wants. A friend of mine witnessed his parents go into great debt because they lived beyond their means. Both these childhood experiences have greatly impacted our relationships with money throughout our lives. You undoubtedly have many of your own. Finally, it’s interesting to observe how much money-related thoughts flow through your mind, or how much earning/spending money occupies your time. It’s not that there is anything wrong with one way or another, but if you look closely, does how much energy you give to it match the amount of value you attribute to it? Again, the more we can see our conditioned relationship to money, the more we have a chance to release unhelpful reactions and cultivate a wiser more thoughtful relationship with it. Purpose Part II In the article I linked above on Buddhist reasons to get rich, most of them have to do with generosity, supporting others, and spiritual undertakings — uses of money that provide well-being much deeper than comfort, pleasure, and luxury. I spent two years as a Buddhist monk in Myanmar, which is one of the poorest countries in the world, yet typically ranks among the most generous. As it’s a Buddhist country, I saw how the core Buddhist value of generosity weaved through the fabric of society and contributed to cultural well-being and interconnection. It was very moving. In any case, while the Buddha emphasizes the wholesome things we can do with money, like giving, the simplest takeaway here is that money is just a means to an end. The question for each of us then becomes what exactly is that end? Personally, my purpose or “end” is to provide basic needs & comfort for myself and my family, have a retirement / disaster fund, deepen my social connections, pursue my hobbies, and, most importantly, to use my money to further my spiritual practice and bring goodness into the world through ethical consumption and donations. If you had to put the purpose of your money into one sentence, what would it be? It’s also fascinating to look at the areas where we spend money that falls outside of our self-stated purpose. For me, when I see those incongruencies, rather than beat myself up, I just observe that with curiosity. Maybe those things, like art or simple pleasures, are to some degree actually part of my purpose — and that’s fine. Or maybe time goes on and the extraneous things drop off, or maybe my purpose shifts altogether — and that’s fine too. The path of wisdom is about clear seeing. The more deeply we see what actually is, then we tend to naturally move towards congruence. Integrity In terms of earning money, the Buddha instructed people to be like a bee gathering honey, not harming the flower in the process of collecting nectar. In this way, the Buddha talks about integrity not so much in relation to our personal values, but rather to a more universal set of values anchored around non-harming. In more plain speak, Bhikkhu Bodhi sums up the Buddha’s position like this, “One should acquire [wealth] only by legal means, not illegally; one should acquire it peacefully, without coercion or violence; one should acquire it honestly, not by trickery or deceit; and one should acquire it in ways which do not entail harm and suffering for others.” Part of this might include deeply contemplating the type of work we are involved with. I often get questions from people who say, “I work for X corporation, and they don’t seem evil per se, but they are contributing to the capitalist machine that I think is harmful.” My response is usually that the fact that you are asking the question is huge! Trust your inner compass. The Buddha gives a short list of harmful things like dealing in weapons, poisons, trading or killing living beings, and some others. However, my sense is that if the harm isn’t overt, like in the capitalist machine example, and the company is generally on the honest/ethical side, what becomes more important is the degree of integrity you hold in your particular role. At the end of the day, it’s hard to opt out of capitalism — we still need to support ourselves, and it’s possible to be in the system without anger, resentment, and angst. Two personal stories: In my mid-20s, I co-ran a small business selling used electronics. It was hard to work this job and be financially viable while also being fully transparent and honest. Ultimately, this integrity challenge was a big part of what led me to quit that job. Years later, after I returned from a 4-year spiritual journey, I wanted to teach the dhamma as a way of supporting myself, yet it was initially a struggle. In spite of all my monk training, I ended up feeling quite a bit of anxiety, as I wasn’t able to cover my meager living expenses, and even floated myself for a while on a 0% APR credit card. Eventually, I came to see the harm this was causing me. I took in the Buddha’s basic advice to live within one’s means, got a part-time job for a company that was wholesome enough, and focused on my attitude and how I could cultivate a deeper integrity in that role — what a blessing that job was in my life for those years! Touching on the above link more directly, there is a curious form of non-integrity of spending more than one has — if that’s the case, maybe one needs to see the financial advisor, meet one’s “purpose” in a simpler way, or like I did when I was already living meagerly, find a way to make enough money to survive. It’s also fairly obvious that in a consumer society, we primarily vote with our dollars — what products, companies, or institutions are we supporting with our money? It may cost a little more to choose the apple or t-shirt that’s produced like a bee gathers nectar, but perhaps the reduced harm is worth it, especially if our deepest well-being doesn’t come from maximizing possessions anyway. Of course, when you’re living check-to-check and struggling to make ends meet, being a conscious consumer can easily become an impossible task. And even if you aren’t struggling, it can sometimes feel like a part-time job just to make sure things are sourced ethically. My working principle is to try my best with the resources I have, and go easy on myself. Compassion isn’t just for other people! To summarize all this, are there ways in your earning/spending money that you are creating harm for yourself or others — aka, that are out-of-integrity? Maybe it’s in the attitude you bring to your work. Maybe it’s the type of work you do. Maybe it’s the products you buy. Maybe it has to do with honesty, kindness, or other virtues. Again, the purpose of these reflections isn’t to provoke guilt or self-criticism, but to prompt self-learning that leads to deeper integrity and wise living. Contentment One of my favorite quotes from the Buddha is where he described wise people as being “contented and easily satisfied, unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways.” Relaying that quote to this essay and our consumption-driven society, it’s indescribably important to have a clear sense of “what is enough?” One of my hobbies is backpacking/camping, and I can see in myself the occasional desire for nicer gear. The thoughts go, “sure, this backpack is pretty good, but it’s old and has some rips; maybe it’s time for a new one,” or, “this rain jacket works, but I could use a lighter, more versatile rain jacket,” and on and on. Maybe sometimes it’s appropriate to upgrade, like when my rain jacket stops preventing rain or when the backpack has thoroughly fallen apart, but the voice of our society says more, better, bigger, newer, fancier — without limits! For you, maybe it’s not backpacking, but rather your vehicle, wardrobe, cuisine, smartphone, or the size of your retirement account. On the deepest level, our happiness comes not from getting more, but from our ability to be at peace right now, whether we have much or have little — the Buddha literally calls “contentment the greatest wealth.” In turn, when you notice the voice in your head saying to buy, upgrade, spend, or get more of this or that, ask yourself, “what is enough? At what point will I be satisfied?” Maybe you see you already have enough, or just as good, you see the point at which you can stop, which cuts right through the cultural delusion of never enough. As a note, please understand I am not saying we all need to be renunciate monks and nuns. It’s fine to have stuff, go on trips, and enjoy ourselves, but the goal of this reflection is to mediate that drive with a sense of purpose, integrity, and what is enough. As one concrete practice, I generally don’t allow myself to impulse buy anything over 10 bucks or so, instead only purchasing things if they’ve been on my mind for a while. Even if there is some non-contentment in the end purchase, maybe the lesson I need comes through just getting the thing & learning from the experience— assuming of course it’s done with integrity! Conclusion So much more could be said about money and wealth. However, on the simplest level, it’s helpful to deeply consider our relationship with money, clearing out the baggage so we can have a clean, sober relationship with it. As we do this, we have the opportunity to see money as a powerful but limited tool, which we can use in wise and skillful ways to help lessen suffering and increase well-being in ourselves and others. And when money has hit the limits of its effectiveness, we can put it aside and embrace the deeper spiritual teachings on how peace is always available right now — regardless of our financial situation.
中文翻译
佛教财富观：如何花费、获取和与金钱相处 以下反思最初出现在我于2024年9月2日发送的新闻通讯中。 引言 如果一位财务顾问撰写关于明智金钱的文章，他们可能会讨论基本的财务知识、退休账户、预算、投资、风险承受能力、财务规划，或者如何赚大钱等等。这些东西大部分可能都很有用且明智，值得学习——我甚至可能会读那篇文章！然而，由于我不是财务顾问，今天我想从佛教的角度来讨论金钱、财富和财务；也就是说，这是一个最终关注内心自由的传统，而不是现代社会所倡导的随心所欲的自由。更简洁地说，我将探讨如何在花费、获取和与金钱相处时拥有清晰的目标感、正直和知足。尽管佛陀2600年前的经济世界与我们的截然不同，但他的教义感觉具有永恒的相关性。让我们深入探讨吧！ 目标第一部分 在最深的层面上，激励我们所有行动（无论是有意识还是无意识）的是渴望幸福和不受苦。我们的社会说，实现这一目标的方法是积累财富，要么用于抽象的目的，如权力、地位和名声，要么用于更具体的目的，如快乐、旅行、更好的东西和物质商品。然而，人们可以变得富有，拥有所有这些，但仍然痛苦。而其他人可能非常贫穷，没有这些，却相当快乐和满足。我遇到过这两类人。换句话说，金钱作为通往真正和深层幸福的方式，充其量是值得怀疑的。当然，许多研究以及任何曾经为生计挣扎的人的实际经验都表明，拥有足够的钱来满足我们的基本需求，如食物、住所、药品和衣物，实际上非常重要。然而，佛教僧侣和尼姑传统上生活在没有金钱的情况下，但他们也嵌入了一个慷慨的体系中，其他人为他们提供这些必需品。这就是说，虽然拥有财务资源的基础很重要，但我们很快就会发现，金钱只是一个帮助我们实现……的工具，具体是什么呢？ 与金钱相处 在我们进一步讨论之前，探索我们对金钱的潜在看法和感受是有帮助的。当你想到你的银行账户、财务规划、预算、资本主义社会、花钱、赚取“好工资”所需的条件、度假或供孩子上学的财务影响时，你会想到什么？是否有最初的焦虑、兴奋、渴望、悲伤、厌恶、愤怒或其他任何感觉？只需注意到这些。没有好坏之分。只需注意到这些是金钱星座的一部分的感受。当我们注意到实际存在的感受时，我们就有机会触及更深层的智慧，并从那个地方行动，而不是我们的条件反射——正念可以容纳很多。然后，在比感受更深的层面上，我们持有各种潜意识的观点和信念。在灵性圈子里，一个常见的观点是金钱是坏的或邪恶的。然而，在许多经文中，佛陀肯定了拥有财富的作用和价值。在一部经文中，他列出了五个致富的理由，在另一部经文中，他列出了四种幸福，其中两种涉及拥有和使用财富。引用可以继续下去，但在基本上所有这些中，他都肯定了金钱在世俗中的目的，同时也强调，更深层的幸福来自于你如何用钱，以及你赚取和花费金钱时的正直深度。简单来说，对佛陀来说，财富只是一个工具——中性色调，但类似于锤子，可以用来制造痛苦或幸福。无论我们是否看到，我们也很难不受“越多越好”的文化轰炸的影响——更多的钱、更多的舒适、更多的快乐、更多的奢华、更多的安全等等，意味着更多的幸福。看到这种观点在哪里影响你，真的很有力量——也许是在你工作多少、选择什么类型的工作，或者你花钱的各种事情上，从旅行到财产。除此之外，我们都深受成长经历的影响。我们看到父母和社区如何示范金钱？就我个人而言，我的父母灌输给我强烈的区分需求和欲望的意识。我的一个朋友目睹他的父母因为生活超出能力而负债累累。这些童年经历极大地影响了我们一生中与金钱的关系。你无疑也有许多自己的经历。最后，观察有多少与金钱相关的想法流过你的脑海，或者赚取/花费金钱占据了你多少时间，是很有趣的。这并不是说某一种方式有什么问题，但如果你仔细观察，你投入其中的精力是否与你赋予它的价值相匹配？再次强调，我们越能看到我们与金钱的条件关系，就越有机会释放无益的反应，并培养更明智、更深思熟虑的关系。 目标第二部分 在我上面链接的关于佛教致富理由的文章中，大多数都与慷慨、支持他人和灵性事业有关——这些用钱方式提供的幸福比舒适、快乐和奢华更深层。我在缅甸做了两年的佛教僧侣，缅甸是世界上最贫穷的国家之一，但通常排名最慷慨的国家之一。由于这是一个佛教国家，我看到了佛教核心价值——慷慨如何编织进社会结构，并促进了文化幸福和相互联系。这非常感人。无论如何，虽然佛陀强调我们可以用金钱做的有益事情，如给予，但这里最简单的启示是，金钱只是达到目的的手段。那么，对我们每个人来说，问题就变成了那个目的到底是什么？就我个人而言，我的目标或“目的”是为自己和家人提供基本需求和舒适，拥有退休/灾难基金，深化社会联系，追求我的爱好，最重要的是，用我的钱来进一步我的灵性修行，并通过道德消费和捐赠为世界带来善。如果你必须用一句话概括你金钱的目的，那会是什么？同样有趣的是，看看我们花钱的领域是否超出了我们自我陈述的目的。对我来说，当我看到这些不一致时，我不会自责，而是带着好奇心观察。也许那些事情，如艺术或简单的快乐，在某种程度上实际上是我目的的一部分——这没关系。或者也许随着时间的推移，无关紧要的事情会消失，或者我的目的完全改变——这也没关系。智慧之路是关于清晰的看见。我们越深入地看到实际是什么，就越倾向于自然地走向一致。 正直 在赚钱方面，佛陀教导人们要像蜜蜂采集花蜜一样，在收集过程中不伤害花朵。这样，佛陀谈论正直，更多地不是关于我们的个人价值观，而是关于一套更普遍的以不伤害为核心的价值观。更通俗地说，Bhikkhu Bodhi这样总结佛陀的立场：“一个人应该只通过合法手段获取[财富]，而不是非法手段；应该和平地获取，没有胁迫或暴力；应该诚实地获取，而不是通过诡计或欺骗；应该以不导致他人伤害和痛苦的方式获取。”这可能包括深入思考我们从事的工作类型。我经常收到人们的问题，他们说：“我为X公司工作，他们本身似乎并不邪恶，但他们正在助长我认为有害的资本主义机器。”我的回应通常是，你问这个问题本身就很重要！相信你的内在指南针。佛陀给出了一份有害事物的简短清单，如交易武器、毒药、交易或杀害生命等。然而，我的感觉是，如果伤害不明显，就像资本主义机器的例子，而且公司总体上在诚实/道德方面，更重要的是你在特定角色中持有的正直程度。归根结底，很难退出资本主义——我们仍然需要养活自己，而且有可能在系统中没有愤怒、怨恨和焦虑。两个个人故事：在我20多岁的时候，我共同经营一家销售二手电子产品的小企业。很难在做这份工作时既经济上可行又完全透明和诚实。最终，这种正直挑战是我辞去那份工作的一个重要原因。几年后，在我从四年的灵性之旅回来后，我想通过教授佛法来养活自己，但最初很挣扎。尽管我接受了僧侣训练，但我最终感到相当焦虑，因为我无法支付微薄的生活费用，甚至一度靠0%年利率的信用卡维持。最终，我看到了这对我造成的伤害。我接受了佛陀的基本建议，量入为出，为一家足够有益的公司找了一份兼职工作，并专注于我的态度以及如何在该角色中培养更深的正直——那些年里，那份工作在我的生活中是多么大的祝福！更直接地触及上面的链接，有一种奇怪的不正直形式是花费超过自己拥有的——如果是这样，也许需要见财务顾问，以更简单的方式满足自己的“目的”，或者像我一样，在已经生活拮据的情况下，找到一种赚足够钱生存的方式。同样明显的是，在消费社会中，我们主要通过我们的美元投票——我们用钱支持什么产品、公司或机构？选择像蜜蜂采集花蜜一样生产的苹果或T恤可能成本稍高，但也许减少的伤害是值得的，尤其是如果我们最深层的幸福并不来自最大化财产。当然，当你靠工资生活、为生计挣扎时，做一个有意识的消费者很容易成为不可能的任务。即使你不挣扎，有时感觉就像一份兼职工作，只是为了确保东西来源道德。我的工作原则是尽我所能利用我拥有的资源，并对自己宽容。慈悲不仅仅是对他人！总结所有这些，你在赚钱/花钱的方式中是否有对自己或他人造成伤害的方式——也就是，不正直？也许是你带到工作中的态度。也许是你做的工作类型。也许是你购买的产品。也许与诚实、善良或其他美德有关。再次强调，这些反思的目的不是引发内疚或自我批评，而是促进自我学习，从而带来更深的正直和明智的生活。 知足 我最喜欢的佛陀语录之一是他描述智者“知足且容易满足，职责不重，生活方式节俭”。将这句语录与这篇文章和我们消费驱动的社会联系起来，拥有清晰的“什么是足够？”感是难以形容的重要。我的爱好之一是背包旅行/露营，我可以看到自己偶尔对更好的装备的渴望。想法是：“当然，这个背包相当不错，但它旧了，有些破损；也许是时候换一个新的了，”或者，“这件雨衣有效，但我可以用一件更轻、更多功能的雨衣，”等等。也许有时升级是合适的，比如当我的雨衣不再防雨或背包完全散架时，但我们社会的声音说更多、更好、更大、更新、更花哨——没有限制！对你来说，也许不是背包旅行，而是你的车辆、衣柜、美食、智能手机或退休账户的大小。在最深的层面上，我们的幸福不是来自获得更多，而是来自我们此时此刻能够平静的能力，无论我们拥有多少——佛陀字面上称“知足是最大的财富”。反过来，当你注意到脑海中的声音说购买、升级、花费或获得更多这个或那个时，问自己：“什么是足够？在什么时候我会满足？”也许你看到你已经足够了，或者同样好，你看到你可以停止的点，这直接切穿了“永远不够”的文化错觉。请注意，我并不是说我们都需要成为出家的僧侣和尼姑。拥有东西、去旅行、享受自己是没问题的，但这次反思的目标是用目标感、正直和什么是足够来调节这种驱动力。作为一个具体的实践，我通常不允许自己冲动购买任何超过10美元左右的东西，而是只购买那些在我脑海中存在一段时间的东西。即使最终购买中有一些不知足，也许我需要的教训来自于获得那个东西并从经验中学习——当然，前提是这是以正直的方式完成的！ 结论 关于金钱和财富，还有很多可以说。然而，在最简单的层面上，深入思考我们与金钱的关系是有帮助的，清理包袱，这样我们才能有一个干净、清醒的关系。当我们这样做时，我们有机会将金钱视为一个强大但有限的工具，我们可以用明智和巧妙的方式来帮助减少痛苦，增加我们自己和他人的幸福。当金钱达到其有效性的极限时，我们可以把它放在一边，拥抱更深层的灵性教义，关于和平如何总是现在就可获得——无论我们的财务状况如何。
文章概要
本文从佛教视角探讨金钱与财富，围绕目标、正直和知足三个核心主题展开。作者指出，金钱本身是中性的工具，其价值取决于如何使用。文章强调，真正的幸福不来自财富积累，而来自内在满足和灵性实践。通过个人经历和佛陀教义，作者引导读者反思与金钱的关系，鼓励以正念处理财务焦虑，培养慷慨和道德消费，最终实现内心自由与平和。
高德明老师的评价
用12岁初中生可以听懂的语音来重复翻译的内容：这篇文章就像在说，钱就像一把锤子，可以用来做好事，比如帮助别人，也可以用来做坏事，比如伤害自己或他人。它告诉我们，钱不是万能的，真正的快乐来自于知道自己需要什么，而不是总想要更多。比如，如果你有足够的钱买食物和衣服，那就很棒了，但如果你总是想买最新的玩具或衣服，可能反而会不开心。佛陀教我们要像蜜蜂采蜜一样，赚钱时不伤害别人，花钱时要想想是不是真的需要。最重要的是，要学会满足，享受现在拥有的东西，这样心里才会平静。
佛学的各个宗派视角评价，突出《显密圆通成佛心要集》的视角：从大乘佛教的视角看，本文强调的慷慨和利他精神与菩萨道的布施波罗蜜高度契合，金钱作为工具可用于积累福德资粮。显宗如禅宗和净土宗会赞赏文中对正念和知足的重视，这有助于破除对物质的执着。密宗视角下，金钱可视为空性的显现，通过准提法等修持，能转化对财富的贪执为智慧能量。《显密圆通成佛心要集》融合显密教法，本文的金钱观体现了其“圆通”思想：金钱的世俗使用（显）与灵性提升（密）不二，通过准提咒等修法，可在日常生活中净化财务关系，达到福慧双修。准提法的优点在于简便易行，能直接对治财务焦虑，帮助修行者在经济活动中保持清净心，加速成佛进程。
在修行实践上可以应用的和可以解决人们的十个问题：1. 减少财务焦虑：通过正念观察金钱相关情绪，培养平和心态。2. 提升消费意识：在购物前自问“是否足够”，避免冲动消费。3. 增强道德赚钱：选择不伤害他人的工作，如佛陀教导的“像蜜蜂采蜜”。4. 实践慷慨布施：用金钱支持他人或公益，积累福德。5. 深化知足感：学习佛陀“知足是最大财富”的教义，减少物质欲望。6. 改善家庭财务关系：反思成长经历对金钱观的影响，促进和谐。7. 平衡灵性与物质：将金钱用于灵性修行，如参加禅修或捐赠寺庙。8. 应对经济压力：在拮据时量入为出，保持内心稳定。9. 促进社会善行：通过道德消费支持环保或公平贸易产品。10. 加速成佛进程：结合准提法修持，转化财富执著为菩提心资粮。