英文原文
A growing movement of financial advisors have realized the human side of money is as important — or sometimes even more important — than financial returns. Since the 1980s, I and many other Western business leaders have studied and practiced Buddhist meditation. We’ve realized that many of its principles are key to cultivating fulfillment and financial wellness in clients, top notch employees, and a healthy corporate community. Over 50% of Fortune 500 companies, including Google, Aetna, Apple, and General Mills, offer employee mindfulness programs. Asana, a $21 billion dollar company, is known for making mindfulness its highest value. Even the Wall Street Journal published an article highlighting my Money Breath on its front page! Numerous meditation studies confirm the benefits to employee health, happiness, productivity, retention, and profits. Beyond meditation, core Buddhist principles are foundational to Abacus’ culture, our interactions with clients, and to our bottom line. Through this and future writings, I hope to bring more awareness to the transformative power of Buddhist principles, and how they can help you be less stressed, happier, and wiser with your finances and investment choices. After all, money is often considered as tender and taboo a topic as sex, religion, or politics. It’s a subject filled with distrust, fear, and worry. Money is connected to our survival and sense of self-worth, so it’s no wonder we’ve got a lot of emotion around it. We inherit fixed beliefs from a young age that tend to override our financial common sense, such as, “Money is the most important thing in the world,” “I’m not good with money,” and “I’d be happier or less stressed if I had more money.” Buddhism is considered a religion by some, but I and many others, especially in the West, consider it a philosophy or way of living. The Dalai Lama’s famous quote sums it up best: “My religion is kindness.” This is something intrinsic to all spiritual traditions. So what does Buddhism or kindness have to do with financial advising or the business world? Isadore Sharp, founder of the Four Seasons Resort (arguably the most successful hotel chain), made kindness, patience, and humility the foundation of his business. He discovered that kindness is good for the employee culture, for the guests that stay and dine at the hotels, and for the bottom line. The Uncomfortable Comfort of Equanimity I discovered the benefits of Buddhist meditation practice in the early 80s, even before earning my MBA in finance from Wharton or founding Abacus. I have found the principles of meditation apply to all areas of our lives, including managing our own finances and being a financial advisor. And it’s the Buddhist principle of equanimity that I come back to again and again, as it continually shows up for Abacus advisors and clients alike. Equanimity is the ability to find calm in the middle of a storm. The practice of meditation cultivates a steadiness of mind so that we won’t react impulsively when financial markets go up and down (as they invariably do). This is key for us individually and for financial advisors. Many studies confirm those who are less reactive to market movements earn higher returns. A Buddhist financial advisor or investor is one who sets their allocation intention and then course-corrects to return to that original intention. If the right allocation for you is 70% equities and 30% bonds, then we as advisors stick to that allocation — we sell equities when they’re more than 70% of your allocation and buy equities when they make up less than 70%. This steadfastness is difficult, especially during crashes like 2008 and 2020, but as we see from historical data holding steady is a solid path and so we don’t veer from it. We are committed to doing the best we can for our clients even if it’s sometimes emotionally difficult. In addition to being less reactive to investment and business ups and downs, equanimity is about staying impartial while helping clients see life decisions from a larger perspective. We look at all sides of an issue. A small example: when a client said he wanted to spend $500,000 on a new boat, my equanimous self embraced the idea rather than allowing a personal bias against boats to alter my advice. He was aligning with his values and what brought him joy, so it was my job to not force my values alignment on him. A larger example: most financial advisors recommend buying rather than renting a home. But when a client said she was feeling stressed over the maintenance cost uncertainties of home ownership, I suggested she consider renting. She was immediately relieved and said, “That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking.” She sold her house and rented three smaller places instead: one in the mountains, one in the city, and one by the ocean. By both of us calmly and impartially considering an unfamiliar path, renting gave her new freedoms with much more flexibility and our embrace of equanimity helped her align with her deeply personal values. How Do You Cultivate Equanimity with Money? A mindfulness practice trains the mind to stop reacting to every thought. Close your eyes for a moment and become aware of your thoughts. Notice that they’re random. One moment it’s a thought about work, the next it’s a reminder to pick up milk at the store, and the next is regretting something you said to a colleague a few weeks ago. The key is to let go of pursuing each thought. When we practice letting go, we are doing a bicep curl for the brain. We are training resilience. We are becoming the masters of our attention instead of allowing our attention to be passively hijacked by the thought of the moment. While we practice mindfulness while we meditate, we also practice it when we bring our focused attention and awareness to our daily money interactions and thoughts. Start becoming aware of how you feel when you spend, save, give, invest, and earn money. As you become aware of your reactivity or impulsiveness with making online purchases, or harshly judge yourself for earning less than your sibling, you are training and cultivating a more equanimous mind that will be less reactive to life’s inevitable and unexpected curveballs, especially with finances. The Money Breath Equanimity is also defined as being completely at ease with who you are and what you have. The culture beckons us to have more money, more friends, more likes. Imagine, in this very moment, being okay with your finances, with your kids, with your friends and family, with your body, with yourself. What would that mean for you? Here is a small experiment you can try. The next time you notice your mind thinking, “If I had this amount of money, or if I owned a beach home, or got that raise, I’d really be okay,” let go of clinging to that thought. Letting go of a fantasy or dismal thought creates freedom. It strengthens your equanimity. Letting go is easier said than done, so I recommend a short practice that I call “The Money Breath”. Here’s the practice: * Bring to mind a money challenge you’re currently experiencing., * Close your eyes and become aware of any muscle tension, thoughts stirring, and other body and mind sensations., * Gently inhale through the nose for 3 counts. 1, 2, 3., * Pause and hold the breath on the count of 4., * Slowly exhale through the mouth for 5 counts. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10., * Do 2 more rounds of this breath and then allow your breathing to come back to normal., * Ask yourself: How do I feel in this moment compared to when I started this Money Breath? It’s a Practice In my 35 years of being a financial advisor, I’ve noticed that as we find a way to be at peace with our finances, we are likely to attract more money and discern better opportunities. Free of money stress, our wisdom and creativity surge, we take action, and paradoxically, we can earn more money. Even if we do not earn more money, our inner lives are richer than before. Equanimity is not numbness. It’s not aloofness. It’s being fully engaged, fully present, and emotionally responsive. It’s not being reactive, nor being swept away in thoughts of fear or fantasy. We’re not obsessing about the impending financial disaster dissolving our nest egg, nor fantasizing about the lottery ticket saving us from our credit card debt. When the pandemic hit and the markets dropped 30%, instead of focusing on potential financial disaster, Abacus came up with a mindful plan to reduce expenses and discern the opportunity to hire the outstanding national talent that would become available due to the remote work environment. By being fully present and emotionally responsive, we were able to navigate a difficult passage with a calmer sense of freedom and purpose. Equanimity is a sublime state of contentment, independent of changing conditions or financial circumstances. We are at ease with who we are and what we have. The next time you or your business have a disappointment or setback, do my money breath meditation until you’re beyond the anxiety of fight or flight and then say to yourself: “What is the opportunity here? Even if one isn’t apparent, I’m okay.” That’s freedom. That’s equanimity. If you would like to talk more about how equanimity can expand what’s possible with your financial life, reach out to an Abacus advisor today.
中文翻译
越来越多的理财顾问意识到，金钱的人性面与财务回报同等重要，有时甚至更为重要。自20世纪80年代以来，我和许多其他西方商业领袖一直在学习和实践佛教冥想。我们发现，佛教的许多原则对于培养客户、顶尖员工和健康企业社区的满足感和财务健康至关重要。超过50%的《财富》500强公司，包括谷歌、安泰、苹果和通用磨坊，都提供员工正念计划。价值210亿美元的公司Asana以将正念作为其最高价值而闻名。甚至《华尔街日报》也在头版发表了一篇文章，重点介绍了我的“金钱呼吸法”！众多冥想研究证实了其对员工健康、幸福感、生产力、留任率和利润的益处。除了冥想，核心佛教原则是Abacus文化、我们与客户的互动以及我们底线的基础。通过本文及未来的文章，我希望让更多人意识到佛教原则的变革力量，以及它们如何帮助你在财务和投资选择上减少压力、更快乐、更明智。毕竟，金钱常常被视为与性、宗教或政治一样敏感和禁忌的话题。这是一个充满不信任、恐惧和担忧的主题。金钱与我们的生存和自我价值感息息相关，难怪我们对此有很多情感。我们从小继承的固定信念往往会压倒我们的财务常识，例如“金钱是世界上最重要的东西”、“我不擅长理财”和“如果我有更多钱，我会更快乐或压力更小”。有些人认为佛教是一种宗教，但我和许多其他人，尤其是在西方，认为它是一种哲学或生活方式。达赖喇嘛的名言最好地概括了这一点：“我的宗教是仁慈。”这是所有精神传统固有的东西。那么，佛教或仁慈与财务咨询或商业世界有什么关系呢？四季度假村（可以说是最成功的连锁酒店）的创始人伊萨多尔·夏普将仁慈、耐心和谦逊作为他业务的基础。他发现仁慈对员工文化、对在酒店住宿和用餐的客人以及对底线都有好处。平等心的不适之适我在80年代初发现了佛教冥想练习的好处，甚至在我从沃顿商学院获得金融MBA学位或创立Abacus之前。我发现冥想的原则适用于我们生活的所有领域，包括管理我们自己的财务和担任理财顾问。而佛教的平等心原则是我一再回归的，因为它不断在Abacus顾问和客户身上显现。平等心是在风暴中找到平静的能力。冥想练习培养心灵的稳定，这样当金融市场涨跌（它们总是如此）时，我们不会冲动反应。这对我们个人和理财顾问都至关重要。许多研究证实，那些对市场波动反应较小的人能获得更高的回报。一位佛教理财顾问或投资者是设定分配意图，然后调整以回归原始意图的人。如果适合你的分配是70%股票和30%债券，那么我们作为顾问会坚持这一分配——当股票超过你分配的70%时我们卖出股票，当股票占比低于70%时我们买入股票。这种坚定是困难的，尤其是在2008年和2020年这样的崩盘期间，但从历史数据中我们看到，保持稳定是一条坚实的道路，因此我们不会偏离它。我们致力于为客户尽我们所能，即使有时情感上很困难。除了对投资和商业起伏反应较小外，平等心还在于保持公正，同时帮助客户从更广阔的视角看待生活决策。我们看待问题的所有方面。一个小例子：当一位客户说他想花50万美元买一艘新船时，我平等的自我接受了这个想法，而不是让个人对船的偏见改变我的建议。他正在与他的价值观和带给他快乐的事物保持一致，所以我的工作不是强迫他与我的价值观保持一致。一个更大的例子：大多数理财顾问建议买房而不是租房。但当一位客户说她因房屋所有权维护成本的不确定性而感到压力时，我建议她考虑租房。她立即松了一口气，说：“这正是我一直在想的。”她卖掉了房子，转而租了三个更小的地方：一个在山区，一个在城市，一个在海边。通过我们双方冷静公正地考虑一条不熟悉的道路，租房给了她新的自由和更多的灵活性，我们对平等心的拥抱帮助她与她深刻的个人价值观保持一致。你如何培养与金钱相关的平等心？正念练习训练心灵停止对每个想法做出反应。闭上眼睛片刻，意识到你的想法。注意它们是随机的。这一刻是关于工作的想法，下一刻是提醒在商店买牛奶，再下一刻是后悔几周前对同事说的话。关键是放下追求每个想法。当我们练习放下时，我们就像在做大脑的二头肌弯举。我们在训练韧性。我们正在成为注意力的主人，而不是让注意力被当下的想法被动劫持。当我们在冥想时练习正念时，我们也在将专注的注意力和意识带到日常的金钱互动和想法中时练习它。开始意识到你在花钱、储蓄、给予、投资和赚钱时的感受。当你意识到自己在网上购物时的反应性或冲动性，或严厉评判自己比兄弟姐妹赚得少时，你正在训练和培养一个更平等的心，对生活中不可避免和意外的曲线球反应较小，尤其是在财务方面。金钱呼吸法平等心也被定义为完全安于你是谁和你拥有什么。文化召唤我们拥有更多金钱、更多朋友、更多点赞。想象一下，就在这一刻，对你的财务状况、你的孩子、你的朋友和家人、你的身体、你自己感到满意。这对你意味着什么？这里有一个你可以尝试的小实验。下次你注意到你的大脑在想，“如果我有这么多钱，或者如果我拥有一栋海滨别墅，或者得到那次加薪，我真的会没事的”，放下执着于那个想法。放下幻想或沮丧的想法会创造自由。它增强了你的平等心。放下说起来容易做起来难，所以我推荐一个简短的练习，我称之为“金钱呼吸法”。以下是练习：* 想起你目前正在经历的金钱挑战。* 闭上眼睛，意识到任何肌肉紧张、思绪搅动以及其他身心感觉。* 通过鼻子轻柔吸气3次计数。1，2，3。* 暂停并在第4次计数时屏住呼吸。* 通过嘴巴缓慢呼气5次计数。5，6，7，8，9，10。* 再做2轮这种呼吸，然后让你的呼吸恢复正常。* 问自己：与开始这个金钱呼吸法时相比，我此刻感觉如何？这是一个练习在我担任理财顾问的35年里，我注意到，当我们找到一种与我们的财务和平相处的方式时，我们可能会吸引更多金钱并辨别更好的机会。摆脱金钱压力，我们的智慧和创造力激增，我们采取行动，矛盾的是，我们可以赚更多钱。即使我们没有赚更多钱，我们的内心生活也比以前更丰富。平等心不是麻木。不是冷漠。它是完全投入、完全在场和情感上敏感。它不是反应性的，也不是被恐惧或幻想的想法冲走。我们不会沉迷于即将到来的金融灾难会耗尽我们的积蓄，也不会幻想彩票能拯救我们摆脱信用卡债务。当疫情来袭，市场下跌30%时，Abacus没有专注于潜在的金融灾难，而是制定了一个正念计划来减少开支，并辨别出由于远程工作环境而变得可用的杰出全国人才的机会。通过完全在场和情感上敏感，我们能够以更平静的自由感和目标感度过困难时期。平等心是一种崇高的满足状态，独立于变化的条件或财务状况。我们安于我们是谁和我们拥有什么。下次你或你的业务遇到失望或挫折时，做我的金钱呼吸冥想，直到你超越战斗或逃跑的焦虑，然后对自己说：“这里有什么机会？即使不明显，我也没事。”那就是自由。那就是平等心。如果你想更多地讨论平等心如何扩展你财务生活的可能性，今天就联系Abacus顾问。
文章概要
本文探讨了佛教伦理如何指导中年财务规划与投资决策，核心在于佛教的平等心原则。作者作为理财顾问，分享了自20世纪80年代以来实践佛教冥想的经验，强调平等心能帮助人们在财务波动中保持冷静，避免冲动决策，从而获得更高回报。文章指出，超过50%的《财富》500强公司提供正念计划，证实了冥想对员工健康和生产力的益处。通过具体案例，如客户购买船只或选择租房，作者展示了平等心如何帮助客户根据个人价值观做出财务决策，而非社会压力。文章还介绍了“金钱呼吸法”作为培养平等心的实用练习，并强调通过正念减少金钱压力，可以提升智慧和创造力，吸引更多财富。最终，作者主张将佛教的仁慈、耐心和谦逊融入商业实践，以促进财务健康和内心满足。
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：这篇文章讲的是，就像你在学校考试时，如果太紧张可能会做错题一样，大人处理钱的时候也会紧张。佛教教我们一个叫“平等心”的方法，就像深呼吸让自己冷静下来，这样大人就能在钱的事情上不慌张，做出更好的决定。比如，有的公司让员工练习这个，大家就更开心、工作更好。文章里还教了一个“金钱呼吸法”，就是当你为钱发愁时，闭上眼睛，慢慢吸气呼气，感觉就会好很多。这样，大人就能更聪明地管钱，甚至可能赚更多钱，但最重要的是心里更踏实。
佛学的各个宗派视角评价：从佛学视角看，本文强调的平等心与大乘佛教的慈悲智慧高度契合。在显宗中，平等心是六度中禅定与智慧的体现，帮助修行者超越对财务的执着，达到内心的平静。密宗如准提法，则通过咒语和观想来快速净化烦恼，本文的“金钱呼吸法”可视为一种简化版的禅修，与准提法的呼吸观想有相通之处，能有效对治贪嗔痴。特别地，《显密圆通成佛心要集》强调显密双修，本文将佛教原则应用于世俗财务，正是这种圆融精神的展现，显示佛法不离世间觉。准提法的优点在于其简便易行，适合忙碌的现代人，本文的实践方法与之类似，让人们在日常生活中培养平等心，从而在财务决策中体现佛法的智慧。
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：通过平等心练习，如“金钱呼吸法”，帮助人们在市场波动时保持冷静，避免恐慌性决策。2. 提升决策质量：培养正念，使中年人在财务规划中更理性，基于个人价值观而非社会压力选择。3. 增强内心满足：应用佛教的知足原则，减少对更多财富的贪求，提升幸福感。4. 改善人际关系：将仁慈和耐心融入财务互动，如与家人讨论金钱时减少冲突。5. 提高工作效率：正念练习可增加专注力，帮助中年人在职场中更高效，从而可能提升收入。6. 应对意外挑战：平等心训练增强韧性，使人们在财务危机如失业或医疗支出时更从容。7. 促进健康生活：减少金钱压力有助于整体健康，降低与压力相关的疾病风险。8. 培养慈悲消费：基于佛教伦理，鼓励中年人在消费时考虑社会和环境影响，做出更可持续的选择。9. 增强自我价值感：通过放下对金钱的固定信念，帮助人们建立更健康的自我认同，不将价值等同于财富。10. 实现财务自由：平等心引导人们关注内在丰富，而非外在积累，从而在中年阶段找到真正的财务与精神平衡。