For people who think that being spiritual means you should not care about money or material things, there is something to bear in mind if you are using the justification that Buddha and spiritual people had nothing. In fact, they were effectively very rich.
Everything must be placed in context, the real definition of the meaning of words and things. We must question what is the definition of being rich, and then ask why one wants to be rich, what purpose does that serve for the average person.
Wealth is having everything you need, now and for the rest of your life.
You could think that they gave up everything and had nothing, no money, no possessions, but in fact this is not the reality of how they lived their life, of how they survived.
All that the monks or spiritual masters had to do then or now is ask he right person and they would have a place to sleep, food to eat and clothing, so they really had everything they needed. That is the point of having money, to have what you need.
We all have basic needs; food, clothing and shelter as well as medical costs if that is needed. Money is what we need to get those things, thus we need money. Money is limited but our needs are for the rest of our life, and so we need to have enough money to know that all our needs will be met for the rest of our life. Considering how money comes and goes, how disasters can happen, we never know if the amount of money we have will be enough for our whole life, hence we always want more, just in case.
The monks did not need their own money because they had everything they needed to survive. They were effectively wealthy, financially independent. They did not have to worry about ‘what if’, and that is what we all want to have, that security. That is why most of us chase money, at least those who are not just greedy.
Financial independence means you always have enough to eat and survive. That was all covered for them, so they could allow their mind to rest without a job and providing for themselves and that is the foundation of being able to meditate.
Think about that when you think you do not care about money, do not need it and do not have to work because spiritual people of old did not have to work.
If you want to be happy and have peace of mind, you must find and correct those subtle little self-lies which cause disturbed sleep and a general feeling of ‘something is just not right’.
We all need to grasp reality instead of living in illusions, wondering why we are not progressing materially or spiritually and why we have a persistent feeling of fear or discomfort. Objective truth and reality, each one appropriately for their own life.
Climb your mountain, not anyone else’s.
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