What Makes us Rich

[Jessie Fong]

“If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.” ~Lau Tzu

Do you feel that no matter how hard you saved, you never had enough money to spend - a long holiday, buying something that you have longed for?

Do you find that sometimes when you have saved just about enough to buy that gorgeous dress (for example), a need emerges for you use it on something else?

This brings me to an article I read about an old lady, Lou Xiaoying, 88-Year-Old Poor Chinese Woman, who saved abandoned babies.  She hardly had enough to fend for herself but she never gave it a second thought when it came to saving babies.  She was "poor" financially but she gave more than what others would have done.

[dondrup]

Being rich is actually a state mind.  How do we define our wealth?  How do we measure if we are rich?  There must be a basis for us to measure our wealth with.  What Lau Tsu had said is very true. We have endless desires, wants, craving for anything in samsara including our wealth.  When is it going to be enough?  How far do we amass our wealth before we call ourselves rich and wealthy?  Contentment is a factor to consider. If we are contented, even if we have little money, we can feel that we are “rich”.  Whereas if we are not contented, even if we are a billionaire, we can never feel that we are “rich”.

Our financial state of being now is how generous we had been in our past lives.  If we have not being generous, we will have little wealth in this life.  To have abundance of inner and outer wealth, we must practise generosity now.  We practise the giving of material wealth, giving of fearlessness, giving of love and giving of Dharma. 

[sonamdhargey]

This is where many of us are suffering yet we don't want to acknowledge it. We keep on trying to ourselves and expects everyone they care for to be rich and it must be the main goal in life. It is to gain financial freedom. What Lou Xiaoying has done has proven that she realised that she is truly rich and I'm sure her suffering is much less than most of us as she use her remaning life to benefit others. That is truly richness.

[RedLantern]

Being rich in my humble opinion means much more than just having an abundance of material possessions,money included.Money and material objects are not good or bad.It's how we relate to them that matters.Sharing material wealth with people in need is a noble deed. Practicing generosity associated with
wisdom before,during and after, the act is the highest type of giving,and that is to put an end to craving.
Good deeds are usually classified as threefold: as generosity,morality,and mental development. We will become less selfish and more generous,we have more genuine concern for other people.Our lives will be more fulfilled and happy.

[brian]

I think thi

[brian]

I think this is about our mindset, when will it be enough for us to be rich? When will it be enough for us to buy everything that we want? What makes us rich is our mindset and perception I guess. If we feel secured then we will feel that we are rich enough I guess. I think at the end of the day, it is all about how one feels about wealth. For me the real wealth in a person is the mind that always give,always thinking of benefiting others. That makes a person to be spiritually rich and will not feel insecure.

[DS Star]

“If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.” ~Lau Tzu

Do you feel that no matter how hard you saved, you never had enough money to spend - a long holiday, buying something that you have longed for?

Do you find that sometimes when you have saved just about enough to buy that gorgeous dress (for example), a need emerges for you use it on something else?

This brings me to an article I read about an old lady, Lou Xiaoying, 88-Year-Old Poor Chinese Woman, who saved abandoned babies.  She hardly had enough to fend for herself but she never gave it a second thought when it came to saving babies.  She was "poor" financially but she gave more than what others would have done.

We are rich when we have 'something' e.g. 'happiness' and 'knowledge'; and not involving the fear of losing it...

What makes us rich is also when we can use these 'richness' or 'things that bring happiness' to help other people.

We are rich when other people trust us, and inspired by us to do the virtuous acts,...

What makes us rich is not the physical wealth. Unfortunately, not many will share my view 

[Manjushri]

Being Rich doesn't mean having to be rich materially. You can be rich spiritually, rich in happiness, rich in family harmony, rich with all the good qualities which people are envious off..

What has happened is that people have made the word "rich" to be in connotation to material wealth. So the minute you say rich, it's an automatic thought that it means wealth. But to me, like I mentioned above, rich can be used for spiritual wealth as well.

What makes us rich isn't how much we have but how rich we are with happiness. We seek to be materially rich because we want to be happy. But can material wealth really make us rich with happiness? If so, then there would be no suicides by celebrities.

So what makes us rich, isn't material wealth because it will never be enough, we have to continuously sustain its impermanent nature and in turn makes us unhappy. What makes us rich is how contented we are with who we are, and our lives, how happy we are all the time, how many people we have helped. Because that contentment cannot be bought.

[Tenzin K]

I totally agree with Jessie Fong that we will never have enough for money because we might get to another monetary commitment and so on and so forth. Never end and will always chase and fulfill the samsaric desire/attachment that we create for ourselves that we presume as happiness but yet we never Happy!.

Personally for me What Makes us Rich is not about getting more much but to give more!
Rich is not about dollar and cents but is our mind that able to see through the true suffering and learn up how to counter the norm routine that most of the people doing which is creating the never ending suffering to go through.

When we know how to let go this is where we will start to be “Rich” as we start to learn what we do not need. As we move on we will start to realize that nothing actually belong to us because at the time of death all those that we own or chase can never leave with us to our next life accept for our karma and merits.

Be rich in collecting more merits because this is what guarantees us for good rebirth and meet the precious dharma and teacher to teach us again to free from all suffering. When we are free from suffering that mean we are Rich of happiness and there is where all the things will come to us to support our work in benefitting others.

[apprenticehealer]

What is the definition of 'rich' ? I'm sure different people have many different ideas to being rich, and also 'how much is enough'?

So many times i have come across people (who are very well off and comfortable in life), who declared that they are unable to contribute to any charities as they don't have enough money , or that they did not put aside any amount towards charities in their monthly/ yearly budget .
I have also met people who barely have enough for their next meal, willingly and happily will share whatever meager food or money with someone who is less fortunate than them.

The 1st category of people are not only stingy with their money, they are also mean in their heart and in their spirit. Whereas the 2nd category of people are just so filled with generosity, love and kindness till it overflows !

Riches or abundances are found in family, friends, good health, happiness, peace , freedom in practicing one's religion, Nature..... We all have the above, in one way or another and that's what makes us rich - truly rich !

[psylotripitaka]

I bow low to the Precious Spiritual Guide.

Guru Devotion is sufficient.

Every good condition is the kindness of the Guru.

Having decided the meaning of life is realization, every condition is the kindness of the Guru guiding us home to the Dharmakaya.

[Positive Change]

What is the definition of 'rich' ? I'm sure different people have many different ideas to being rich, and also 'how much is enough'?

So many times i have come across people (who are very well off and comfortable in life), who declared that they are unable to contribute to any charities as they don't have enough money , or that they did not put aside any amount towards charities in their monthly/ yearly budget .
I have also met people who barely have enough for their next meal, willingly and happily will share whatever meager food or money with someone who is less fortunate than them.

The 1st category of people are not only stingy with their money, they are also mean in their heart and in their spirit. Whereas the 2nd category of people are just so filled with generosity, love and kindness till it overflows !

Riches or abundances are found in family, friends, good health, happiness, peace , freedom in practicing one's religion, Nature..... We all have the above, in one way or another and that's what makes us rich - truly rich !

I like what you said here Apprenticehealer... what is indeed the definition of "rich"? The very interpretation of this definition clearly defines our perceptions AND attachments. It makes us look deeper into ourselves as to what makes us "rich" and what "rich" really means to us.'

For me personally, richness comes from a sense of happiness which is gained through knowledge and the fact that it "frees" me from my conventional and limited mindset that has accumulated through time. Breaking free of this mental prison will free me and hence give me the richness of a freedom that is beyond words!

[pgdharma]

Contentment is true wealth, not possessions. How we enjoy our riches depend on how we define contentment. Our life does not consist of the abundance of things which we possess. It must not be completely involved in accumulating material wealth or seeking material comfort at the expense of the development of spirituality. Material development must be in harmony with moral and spiritual development before there can be real happiness. If we follow the teachings of the Buddha on the correct approach to material welfare, wealth then becomes a blessing and a useful instrument for us to do good and to help other people relieve their sufferings. Definitely money will not buy us happiness, but it will at least pay for the printing of dharma books and support the living of the spiritual teachers or centers from whom we can receive the Buddha’s Teachings, without which we may never ever find out what true happiness and richness is in our life time.

[Q]

Lau Tzu is wise...

There is never enough money in the world to satisfy the greed of a man...

Material wealth can never bring us lasting happiness... we don't have to look far, just look at all the Hollywood stars and how unhappy their lives turned out to be. They are not free from worries, disappointment etc just because their bank account contains a whole lot of zeros... with a digit at the front... haha...

What I believe Lau Tzu's teaching us is to be contentment. A contented man never fall for greed. Contentment is not the feeling of fulfillment for what we want, but for what we have. I truly believe the it is part of the recipe of lasting happiness, and one that we all can practice to achieve. 

[bambi]

“If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.” ~Lau Tzu

In the dictionary, enough means :

1.adequate for the want or need; sufficient for the purpose or to satisfy desire
2.an adequate quantity or number; sufficiency.
3.in a quantity or degree that answers a purpose or satisfies a need or desire; sufficiently.

Sadly, a lot of people misuse the word 'enough'. Of course, there will never be enough! Everyone says enough yet they continue to want more. How many people do we know understands enough?
'When I earn enough, I will continue my spiritual practice' or 'When I have enough, I will donate'

From the quote, my understanding of enough are having my 5 senses and a fully abled body is rich!