Money Difficulties, Recession and Debt
Government Taking Money
A Chinese student from Singapore married a very wealthy man who had 50 wives. He owned a large Indonesian company that produced cigarettes, but she tried to use the money to help poor, sick people. She went to the hospital quite often to translate for people from Indonesia. If they couldn’t afford to pay the hospital bills, she paid them. She prayed to Kuan Yin and other Buddhas, and received answers and guidance from them, and so was able to help other poor, sick people.
Her husband died in 1978, when the economy of Indonesia collapsed. At the time, the company was in business, but the president appropriated the company’s funds, saying that the government needed one billion U.S. dollars, and would repay it later. This was the family’s money and was supposed to be divided among the family, according to the husband’s will.
Rinpoche commented later that many business people would collapse completely if they lost a billion dollars. He said some might even commit suicide, thinking it was the worst thing that could happen. This student was upset with the president, but not too angry. Rinpoche said the following.
You must rejoice that the president and the Indonesian government got the money. One billion dollars is so much money that if you rejoice, you receive unbelievable merit. If you collect merit, then you will also make money. Due to this merit, you could make even more than you lost.
Think in this way: even the earth will be empty one day. One day, none of this will exist any more. We will have to leave everything, including this body, all our family, relations, and possessions—everything. We have to separate from them one day. What this means is that even if the Indonesian government didn’t take the money, at the time of death all these things would have to be left behind. Since death can happen any time, this separation can happen at any time.
Generally, life is not long. You certainly will not live 1,000 years. To live even just 100 years is possible, but only a small number do. It’s better to have a happy mind and positive mind toward one another. Looking at this situation in a positive way is good, because it makes you happy. If you are happy, you can make everybody else happy. Then when everybody is happy, if you give advice, somebody will listen.
Collecting a Debt
A student asked how to proceed in a situation where a person was unable to pay back money she had lent her. She was seeking a return of the loan at this time in order to be able to fund a three-year retreat that she was planning to do.
I suggest you ask the person owing the money to return as much money as he or she is able, since now there is an important reason for the money to be returned. Then, whatever amount he or she is unable to repay you, you should make an offering of that amount to the person, regarding it as an act of charity toward a sentient being, which is a practice of the bodhisattvas.
Struggling to Support a Family
A student with a family to support had been a practicing psychotherapist for many years in California, and had begun working as a motivational coach to businesses. He mentioned to Rinpoche that he was struggling financially.
Your primary focus must be bodhicitta. When you are concerned with inner growth, you must concentrate on bodhicitta first. By concentrating on bodhicitta, your problems become useful and tend not to last as long. They end.
And as a result of practicing this way, you also experience wealth. Not that wealth is the main goal, but when you engage in the practice of bodhicitta with the wish to get rid of your problems, you do get rid of the problems, and receive wealth. But if you experience the problems on behalf of all sentient beings, this brings realizations and wealth. Praying that way creates merit and inner growth, and, of course, all of this helps you attain wealth.
As for whether to work within the organization or seek a better salary outside, you have to take care of your family first. For this it would be best to continue working outside the organization.
In regards to the financial needs of your family, it does look difficult. It is important that you make as many offerings as possible every day to Medicine Buddha, the Twenty-One Taras and the sixteen arhats, and to always make these offerings with a strong bodhicitta motivation and prayers. Then, dedicate them to enlightenment with meditation on emptiness. In particular, the sur offering practice would be very good for you to do.
Not Having Enough
A wealthy woman from Singapore wrote to tell Rinpoche about another woman who had come to see her, saying she planned to commit suicide so that her son would receive his inheritance. The woman from Singapore sought Rinpoche’s advice on how to help her.
My very dear Winnie,
Thank you very much for your kind letters. In the future, you need to check up on people when they come to see you, to know whether they are sincere or not. Some people might expect that by telling you they want to commit suicide, you might give them some money. You should check whether they are serious or just making it up. You can feel it, not just hear their words.
You also need to tell the lady who wanted to kill herself so her son would get money to live on, and any others like her who come in the future, that if she has $100, then she might want $1,000 next. And if she has $1,000, then she might want $10,000, and if she has $10,000, then she might want $1,000,000, on and on with no end.
If you don’t have the concept that what you have is enough, then even if you have $100,000,000, you won’t have enough, and therefore you will still be poor. If you have $100 or $1,000, and think that this is enough, that makes a person rich. Comparing yourself to those who have nothing or who have only $1 or $10 makes you rich.
This is just an idea to make the mind happy, and to eliminate the mind that never thinks it has enough, but always wants more and more.
Of course, if you can help her, that’s good. I’m not saying not to help.
Thank you very much. At the moment that is all.
With much love and prayer...