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Advice book

Struggling to Support a Family

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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.