豐 富 自 在 談 財 富

How to Reach Financial Nirvana

丘 中 仁

What is Wealth?

What brings well being.

• Health

• Spiritual/Mental wealth

• Social wealth

• Material wealth

What is Money?

• 一切法如幻如化 - 般若經• Money is not real - Rich Dad, Poor Dad.

• Because it is not real, it can be created. e.g. Intel 點石成金 .

• Myth: things have inherent monetary value.

• Myth: Money is a zero-sum game.

• Money is a medium of exchange.

Money in a Market Economy

• Supply/demand determines price; i.e. whatever people want most with low supply will have higher price.

• Pitfalls:– Everything has a price. Money is everything.– Money puts people in adversarial relationship

in transactions and in ownership.

Right Livelihood

• There are ethical and unethical ways to create wealth.

• Ethical wealth creation is called Right Livelihood. It is beneficial to self and others, in this life and future lives.

• Myth: the customer is always right.

Ethical Wealth Creation

• 我論因說因 - 雜阿含經 • 此有故彼有 , 此生故彼生 ;

此無故彼無 , 此滅故彼滅 - 雜阿含經 • 諸法意先導 - 法句經 • The mind creates wealth ethically by

realizing a way to benefit people.

• You can benefit only when others benefit.

Common Attitudes toward Money

• I don't care (Really ?!)

• I want lots of money to spend (consumption oriented)

• I want to accumulate as much money as possible (accumulation oriented)

• Money is an indicator of my success, and I want to be very successful (creation oriented)

Buddhist Attitude toward Money

• 人生以服務 ( 因 ) 為目的 - 孫中山 (and wealth ( 果 ) will follow)

• 心為法本 , 心尊心使 , 中心念善 , 即言即行 , 福樂自追 , 如影隨形 - 法句譬喻經雙要品

• 莊嚴淨土 , 成就眾生 (and money will never be a problem when you

give people what they truly want.)

Challenges in Materialistic World

• Q: My work is about making products. I don’t know if it benefits people.

• A: Value comes from people, not stuff. If a product’s main usage hurts people, making it is wrong livelihood. e.g. weapons, cheating, porn, narcotics.

• Social responsibility to promote beneficial usage of technology. E.g atomic energy.

Buddhist Ideal - Nirvana

• Nirvana is the cessation of all defilement and worries.

• Nirvana is the ultimate bliss. - 法句經• The Buddha also developed perfect ability

to benefit others.

Financial Nirvana

Free from money worries, and use the power of money (among other powers) to improve the well being of all.

• Life is not about what happens to you ( 果 ), but how you perceive, think, and act ( 因 ).

• Your relationship with money affects your well being. More money will not make you less worried about money.

The 5 Powers ( 五力 ) for Financial Nirvana

• 信力• 精進力• 念力• 專注力• 慧力

Faith ( 信心的力量 )

• Faith is conductive to energy, focus, and inner peace.

• Buddhist faith comes from wisdom validated by experience.

• Living the Truth ( 佛法 ) will set you free

Faith ( 信心的力量 )

• Buddhists believe in cause and effect ( 因果)

• Law of money: if I create great benefits for people, it will result in enough for me to live on - no more fear of poverty.

• e.g. 佛陀三月食馬麥 ; 孔子在陳絕糧

Effort, Energy, Perseverance ( 精進力 )

• Don’t procrastinate

on doing what’s beneficial; do more, better

on stopping what’s harmful; at least do less

• Be decisive when making decisions.

No buyer/seller's remorse.

• Don't rehash history - learn your lessons and move on.

精 進 力

• When you enjoy what you do, you are energized and can persevere.

• Successful people enjoy what they do; they enjoy it so much they would pay to do their job instead of getting paid.

Awareness ( 念力 )

• 正念 - 心念安定明白 ; 不分散 , 不昏沈• 心常念 ( 利人 ) 善法 / business opportunit

y

• Be aware of defilement such as greed, fear and laziness etc. that colors your judgment.

• Greed is bad for wealth. Bulls make money, and bears make money, but hogs get killed.

Concentration/focus ( 專注力 )

• 定 - 清楚專注一境• Plan time and workplace to improve clarity

and focus.

• Prioritize and focus on major causes that influence the benefit.

• Focus on activities that create long term value.

Wisdom ( 慧力 )

• 知錢集 , 錢散 , 錢味 , 錢患 , 於錢不執著• 佛法智慧在知四聖諦 ( 苦集滅道 )• 或生而知之 , 或學而知之 , 或困而知之• Focus to know what matters very well.• Knowledge of how money works give you

power over money.

Wisdom ( 慧力 )

You can make better (financial and otherwise) decisions by

• Get all relevant facts as much as possible.

• Avoid distractions. Concentrate to let your awareness find a clear answer.

財富的處理 (1)

• Operating expense 資用： 把一分財物，用作經常的生活費用，包括兒女教育費等。在財力可能時，每人應有適當的生活水準，不可奢侈，卻要足夠。

財富的處理 (2)

• Emergency reserve 積蓄： 人事無常 ，我們收入應保存一分，作臨時支出。積存，雖是少少的數目 , 也是極有意思的，

不但可避免臨時的困窘求人， 也可養成不浪費的習慣。

財富的處理 (3)

• Investment 經營： 無論從事那一職業，都應在每年的收入中，分出一分來投資。增加資本也好， 投資養老也好， 充實學力及工作技能也好。這樣才會增加收入，使財富增長累積起來。

• Cf: Rich people buy assets (positive cash flow, capital appreciation) which benefits people day in, day out.

財富的處理 (4)

• Charity 作福：人不能專為自己，專為現世，應顧到社會利益，以及自己的後生福樂。這不但是自己積福德，也是為人群謀幸福。– 社會公益 ── 文化、慈濟事業– 三寶法益 ── 護持三寶

Additional Considerations

• Insurance: health, term life, disability, car, home, liability, etc.

• Estate planning: revocable living trust, charitable remainder trust.

• Tax planning: tax-advantaged retire plan

Investment Considerations

• Will you lose sleep over it?

• How long can you invest the money?

• How much time do you want to spend on it?

• What's your area of interest? Can you create unique advantage?

• Right livelihood.

Is That All?

• Cessation of all suffering (nirvana) is the ultimate bliss.

• Money is not the cause for ultimate bliss.

• Developing the 5 powers( 信力 , 精進力 , 念力 , 專注力 , 慧力 ) leads to bliss.

References

• 印順法師『佛在人間』佛教的財富觀 • The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom, by Suze Orman• Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill • Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their

Kids About Money!, by Robert T. Kiyosaki, Sharon L. Lechter

• The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy by Thomas J. Stanley, William D., Danko