Ringu Tulku Rinpoche
Teachings on Bodhicharyavatara
Chapter 8: Meditation
Session 21
Stanzas 79-83
Rinpoche returns to read verse 72 which had been missed, and to read V79 in Tibetan, and he comments further on that summation, that attachment to wealth brings pain and suffering. Continuing in the same vein, Shantideva suggests that letting go our accumulated wealth and riches for the benefit of others less well off than ourselves, can bring greater wealth, perhaps of a different kind.
By expending too much energy on accumulating wealth, we will not make ourselves happy, neither our employer, who we can never satisfy, or our family who prefer to see more of us. We become like oxen who rejoice at even the tiniest reward of fresh hay at the end of a day’s work.
If we were to instead direct the same amount of energy to becoming enlightened the rewards would be one million times greater, it is achievable once we relinquish ambition and attachment to wealth.
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Question to Rimpoche
Stanzas 80 and 81 seem difficult to hear for employees , and even more for unemployed people who would dream to find a job.
Is n’it commonly accepted that we work hard to earn our living, and that of our family members ?
It doesn’t necessarily drives us to negative conducts, and I see no point in condemning neither the worker nor the employer.
And it should be compatible with working on our mind and emotions, which is not mainly a question of how much time we spend on it.
Thank you for clarifying.