DHARMA IN EVERYDAY LIFE

By Nhat Quan

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Surely, many of you have heard your grandparents and parents say:

- With virtue, you will possess an inexhaustible wealth.

This saying, understood in the common sense, means that a virtuous person is always lucky, fortunate, and has more than enough money and material possessions. Once you have virtue, you can enjoy it to your heart's content. So, if you lack virtue, how can you cultivate merit and virtue?

Have you ever felt like the unluckiest person because you are not wealthy and always encounter misfortune? If you want to have virtue like those who have, it's not difficult at all. You can start today, right now. The nine things below will help you cultivate merit and virtue and bring you a sense of comfort in life.

1- How to think about merit and virtue

As you know, precious assets like diamonds, gold, silver, and copper are all hidden in the earth. Whoever knows how to exploit them will become rich. Similarly, merit is intangible but exists within each of you; it's just a matter of whether you know how to utilize your energy.

It's very simple: when you wake up each morning and go to work with a peaceful and serene mind, you accumulate a little merit, or more specifically, your effort. When you realize that each morning your merit awakens and has the same potential to accumulate as you wish, you will hold a golden key to your life.

Each unit of merit you accumulate is like having an additional worker building your career every day. Over time, your goal is to accumulate more merit, which will lead to more favorable conditions in your daily work. When you truly succeed, you will no longer need to sell your own labor.

2. Accumulating Little to Achieve Much

One of the biggest mistakes many people make is thinking that to accumulate much merit, you must start with extraordinary, grand deeds. You think you have to spend a large sum of money to create great merit. You are obsessed with the mentality that if you don't have much money, or in other words, if you don't invest a lot of money, you will never have merit. What you don't realize is that a ten-dollar bill is the sum of ten one-dollar bills. That's why in Buddhist ethics, the Buddha taught:

- Do not do any evil deeds, no matter how small.

But you must do:

- Do all good deeds, no matter how small.

There are many examples of people accumulating merit through very small deeds, which in Buddhism is called meritorious deeds, meaning those who wholeheartedly help temples or those in need. Therefore, temples often have donation boxes for those who have the intention to accumulate merit. Because merit is virtue, and dew is a fragile drop of dew, when you come to the dew donation box, you can donate one coin, two coins, or more; all are precious. At the temple, thanks to many people contributing one or two coins, it becomes a large sum to care for the Three Jewels. As for you, through many days and many times, you accumulate great merit. Therefore, the important thing is whether you know how to accumulate and develop small amounts of merit into a large capital. Don't underestimate small beginnings.

3- Living a carefree life

Since merit has the potential to improve your life, the more easily you earn money, the more and faster you can cultivate that merit. Besides, the more merit you create and the more money you earn, the more freedom you have:

- Freedom to visit temples, practice meditation, freedom to rest and travel the world, or freedom to quit your job if you truly don't like it. If you cultivate even a small act of merit, you can begin building your wealth and prosperity starting today. Perhaps you only save a few hundred dollars at a time, but each investment is a brick in the foundation of a life of freedom and peace.

4. Right Now

Many people say that death is the end, so they don't want to waste time investing in what they call cultivating virtue through offerings to the Three Jewels, accumulating merit, and helping the needy. Because death is the end, they want to enjoy life and spend the money they earn right now. So some people, when they have a lot of money, think:

- Money is like a god or Buddha, the power of a spring, the comfort of youth, the health of old age, the elegance of a girl, so they freely indulge in pleasures...

Thus, with money, you have many choices:

- Some people travel, retire early, and receive treatment from good doctors when sick; your children can go to the most prestigious schools.

No money, therefore, there are too many risks:

- No home, no family security, no healthcare, and even having a meal on the table is uncertain.

To put it this way, money will play a crucial role in your life. But if your assets disappear after a casino loss, wouldn't that be painful? Do you think you're unlucky or lucky? Are you in control of your life?

Reflecting on the power and spending of money helps you discover all the things you usually think about money, and also dissects your fears about money. Maybe you have money but fear losing it; or it's lost, and the device can be found again. Maybe you need money and are worried about how to earn more; or you pretend to have money hoping to get some soon. Maybe you have a lot of money and you know many people are eyeing it too, or you feel guilty because your children have been corrupted by money. By considering all aspects of money, material anxieties, mental insecurity, liberation, and even the fear of being enslaved by money, you can become more honest with yourself about your concerns or hesitations regarding money.

When reflecting on money, you can perceive both sides of it:

- It can drag you down but also lift you; sometimes it's tempting, but at other times you're also afraid of it; it helps you accomplish many things, but sometimes it hinders you in many ways.

From this, you can better understand the paradoxes of money: The more money you have, the more you want. Some people work hard but earn little, while others work very little, but money flows in like water. When contemplating reform and money in this way, you discover that:

- Those who work hard but earn little money are perhaps the stingiest.

- Those who work little but earn much are those who have cultivated much virtue and merit over many lifetimes.

For decades, you have seen two extremes:

- Countries around the world spend billions of dollars on military spending to support wars, while your neighbor is always ready to help the needy, even with just a little money.

- While robbers and murderers exist, some extend a helping hand through charity to the poor.

When you develop your perspective on reform and money in this way, money and reform are no longer personal concerns but methods for you to feel comfortable and understand the world around you. The motto: Reflecting on money also helps you question your own understanding of money. Is there anything external that can truly bring you lasting happiness or security in an ever-changing world? Do money and material possessions truly bring you faith and joy?

You certainly need money to meet your basic needs, but no amount of money can alleviate, for example, the pain of illness. No amount of money can slow down your parents' aging or bring back your youth. Money also won't make you a talented artist or a great friend; it won't make the wind cooler or the sky bluer. When contemplating wealth from this perspective, you discover that you are talking about a much deeper issue:

- Your own sense of inner peace.

If you want to examine the root of money, you must ask yourself a very fundamental question:

- Are you at peace with your life?

Developing a meaningful connection with wealth and money is the main challenge of the job, making it more important to face, and contemplating it helps you observe it thoroughly:

- How do you feel about money?

- Do you feel threatened, obsessed, embarrassed, anxious, or comfortable?

- What do these feelings say about you?

- Do you have the strength to face life if you are less financially secure than you are now?

- If you are less financially secure, do you feel more insecure in life?

Your present situation is the total of your past actions. Therefore, to have a fulfilling life in the future, you should cultivate merit and virtue, a solid foundation for your future life, starting now.

5. Saving Time

Some people ask why some have more time for spiritual practice, while others don't.

The answer is simple. To have time, stop shopping and save time on unnecessary movies. Many venerable monks say that nearly one-third of the income of wealthy people with abundant blessings and good fortune comes from those who know how to invest their time and money in cultivating merit. This is not a result of becoming rich, but rather the reason they are wealthy and have more advantages than others.

6. Following the Example of the Ancients

A person who knew how to invest in cultivating merit skillfully said:

- Identify the characteristics you most desire and dislike about a certain idol. Then, do everything in your power to develop the characteristics you like and eliminate the characteristics you dislike. And try to mold and transform yourself into the kind of person you want to be, for example:

- Study diligently following the example of the Buddha Shakyamuni.

Or:

- Be joyful and cheerful like Maitreya Buddha.

In this way, you will find that by investing in yourself first, merit will begin to flow into your life. Success and wealth will generate more success and wealth. You must find your own way to enter that cycle. By building a firm belief in your heart, each good deed will make your merit serve you.

7- Merit Is Not Everything

It is said that merit is not everything because cultivating much merit only brings blessings in the human and heavenly realms, but still leaves you within the cycle of birth and death, so it doesn't help you solve all your problems. Merit is a magnifying mirror. It will help you see more clearly and propel everything forward. But if you only focus on enjoying blessings without achieving liberation from the cycle of rebirth, when your blessings run out, your life will be terrible. Therefore, the important issue is not the amount of merit you cultivate, but how you know how to use that merit.

8- Don't Follow in the Old Footsteps

If your parents, spouse, or siblings in your family don't know how to live a life of spiritual practice, then you shouldn't do what they did. You must break free from the mindset of previous generations if you want to have a life different from theirs. You need to achieve two aspects of spiritual cultivation:

- Merit and wisdom.

This means you must

- Cultivate merit and practice the teachings of liberation.

Both aspects, whether your family practices or not. One of the best methods is to invest in yourself first. No one can give you money or possessions except yourself, and no one else can give you a comfortable life like when you use the merit you've accumulated to invest in attaining Buddhahood. That is a far-sighted and wonderful long-term vision.

9- A Path to Follow

The strange thing about life is that it's not so much about where you are, but about what you are and what you do. Once you've chosen to build a valuable foundation, don't let second thoughts arise, like:

- What will your future be like if what you've done is realized?

When you cultivate merit, every passing moment is a step towards growth and closer to your ultimate goal: liberation. For every small act of cultivating merit, money falling into your hands means a seed for a prosperous financial future. If you are diligent and responsible, peace, tranquility, and financial prosperity will surely come to you. That day will come when you can afford a car, a house, or anything else. Until then, don't worry too much; just enjoy life and strive.

As mentioned above, this is an introduction to the practice of cultivating merit. If you know how to do it but don't practice it, it's as if you haven't done it at all. Therefore, the ancients often said:

- "Eating and speaking truthfully doesn't necessarily mean it's true; only truthful actions can truly be called true."

A farmer, when sowing seeds, must choose fertile land to plant them. Similarly, when cultivating merit, you must choose where to sow the seeds. In recent days, you surely know that the Nari storm has caused much destruction, and many people have been left homeless. This is an opportunity for you to help alleviate suffering and show your compassion:

- "The healthy leaf protects the torn leaf, the torn leaf protects the tattered leaf."

Or express your feelings with the saying:

- "A piece of food when hungry is worth more than a whole meal when full."

A piece can be a specific food item:

- A piece of fish, a piece of meat, a piece of vegetables, a piece of rice, a piece of porridge, or even a piece of water. When hungry or thirsty, a small piece like that is very delicious and valuable.

A piece can be a small portion separated from a larger object:

- Half a cassava root, half a bowl of rice, a bowl of porridge from a pot of porridge, a basket of rice from a granary...

It is in times of hardship and difficulty that you truly understand human kindness and community spirit. The saying "a piece when hungry is worth a whole package when full" initially refers to the feeling of eating. Later, a piece is elevated to the value of a whole package. A piece at the right time and place, though small, is still worth a large package under normal circumstances. A piece at the right time and place is truly precious. Because only when hungry do people need to eat; when full, everything, no matter how delicious, is meaningless because how can one eat anymore? Therefore, when hungry, even just a piece is incredibly valuable. This is a very figurative and vivid comparison used by our ancestors to emphasize practicality and the effectiveness of everything.

That's how Vietnamese people are; they always value and prioritize effectiveness, disliking ostentation, formality, and often hypocrisy or emptiness, outward appearances that don't match inner substance. Our ancestors always emphasized and taught their descendants:

- Know how to care for, help, and provide others with what they need most.

- Be there for others at the right time. A lifebuoy thrown into the water at the right moment when someone is struggling and in danger of drowning. A mat given to someone sleepy when they are not at home... These are incredibly practical. That's why Vietnamese people have proverbs like:

- "If you're drowning, you'll find a lifebuoy" and "If you're sleepy, you'll find a mat."

Nothing is more joyful and satisfying than having your most pressing need met promptly. Conversely, if you know how to swim, you can easily cross a river, and a boat becomes unnecessary. If you're not sleepy, inviting you into a room with a luxurious bed and mattress is pointless… Hence the saying:

- A small piece when hungry is worth more than a whole meal when full.

Why do Vietnamese people have this proverb?

Looking back through history, you see that our people have always been closely associated with the poor, arduous agricultural life of our ancestors, under the oppression and exploitation of feudal rule and foreign invasion. Hunger always lurked. To obtain food and clothing was always a struggle against many forces, including both humans and nature. Therefore, hunger and satiety were always practical issues, haunting our ancestors every day.

Based on this practical concept, for many years, compatriots and fellow countrymen have called upon each other to save money and create rice donation jars to help the poor and needy, enabling them to continue living during times of natural disasters that leave them in dire straits. Many places around the world promote the spirit of:

- A helping hand in times of need

To come together to support and provide food to those in need. In the abundance of normal times, people happily and generously give each other gifts and expensive items. That's also valuable. After all, those are acts of kindness stemming from genuine feelings and not for personal gain. But you must remember to reserve those precious feelings for those who have helped you when they were in difficulty, and never forget their kindness when you see them in dire straits. At that time, the value of a helping hand in times of need will be multiplied a thousandfold in meaning.

Compassion exists in every era. In the past, people distributed alms; now, free meals, free pho, and compassionate meals are delivered directly to patients in hospitals. Potential resources and support are being mobilized from all walks of life and age groups. Vegetable fields sometimes yield abundant harvests, fish ponds sometimes have to be sold cheaply, rice granaries are sometimes full, and kind-hearted drivers transport it for free. All of this combines to brighten the lives of the poor.

Even if you are wealthy and have everything you need, you should still think about this. Cut back on extravagant spending and ostentatious luxury, and you could easily open a few charitable restaurants to help others. There are still those who are not rich, but with a heart for helping, they have opened free rice and pho restaurants, sharing food and clothing. And there are still individuals and groups who have dedicated themselves to opening nursing homes, shelters for the needy, and houses of compassion.

Charity and helping others are like attending a religious ceremony without revealing your name; contributions are made without recording the name of the donor. As long as it is effective and reaches the right recipient, peace of mind is achieved. In practical matters, helping those around you when needed is key; a little help when someone is hungry is worth more than a lot when they are full.

Many ideas are still simmering. Those who are well-off, like the pho restaurant owners, have done so: providing free meals to the poor. Some who are not yet well-off still dream:

"Someday I will open a small eatery selling vegetables and porridge, distributing food to those who only need a few vegetables and porridge to survive."

For strangers, sharing the warmth of human kindness is more respectable than a table overflowing with food in a fancy restaurant.

In short, these actions, though simple, are rich in compassion. And this is also a form, or opportunity, for you to cultivate merit and virtue, and that wealth of merit and virtue will stay with you forever.

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