【玳瑚師父隨筆錄】《真正的有錢人》
A Truly Wealthy Person (English version below)
妳你有看過有錢人嗎？妳你身邊有有錢人嗎？妳你心目中有錢人的定義或準則，是不是住豪華洋房，駕大房車，抽雪茄，有幾位傭人，是大公司的董事長，大企業家，好幾個老婆，等等？如果這些真是妳你心目中有錢人的定義或準則的話，那妳你就非常有必要，從這篇文章中，吸取正確的知見，以免墮入她他們們「千方百計」的計劃中。
記得年少時曾問父親，為何有錢人（做老闆的），總是比較「節約」？父親的回答是：就是因為她他們「節約」，她他才能成為老闆啊！那時的吾是同意父親的，但學佛法，參佛法，在因緣因果的深意裡，吾得到了更圓滿的答案。有些有錢人她他們在家中，吃粥配罐頭，如水仙牌蘑菇、五香肉丁、三個A菜心罐、四川腐乳，等等。她他錢財有進無出，等等。
當然，省吃儉用也算是一種美德。但她他們並不是沒有能力，購買較健康的食物啊！錢財有進無出，儲蓄當然也是一種好習慣。可是，吃了不健康的食物，老來身體病痛多多，把所有或大部份的錢，都花在醫藥上，最後也變成沒有錢。大半輩子所賺來的錢，存在銀行，不捨得花，也不捨得捐出去做慈善公益，這些錢是屬於銀行，不是屬於妳你的啊！是銀行富有，而並非妳你富有啊！到頭來，妳你其實是乞丐，而不是什麼有錢人啊！
真正的有錢人，是懂得賺錢，也懂得及捨得花錢的。桌上的一碗飯，妳你祇看沒吃，這碗飯由始至終，根本不屬於妳你的。妳你有一百萬，可是妳你從來都未曾花過半分錢，這一百萬，由始至終，也根本不屬於妳你的。
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Have you seen a rich person before? Do you have any such person in your social circle? What is your definition of a wealthy person? Is it one who live in a luxurious bungalow? Or drive a big limousine? Or smoke cigars? Or has several servants? Is it one who holds directorship in a big company? A great entrepreneur? Or a man with several wives etc? If the above conditions are your definition of wealth, then you really need to read on, to absorb the right knowledge and not fall into a well-designed trap.
I remembered asking my Dad a question when I was a child. I asked him why rich people (the businessmen) are thrifty in nature. He replied that it was this virtue of thrift that enabled them to accumulate wealth. At that time, I agreed with his view. However, after I learnt the Dharma and contemplated on it, I found a more complete answer in the profound meaning of karma and affinity. There are some rich people who ate simply for their meals. A bowl of porridge with canned food like Narcissus brand mushroom, spicy pork cubes, AAA brand pickled lettuce and Sichuan fermented bean curd etc. They accumulate their wealth but never give them away.
Of course, being thrifty is a virtue. But these people can well afford a more nutritious diet. Accumulating wealth and saving it is a good habit, but the poor diet they eat is going to cost them their health. As a result, as they aged, sickness befalls them, and they end up broke after spending their savings on medical bills. A lifetime of hard-earned wealth kept in the bank and not using it to do good only meant that these money belong to the bank and not you! It is the banks who are rich, not you! At the end, you are a beggar, not a wealthy man!
A truly wealthy person knows how to earn money, knows how to spend it, and is willing to spend it without being miserly. A bowl of rice on the table does not belong to you if you only merely look but not eat it. If you have a million dollars but do not spend a single cent of it, then right from the beginning, the money has never really belong to you at all.
