Three Awakenings in a Lifetime: The Eye That Awakens the World, The Path That Awakens People, The Merit of Awakening Oneself

Author: Chang Chenzi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Money comes like a spring; money goes like ebb tide. In prosperous times, money flows in like a spring; in adversity, it drains away like ebb tide. The gap between wealth coming and going is often just a piece of paper or a single night's difference. For the poor, having money is naturally good, as it means no more hunger and starvation. Even for those who are already well-off, a bit more money is not bad. But if one sets life's goal as pursuing wealth, they will become a prisoner of money and suffer unnecessary troubles, losing the joy of life.
A Philippine newspaper, World Daily, published an article about a few stories related to "money." The protagonists were too fixated on "gain and fame" and had no "playful" mindset, ultimately tying themselves up in heavy shackles.
Mr. A worked for a joint-stock company and owned stocks worth hundreds of millions. He was about to retire and thought he was in high spirits. However, upon meeting him, he sighed endlessly, regretting not selling his stocks during the stock market's peak a decade ago, when they would have been worth 1.5 billion. Now, the stock prices had plummeted, leaving him with less than 300 million. You wouldn’t believe how resentful he was! Others comforted him, saying, "Even with 300 million, it’s enough for three generations to live on." But he couldn’t understand: "If I had never had 1.5 billion, I would be happy as a god today. But losing 1.2 billion without cause—when will this resentment end?" The advisor had no words and left, thinking only God could erase his bitterness.
Mr. B was the owner of a major steel company in Taiwan about sixteen or seventeen years ago. At 60, he was in excellent health, looking like he was only 50. One day, he excitedly told people that he had just bought a 25-story building in Hong Kong for several hundred million and would invite them to visit once it was renovated. A short while later, when people saw him again, they found him haggard, silent, and aged by 30 years. It turned out that soon after buying the building, the real estate market collapsed, and property prices dropped by two-thirds, leaving only one-third unsellable. Less than a year later, people received the news of his death, and his steel factory was also auctioned off by the bank.
Mr. C, a friend of the author, lent all his bank savings to a real estate company, promising high interest, and even mortgaged his house to borrow more from the bank to lend to the company. For a few years, everything went smoothly, and he was happy for many years. But overnight, things changed drastically—the company declared bankruptcy, and the boss publicly bowed in apology. When a group of creditors went to find the boss, they found the building empty and the boss gone. Mr. C only managed to get a few photos of the empty company building as a token of comfort.
These three people sighed and said, "In prosperous times, money comes like a spring; in adversity, it drains away like ebb tide. The gap between wealth coming and going is often just a piece of paper or a single night's difference." You see, isn’t this like a "money game"? Why must we be so fixated on being happy as gods when we make money and resentful to the point of dying when we lose it? Take buying lottery tickets as an example—it’s merely an "investment" in kindness. Winning is good, but not winning is nothing; you can consider it a charitable act. Treating it as entertainment is just a meaningful game in life—why must we throw everything we have, our entire spirit, into it, only to be gloomy for days if we don’t win?
In reality, buying lottery tickets has long been de-emphasized as an "investment" abroad. While there are people who truly treat it as an investment, they are few. Most people see it as a way to spend small amounts of money. An entrepreneur said: "The difference between 1 million and 10 million is just an extra zero in the bank account." Is it worth sacrificing time with family, abandoning your dreams, and being forced to do things you don’t want to just for that extra zero?
Moral Saying:
Treat fame and fortune as fleeting smoke and mist.
You may not be able to achieve this, but you should try to see it more lightly. Only then can life be easier.