No one is more agitated and anxious than the person who thinks money is everything. “How am I going to make my fortune? Then, how am I going to hold on to it?” He lives in constant fear of thieves, competitors, and catastrophes. When he ends up losing his wealth, he feels as if his own flesh were being cut off.
Look at how some people rush about night and day for the sake of their business or their career, wearing themselves out in the pursuit of success and the effort of preventing setbacks. They are suspicious of everyone and are constantly attempting to profit from their inferiors, outmatch their equals, and oust their superiors. They hardly ever enjoy a carefree, untroubled moment. What a simple joy it is not to have power or position in society and to have nothing to lose and nothing to fear!
Do not encumber your mind with useless thoughts. What good is it to brood over the past and fret about the future? Dwell in the simplicity of the present moment. Live in harmony with the Dharma. Make it the heart of your life and experience. Be the master of your destiny.
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
from the book The Hundred Verses of Advice: Tibetan Buddhist Teachings on What Matters Most
translated by Padmakara Translation Group
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Further quotes from the book The Hundred Verses of Advice:
- Dreamlike obsessions
- The right moment is now
- The union of clarity and emptiness
- Right here beside you
- Like the events in a dream
- Don’t go on following the past
- You will have to go
- The faults within
- The choice is clear
- When you reach the threshold of death
- Have you prepared yourselves a boat
- Putting down the heavy burden once and for all
- The freedom to practice the Dharma
- Free of being caught by anything at all
- Abandon negative friendships
- Being near a spiritual teacher
- Three essential points
- Flying off into the bardo
- Happiness and suffering
- Rather than being trapped by your perceptions