Rich World

This world is rich in resources from Nature which provide human beings with food, clothes, shelter and medicine (herbs). But look at us! Why are there so many poor people who go hungry, have no clothes, are homeless and sick? The answer should be that they don’t know the richness of the world and how to make use of things which the world provides for them. If they knew that there was so much food, they wouldn’t go hungry. If they know that there were resources to make clothing and knew the purpose of wearing them, they wouldn’t go naked. If they knew that there were sufficient resources for them to make shelters, they wouldn’t be homeless. If they knew that there was a lot of medicine which nature provided, they wouldn’t be chronically sick.

Unfortunately, these people don’t know. And worse than that, they don’t want to know. In spite of a lot of people discovering the world’s natural resources, they don’t want to learn about it. The Buddha was one of those who did realize that the world is rich in natural resources as he left his luxurious life as a Prince and stayed in the forest. He learned from Nature and found out about our true nature. When he found the truth of the natural world, he was never hungry, he was never naked, he was never homeless, and he was never sick. Why is this? It is because he knew the importance of moderation in eating, so he could overcome hunger. He knew the objective of wearing clothes, so he was never troubled about fashionable clothing. He discovered that his own Life Path was his home, so he was never homeless. He knew how to take care of his body and mind, so he was never sick, either physically or mentally.

He was not only the one who found out about true nature, but he also told the world about this. Did people listen to him? If they did, people wouldn’t have chronic problems like they do now. They might be better able to help themselves out with some of the world’s problems. The Buddha taught the path leading to the end of the problems. It is called the ‘Noble Eightfold Path’. Here are its eight factors:

1. Right understanding is the first gate leading to all the others.

2. Right view is the second way leading to right speech.

3. Right speech is the third way leading to right action.

4. Right action is the fourth way leading to right livelihood.

5. Right livelihood is the fifth way leading to right effort.

6. Right effort is the sixth way leading to right mindfulness.

7. Right mindfulness is the seventh way leading to right concentration.

8. Right concentration is the last way.

The eightfold path can be summarized into three basic trainings as follows;

1. Right understanding and right view constitute Wisdom. Wisdom must come first, because without wisdom, mankind is in danger. Mankind will be easily deluded or distracted by desire.

2. Right speech, action and livelihood form Morality which when learned and practiced will give rise to concentration, calmness, and mindfulness.

3. Right effort, mindfulness, and concentration are elements which when put into practice in life will give rise to realization or wisdom.

The eightfold path is a real Path leading to the end of worldly problems. In particular, the first path, wisdom, guides human beings out of problems, as a light chases away the darkness. Without wisdom, even if there is a lot of food, people starve to death; if there are a lot of clothes, people go naked; if there is a shelter, people still wander around homeless; even if there is medicine, they still become chronically sick. This is the importance of wisdom.

It is true that if we are wise, we can easily find a way to resolve the problems of daily life. The question is where can we find wisdom? The answer the Buddha gave is that there are two sources of wisdom; firstly, we can achieve wisdom from learning about things about the outside world, such as religions, ways of life, philosophy, sciences etc. and secondly, we can gain wisdom from learning about our inside world, such as meditation, reflection, observation, contemplation etc. Luckily and fortunately, there are a lot of sources of wisdom, which we can find or attain. We just have to commit ourselves to learning from the two sources, and putting this learning into practice. Then, we can more or less be wise.

You can now see the Path: if you want to be wise and happy, walk it. If you still want to be poor in the rich world, don’t walk the path. There are two choices, do it or do not do it. I shall leave you to decide for yourself. Good choice, good luck.