Attaining and balancing wealth

Meditation pointers on our relationship to money

Ask yourself, to what extent does money:

• Represent success in your life? How much do you evaluate other people as successful depending on how much money they have? How much do you evaluate yourself as successful depending how much money you have?
• Represent security for you? How much do you save money because you’re seeking security?
• Symbolize love? How much do you give money to the people you care about to symbolize that care? How often do you give money to the people you love because you can’t be there, using money as a substitute for your loving presence?
• Symbolize power? How much do you think that people with a lot of money are more powerful? How much do you use money to wield your power with other people?
• Symbolize freedom and independence, the ability to do what you want?
• Indicate your values? How much do you use money in support of your ethical or spiritual values?
• Symbolize pleasure, your ability to have pleasure and to get the things you want?

Contemplating the meaning of money

• Recognizing the value we place on money
• Guided meditation on compassion

Attaining and Balancing the Three Wealths 01: Meditation (download)

Discussion after the meditation

• Long-term perspective of family
• Determining on how much money is enough
• Aging and money as security

Attaining and Balancing the Three Wealths 02: Discussion (download)

Self-centeredness versus cherishing others

• The disadvantages of being self-centered
• Benefits of cherishing others
• Meaning of love and kindness

Attaining and Balancing the Three Wealths 03 (download)

Questions and answers

• Encouraging ourselves to meditate
• Practices to purify negative karma
• How to find a reliable teacher
• Parent-child relationships

Attaining and Balancing the Three Wealths 04: Q&A (download)