Continued from previous part: The Misconception of the Incompatibility of Wealth and Virtue
When your calm breathing becomes disturbed, your appearance and mind become disordered. You begin to have self-attacks and self-judgments, asking yourself why you don’t have money or why you can’t earn money. You start to forget things and doubt your abilities. When we begin to have hostility towards ourselves, we also begin to feel anger towards others, and start to have animosity towards them.
Money loss is helping you find balance
When I was running my business, I took a lot of detours, and I saw many of my peers constantly plagiarizing my work. Inside, I felt a lot of anger and panic. I thought they were shameless for copying my ideas without any creativity of their own. I would promote something, and then they would start copying it.
I felt deep fear and anxiety, and even though they copied me better than I did, my business would start to decline. So, inside me, there was a lot of tension and anger, and my body became very poor. I couldn’t sleep at night, my hair was falling out in handfuls, and I even started getting spots on my face. I was truly describing a state of exhaustion.
One day, I suddenly woke up and realized that I had a lot of imaginary enemies. My breath was in chaos inside me. I always thought those villains wanted to harm me, and I entered such a ridiculous state that I vented my anger on my employees, thinking that they weren’t working hard enough or diligent enough, and that made me so tired!
A skilled warrior is not angry. I am neither a skilled warrior nor peaceful. A victor does not compete, but I was fighting every day. Every day, I would browse various websites to see what my opponents were doing, what they were busy with. I had so many imaginary enemies that earning money became really difficult at that time. It was as if I had no virtue or merit, and the money I earned disappeared like water. Why?
Because money is meant to calm the anger of the war inside me. Why is it said that fighting and burning money are the same? Because inside me, there are many battlefields, old battlefields and new battlefields constantly fighting each other. Therefore, money cannot stay with me. The whole energy keeps fighting, existing in anger, resentment, annoyance, and even in hidden anxiety. So it becomes a battlefield, and in this battlefield, money cannot stay. It can only wash away my energy, again and again, like flowing water.
Now, I know what my life originally looks like. I know why I am here. I am here to have fun. Teaching, for me, is also a way to have fun. Coming to Lijiang, like playing, is the same as making money, giving speeches, and being with you all. They are all for me to have fun.
The whole wealth is a force of transformation, constantly transforming, and your entire body, including your emotions, is constantly balancing. So sometimes you may think why money is flowing away, but in fact, it is helping you find balance.
Money is transformation, body is the vessel
I once had a case where a couple came to me because of their debt. After looking at their situation, I asked, “A few years ago, did you two have a major problem in your relationship?” They both nodded and said, “Yes.” At that time, they had a big fight and even made a promise to divorce. However, for various reasons, they didn’t end up getting divorced, and since then their financial situation went from profits to debt.
They asked me if there was any connection between their relationship and their finances. I replied, “There is a strong connection. We talk about the three connections: body, wealth, and emotions, and they all are a combination of energy. Wealth, as a material thing, balances the body and the emotional relationship.”
When the emotional relationship between two people has problems, the wealth needs to be balanced. If it is not balanced, their bodies will have problems. However, if they don’t want their bodies to have problems, then the wealth will have to be lost, as it needs to balance like flowing water, constantly rinsing away. If you use the water you drink to wash your hands, then of course there will be less water to drink, and the balance will continue to adjust.
If you have a lot of internal conflict, jealousy, and anger, then your wealth cannot stay. This is what we call “mismatched morality.” In fact, morality represents the original state of life, a state of peace and tranquility. If you break this peace, then your wealth will not match your current level of power.
During my conversation with the couple, they both had tears in their eyes. They admitted that they couldn’t live without each other, but they had said a lot of hurtful things to each other before, and even swore that they could be poor and still wouldn’t go back on their words.
I said, “Yes, money is there to balance the combination of all your energies. So, of course, you will become poor. If you both go back and cherish and take care of each other, the money will soon turn around. This energy is like a tire that will not leak air anymore. So, the money will come in.”
In other words, morality is a container that holds your body, emotions, and the energy of wealth. Morality represents the original state of life, which is related to your breathing, mindset, appearance, and how you view life and the world.
A jealous and angry person cannot maintain a good body, emotional relationship, or good financial status.
Gratitude and Blessing are the Respect for Life
“Not matching one’s virtue” means that your plate is too small to hold so much at once. Therefore, in terms of wealth concepts, I often tell my students: when you see someone who is richer than you, who lives a better life than you, who drives a luxury car, lives in a mansion, has a lot of savings, and looks glamorous, what should you do?
It is not jealousy or envy, but a greater blessing and gratitude. Gratitude for what? Gratitude that the other part of me inside my body can live so freely, so comfortably, and so richly, allowing me to see that I can also live like this in the future. I wish you better and better, and I am grateful for this manifestation of life that allows me to see it.
The same is true for seeing those who are more miserable than ourselves. It is not just sympathy or pity, but also a sense of gratitude. Grateful for the manifestation of life in this way, which allows me to cherish the life I have now, this health, this emotional relationship, this freedom, and including my wealth. I am not sleeping on the streets, and I am still living well. This itself is something to be grateful for and to celebrate!
This essence of gratitude, joy, and blessing is the greatest driving force in life. It is like the heart constantly pumping blood back and forth, with a transformative power. This transformative power can generate a process of virtue matching, because once you start to circulate, the strength of your entire body begins to increase.
This expression of blessing and gratitude for others, the respect for life, is the “non-contentious virtue” in Laozi’s fourth precept. It means putting oneself behind others, not competing for leadership positions or comparing oneself to others. It means putting one’s reputation and status behind, but one can still act accordingly. It does not involve scheming for personal gain, as this can easily lead to more losses.
The real way to protect oneself is what?
“To put one’s body outside, while keeping it inside” means that I put my body outside, but my body can still be preserved. As I mentioned before, when I see all the beauty and people who are better than me, I feel a deep sense of gratitude, touched, and thankfulness. I am grateful that they have given me such a face, which allows me to see that life can be so beautiful, that I can live in such a joyful state. I truly wish them the best and know that I can also achieve it.
I have no envy or comparison, nor do I harbor jealousy or criticize them. I have not said anything negative about them or their shortcomings, nor have I tried to compete with them. I only have gratitude and blessings.
Many of my students are much richer than I am. Every time we talk about money, I have a sense of joy and a great blessing, which allows me to see that there is so much money in life and that life can be lived in such a way. I am very grateful for such a manifestation and very grateful to see the blooming of life’s joy!
I see many lecturers and teachers who speak particularly well and who are particularly outstanding. I have a deep admiration and appreciation for them, as they allow me to see so much beauty and manifestations in life. I am very grateful for their appearance, and even more grateful for the universe giving me such a face, allowing me to see it!
Similarly, I am grateful for the universe giving me such a hint, telling me that I can also live in such a way and live in such a way. This expansion of consciousness makes me feel deeply worthy and deserving, and my “virtue” slowly matches what I want. I have not competed with them by means of envy or competition.
My method is gratitude and blessings, as well as a full sense of joy and admiration. Truly rejoicing and praising make me feel very happy, allowing me to see so much beauty in life. This is what we call “virtue,” and more is a capacity for the carrying of money. What is the essence of this? It is to respect the original appearance of life. The more you respect the original appearance of life, the more you can be unchanging, not increasing or decreasing, not pure or impure, and respect it in its stillness.
The original appearance, what is the original appearance? It is the appearance of calm breathing and the appearance of flowers blooming in ease. So when you can achieve a state of calmness, ease and stillness, your virtue matches what you want, and all the money’s transformative power.
The original appearance of life is abundance, richness, and joy. Everyone deserves and is worthy of it. It is not that you have to suffer or deserve it, but do you respect the original appearance of your life? Have you entered the frequency of gratitude, appreciation, and joy of others’ original appearances? Have you entered the true state of communication between heaven and earth, where everyone is equal and joyful, and everyone is rich and abundant? Be grateful for every manifestation that allows you to see the different faces of life. Have you respected its original appearance?
When you respect it, your virtue will gradually be cultivated like a magnetic field, slowly returning to the original appearance of life. Then, good emotional relationships, physical wealth, and instincts will naturally come back to you little by little through your virtue.
