The Buddhist way of life for householders (laypeople)
This is from the book written by the late Reverend Dr K Sri Dhammananda "What Buddhists Believe"; the following was extracted from the book "What the Buddha Taught" by the Venerable Dr W Rahula.
I'm writing this out more as a reminder for myself - somehow it's akin to copying out scripture, in physically replicating the words, it is like a meditation and to imbue these words into yourself...
[Besides, it was in point form compressed into paragraphs, am just breaking it up so that it's easier for me to read hehe - lists are easier to see! :)]
A man named Dighajanu approached the Buddha and asked him, "Venerable Sir, we are ordinary laymen, leading a family life with wife and children. Would the Blessed One teach us some doctrines which will be conducive to our happiness in this world and after?"
The Buddha told him that there are four things which are conducive to a human's happiness in this world:
A) He should be:
in whatever profession he is engaged and he should know it well.
[i.e. know your job and do it to the best of your ability]
B) He should protect his income, which he has thus earned righteously, with the sweat of his brow
[i.e. do an honest job and save your money]
C) He should have good friends who are:
who will help him along the right path away from evil
[i.e. choose your friends careful, stay away from unreliable, ignorant, amoral and dogmatic type of people who will influence you to do stupid things]
D) He should spend reasonably, in proportion to his income neither too much nor too little - thus living within your means
[i.e. don't be a miser nor be too extravagant]
In another story, the Buddha also advised that your income should be spent in the following way:
I'm writing this out more as a reminder for myself - somehow it's akin to copying out scripture, in physically replicating the words, it is like a meditation and to imbue these words into yourself...
[Besides, it was in point form compressed into paragraphs, am just breaking it up so that it's easier for me to read hehe - lists are easier to see! :)]
A man named Dighajanu approached the Buddha and asked him, "Venerable Sir, we are ordinary laymen, leading a family life with wife and children. Would the Blessed One teach us some doctrines which will be conducive to our happiness in this world and after?"
The Buddha told him that there are four things which are conducive to a human's happiness in this world:
A) He should be:
- Skilled
- Efficient
- Earnest, and
- Energetic
in whatever profession he is engaged and he should know it well.
[i.e. know your job and do it to the best of your ability]
B) He should protect his income, which he has thus earned righteously, with the sweat of his brow
[i.e. do an honest job and save your money]
C) He should have good friends who are:
- Faithful
- Learned
- Virtuous
- Liberal
- Intelligent
who will help him along the right path away from evil
[i.e. choose your friends careful, stay away from unreliable, ignorant, amoral and dogmatic type of people who will influence you to do stupid things]
D) He should spend reasonably, in proportion to his income neither too much nor too little - thus living within your means
[i.e. don't be a miser nor be too extravagant]
In another story, the Buddha also advised that your income should be spent in the following way:
- 25% on daily expenses (I would include liabilities like car repayment but with prices these days... may not be possible)
- 50% to be invested in your business and other activities (I guess for salaried people, that would include investing in yourself (education), savings & investments including properties)
- 25% put aside for emergencies (savings for expenses, including retirement savings)
Practical advice from the Buddha, 2,500 years ago - still applicable today :)
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