Attaining and balancing wealth
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Contentment and Happiness 
Nov 22, 2004 A workshop at Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery, Singapore on November 22, 2004.
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)
Venerable Thubten Chodron
Venerable Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners. She is well known for her warm, humorous, and lucid teachings. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1977 by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche in Dharamsala, India, and in 1986 she received bhikshuni (full) ordination in Taiwan. Read her full bio.
