Is It Wrong To Be Ambitious?

last SG · 2006-07-04T18:25:52+00:00

i am still not desciplined to have a consistant savings every month. today is "sufficient". i don't know if tomorrow there's always enough or not....

paperflower SG

Is It Wrong To Be Ambitious? -- by Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda:

Buddha's Advice......:

The Buddha advised people to work hard without wasting their valuable time and to earn, invest for the future, to support their families, fulfill their duties and obligations, and to spend carefully what they earned, without waste.

According to the Buddha, renunciation is not the only way to practise Buddhism. He advised lay people to practise Buddhism while fulfilling their normal duties. At the same time he had no objection to the worldly happiness enjoyed by lay people.

paperflower SG

The Buddha had explained that there are four kinds of worldly happiness that householders can experience:

1. to enjoy economic security or sufficient wealth acquired by just and righteous means (atthi-sukha);

2. to spend wealth liberally on himself, his family, his friends and relatives, and on meritorious deeds (bhoga-sukha);

3. to be free from debts (anana-sukha);

4. to live a faultless, and a pure life without committing evil in thought, word or deed (anavajja-sukha). When you come to know that you have earned something for yourself through honest means, the happiness that you gain through your accumulated wealth gives happiness which develops confidence in household life.

paperflower SG

There are some people who go on earning and accumulating wealth but never experience happiness with such wealth nor utilise their earnings in a proper way.

According to the Buddha, we can experience worldly happiness by using what we have earned in a reasonable way without violating our basic religious principles.

It is not correct to say that Buddhists should not experience worldly happiness.

There are certain harmless cultural amusements and entertainments which are important to relax the mind and to reduce tension among lay people.

Human emotions can be satisfied by engaging in harmless pleasures without disturbing the peace and happiness of others.

paperflower SG

Mental Development

But when people reach a certain level of spiritual development and see the real nature of worldly life, they will give up even such entertainment.

Through a long period of mental development, they realise that in the final analysis life is nothing but a dream and that worldly pleasures are of a fleeting nature.

The three characteristics of every existing component thing: Anicca, Dukkha and Anatta - impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and insubstantiality - can be understood clearly through insight.

By insight we mean a realisation of the ultimate truth which appears when a person has trained his mind to see the real nature of existence.

paperflower SG

We need not explain the complexities of these ideas to everyone.

For example, when we introduce Buddhism to children, it is unwise to discuss these subtle subjects, because children are not capable of understanding such complex ideas. Such discussions would create more confusion in the minds of people not able to understand them.

This doctrine is suitable only for mature adults who can see the nature of change and impermanence and can appreciate unsatisfactoriness in the light of their experiences.

paperflower SG

Some people say that Buddhism is responsible for certain countries remaining undeveloped and backward. They also say that Buddhism always talks about suffering and giving up the worldly life to sit in a forest and meditate. It is for this reason that Westerners in the past have introduced Buddhism as a "pessimistic religion".

Whatever they say, there can be no controversy regarding the unsatisfactoriness of life.

While there can be no controversy for the mature person who studies Buddhism deeply, we must know how to introduce this religion according to the understanding capacity, education and maturity of the people who listen to us.

If we are going to talk only about the ills of life and uncertainty and impermanence of everything to children and immature people, the psychological effects can actually hinder their progress in the world.

paperflower SG

This is why the Buddha never condemned the devotional practices of religion like offering flowers, lighting candles, etc.

Those who are not intellectually ready to understand the true teachings should be allowed to develop their SADDHA or confidence in this way. These practices develop SILA or morality - which is the first stage along the path to spiritual freedom.

The other two stages, concentration and wisdom come later in the long process of spiritual development.

An Eternal Now SG

We do not necessarily have to always talk about buddhism in a pessimistic way, for example, I always say that Buddhism is the way of Bliss.

neutral_onliner SG

Is It Wrong To Be Ambitious? Dun tink so... there'r many successful lay buddhists businessmen around Cool

Thusness SG

I do not think that being ambitious is wrong. It can horn us and serves as a form of self-actualization that matures ourselves along the way. But sad to say, ambitions do cloud our mind (even though it is acceptable morally) and is a form of hinder for clarity to arise. For me I think life is too precious to get ourselves lost in endless materialistic pursue; at some point in time, if we are able to put things in place, it will be good to brush aside external concerns and devote more time towards cultivation and perfection of mental clarity.

paperflower SG

i ever thought about being ambitious is a good thing or not. like setting an intention and the mind to set forth to cultivate well spiritually or work hard and smart towards a successful business, work life, family life, social life, etc....

when we don't have an ambition or goal, it is like an aimless journey, where one is not sure where one is going. when one has ambition, one has focus in where one wish to go. when tied to the ambition, one can also easily neglect the dharma and proper cultivation or sometimes in some cases neglect about other equally important matters around them. like i used to hear this from some friends of other religion saying that they were so concerned over their careers and other materialistic and worldly stuff that they forgot about their god; and some also said that they neglected their families and even own health and concerns or they become a different person.

my thoughts are: ambitious is neither extreme wrong nor extreme correct. balance is still safer.

again, when one is cultivating spiritually, a goal to achieve enlightenment can become an ambition. this ambition becomes a hindrance. when observe and realise a little bit deeper and understand, there is nothing really needed to attain......

materialistically or spiritually, both are forms of thoughts which you can both hold and can't hold. which one or can both equally give a lasting blissfulness?

i have not yet experienced any sort of blissfulness materialistically or spiritually. but i know there are "things" i need to see it for myself as i go along.

Thusness SG

Yes I do agree with most of what you said.

When in business, set our goals and go for it! We cant afford to be flickered minded in business. I agree that the business world can serves as a good practice ground; just that it is easy to enter, difficult to get out when it grows.

There is this latent tendency of the mind to identify in a very subtle way that goes undetected until we are forced to confront our identifications and attachments. I always thought I have achieved certain level of detachment but Singapores past 3 major recessions revealed otherwise. Never in the past 3 recessions when attempting to save my businesses had I able to remain pure, calm and stable. In fact many evil and unwholesome thoughts surfaced (too shame to list them all). I am fortunate that I managed to survive these crises, they are nightmares but I do not want to roll in it till my last day; however settling these businesses can take many years. Like karma that rolls on, we never know whether we can stop it at the correct time.

In my opinion, spirituality is more than just being healthy psychologically and having a good life in the here and now. There is a deeper sense to it; a deeper conviction that this life is but a spark in a never ending stream. I would not call it an ambition but it definitely starts from a deep call within to understand who we truly are. Do leave some years for the bliss you mentioned, I wish you success. Smile

longchen SG

I wish to retire early, so that i can spend more time on spiritual pursuits. Laughing

My Reiki/qi-gong teacher is an inspiration. He did not have a proper employment for so many years and yet finance was never a problem for him. Now, he even go for long spiritual retreats. To him, it was a matter of applying and understanding certain metaphysical principles of intention and manifestation.

However, i believe one's fortune and destiny moves in cycles. In the phemenonal world, we can't have good days all the time.

paperflower SG

i also wish to retire early.
Mr. Green

but i also don't mind working through out my old age as long as i am still strong and able.

Thusness SG

I know of one qikong master that has a shop in Toa Payoh. Got to book months ahead for appointment for massage. He belongs to Eckanka organization and goes for retreat quite often. Though we need very little to survive but an ongoing income is crucial in Singapore especially when you have a family. Smile

Yes, normally when luck is not at our side, all negative stuff come together attacking us from all directions, not sequentially. If sequentially, then it wouldn't be that bad. Used to involve quite heavily into astrology. In fact 2 of my partners are very drawn into it; one of them used to be a thai astrologer. Wink

neutral_onliner SG

100% agree Cool

longchen SG

Yah so true. I recently heard that generally the CPF may not be enough for retirement expenses.

Thusness SG

Yes. Actually 30+ to 40% of regulatory saving is considered quite high, it should be sufficent. The problem is that these savings got wiped out by the correction of asset inflation.

coolbluewater SG

Inflation does eats up a portion of our saving, but if you do investment wisely, you should be fine.

There has been alot of debates as to how much is sufficient for retirement. There's no definite answer here. It all depends on how you want to live your life after you retire.

Thusness SG

I am refering more to the sales of assets at a lost that wiped out our wealth in CPF due to the correction of asset inflation in today's newspaper. The loss is a realised loss.

And also to asset inflation, not so much of price inflation according to a basket of goods. Luxury items like properties and cars are not within the basket I supposed. Smile

Yes how much is enough for an individual is often subjective. However from the perspective of wealth management, there is also a general guide for the amount of saving needed. The ratio of 30-40% saving of our income at a compounded interest rate of 2.5 percent is quite an achievement. Sad to say even with that quantum, it is still quite difficult to cope with the asset inflation. Smile