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a mansion they want a palace. 
When they get a 
palace, they still want to be king of 
the world. 
3. greed for food (overeating): 
some people are not 
interested in power or possessions 
as long as they 
can get their hands on delicacies to 
eat. 
4. promiscuity: they have a family 
in every new 
town they visit. 
All of these things can be the 
source of discontent. 
276 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
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D.3 Acquisition with and without 
discontent 
If we want to have something that 
belongs to someone 
else, but by honest means, for 
example if you 
want a new Mercedes and it costs a 
million so you 
save up to buy it (such a feeling is 
not succumbing 
to discontent) — however, if you 
have a salary of a 
million per month, but you think to 
cheat someone 
else in order to get the Mercedes 
you want, instead 
of paying for it (discontent is at 
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work in the mind for 
sure). Wanting to obtain things is 
not wrong in itself, 
if it doesn't lead us to lose our 
scruples about 
exploiting others. If you really 
want to buy a 
Mercedes and you save up your 
salary to buy it, that 
is not discontent. However, if you 
can't wait and get 
involved in corruption to boost 
your earnings, then 
that is submission to the 
discontent. And eventually 
it will lead to greed for things 
without end. 
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E. CULTIVATING 
CONTENTMENT IN 
EVERYDAY LIFE 
E.1 Earning one's living 
contentedly 
In Buddhism, the purpose of 
earning one's living is 
nothing more than to procure 
sufficient of the basic 
requisites of life to support one's 
physical needs, so 
that one can use one's time, 
strength and ability to 
do what is really important in life 
— namely to cultivate 
the maximum possible virtues in 
the space of 
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one's life. Buddhism has never 
seen the working life 
or the accrual of material assets as 
an end in itself. 
Thus Buddhists define the 
economic and social prosperity 
of a country as being in inverse 
proportion to 
the number of people on the 
poverty line rather than 
in proportion to the amount of 
money in the national 
treasury, in keeping with the 
saying: 
"the absence of poverty is a better 
measure of a 
nation's success than the number 
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of wealthy 
people" 
To cultivate happiness and 
progress one should 
start by contentment for what one 
already has —
doing one's duties to the best of 
one's abilities without 
hankering unduly after other 
things. For example, 
if one has the position of `head of 
department' 
at work, and would like to 
experience both job satisfaction 
and progress in one's career, one 
should 
start with contentment for one's 
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own position and 
doing one's duty to the best of 
one's ability. Apart 
from being happy at work, 
promotion and other 
aspects of career progress will 
come to us automatically 
by the fact one is devoted and 
enthusiastic 
about our present position. 
Similarly, if one feels as 
if one's married relationship is 
going badly, before 
harbouring discontentand thinking 
that a new 
spouse would fix the problem, one 
should try cultivating 
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contentment with one's present 
spouse by 
practising one's duties (see 
Blessing 13) towards 
them to the best of one's ability. 
E.2 Principles for administering 
one's possessions 
Principles concerning assets 
I. Acquisition: When acquiring 
assets, you should 
earn them in a scrupulous way 
without having 
to take advantage of other people 
to do so — not 
breaking the law, breaking with 
custom, breaking 
one's Precepts or breaking with 
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virtue. 
2. Expenditure: When using your 
wealth, you 
should not be stingy — but you 
should also not 
be extravagent. You should not be 
reluctant to 
use what you have earned for your 
own welfare 
and the welfare of those closest to 
you — while 
at the same time practising 
generosity, sharing 
with others and for good works. 
3. Attitude: One should not 
worship money but 
should see it as a means or a tool 
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by which one 
can live one's life. 
E.3 Cultivating Contentment 
I. Daily Reflections: There is a 
habitual reflection 
contained in the Evening Chanting: 
We 
are of a nature to age, we have not 
yet gone 
beyond aging — we are of a nature 
to sicken, 
we have not yet gone beyond 
sickening — we 
are of a nature to die, we have not 
yet gone 
beyond dying." If we think 
habitually of the 
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limited nature of our life it will 
help to reduce 
the time we waste greedily chasing 
after 
desires for things that are 
ultimately unimportant 
to our real well-being 
2. Moderation in eating: Train 
yourself to know 
moderation in eating. Eat to live 
rather than 
living to eat! If you can appreciate 
moderation 
in simple things, it will be easier to 
know contentment 
in more complex ones. 
3. Generosity: If we often give 
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things to others 
it will help us to overcome greed. 
Blessing Twenty-Four: 
Contentment 277 
4. Keeping Eight Precepts: 
Keeping the Eight 
Precepts, especially the Third 
Precept of abstaining 
from sexual relations, will directly 
train us to overcome greed 
concerning the 
opposite sex. The Sixth Precept of 
not taking 
food in the evening will help us to 
overcome 
our interest in food. The Seventh 
Precept of 
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not wearing jewelry or make-up 
will train us 
to be content with ourselves as we 
are. The 
Eighth Precept of not sleeping on a 
luxurious 
bed will train us not to be 
overcome with desire 
for comfort. 
5. Meditate every day: When the 
mind becomes 
more refined, our temptation to 
hunger for 
power and fame will be reduced. 
If you have a good friend, never 
ask them for 
the thing they love the most, it may 
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cost you 
your friendship 
unless they give 
it to you 
without your asking. 
E.4 Monastic Life as training in 
contentment 
Since ancient times, Thai society 
has had a way of 
training in contentment which has 
always been very 
efficient in instilling contentment 
in its people — this 
ancient training is the tradition of 
temporary ordination. 
There is a tradition in Thailand for 
young men 
to take temporary ordination as a 
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monk at the age of 
around twenty-years old. Usually 
the ordination is 
no longer than three months, 
however it gives the 
ordinands the chance to experience 
inner happiness 
first hand, and especially the 
happiness that comes 
from knowing contentment. Those 
who ordain as 
monks are allowed to use only the 
bare minimum of 
material requisites, namely three 
robes and a bowl —
one's living is earned by 
almsround 
such a simple 
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life without worries about material 
wealth easily facilitates 
the freedom of mind which gives 
rise to the 
subtle states of inner happiness —
allowing those with 
the chance to ordain to understand 
the importance to 
their happiness of attaining 
contentment in life. 
F. ILLUSTATIVE EXAMPLES 
F.1 Metaphor: A drop can fill a 
glass but a river 
cannot fill the sea ... 
Even the smallest drop of water 
can make the difference 
between whether a bottle is full is 
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not. On 
the other hand no much water you 
may have you 
cannot cause the ocean to 
overflow. In the same way, 
even a small amount of money can 
make a difference 
to a person who knows 
contentment. On the 
other hand, no matter how much 
wealth you may 
have, for those who don't know 
contentment, it will 
only add to that person's 
discontent. 
F.2 Ex. Happy beggar, discontent 
businessman 
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There was a minister of commerce 
who told the 
story of two events he came across 
in the same day 
which had impressed him from 
that day to this. He 
left his home one day and passed a 
beggar in the 
street. In his family there was a 
tradition that they 
would never pass a request for help 
unanswered 
— how much they helped someone 
in need depended 
— but they would never refuse 
someone 
help. To give a beggar a cent 
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would normally be a 
lot, but that day in his pocket there 
was no loose 
change. He had to open up his 
wallet where the 
smallest note was a five-dollar bill. 
He gave the five 
dollar bill to the beggar. The 
beggar was so happy 
that he bowed down on the 
pavement at the feet of 
the minister. The beggar said that 
he had been a 
beggar since he was a child and 
today was the first 
time in his life he had met 
someone so generous as 
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to give him five dollars. The 
beggar's eyes shone 
with appreciation.The beggar's 
delight gave the 
minister a certain cheerfulness to 
start his day. 
When the minister reached the 
ministry, he met a 
bank manager with a pained 
expression of woe on 
his face. The minister asked 
whether the banker was 
ill. The banker said,"I am so upset 
I haven't slept 
for a week. I told my son to order a 
certain product 
that was bound to be missing from 
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