What seekers of financial advice can learn from Buddhism
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A philosophy that endorses the idea that "wealth is temporary and no path to happiness" might not seem like the first source those seeking financial advice would turn to, according to Reuters.
However, Ethan Nichtern, a Buddhist teacher and author of a new book, "The Road Home," disagrees.
Nichtern told Chris Taylor of Reuters that since money is unavoidable, people's attitudes turn them to use money in negative ways. With a bit of knowledge in regards to Buddhism, people would actually be more efficient with their finances and build strong community connections through currency, Nichtern said.
"We are taught to use money in ways that isolate us. But money is an exchange. If there was only one person in the world, you could be a trillionaire, but it wouldn’t even matter because all that money would be worthless," the author said. "Think about how money connects you to other people. From a Buddhist standpoint, you should think about how to use that money to empower others."
In fact, Buddhists' views on empowering others through money are helping bolster the philosophy in the U.S., according to The Huffington Post.
Yael Shy wrote for The Huffington Post that some Buddhist leaders feel uncomfortable talking about money. Through long-term fundraisers "that are sustainable within the American charitable landscape," though, practitioners are meshing Buddhism's core beliefs about money with models that are proven to work in the U.S. to help others.
Balancing faith and finance helps people become "awakened" human beings, ultimately, Nichtern told Reuters.
"You can be an awakened human being, and also make a living at the same time," he said. "When people say money is dirty, then they are just leaving it all to people who don’t have any spiritual practices or values. That is an abdication of our responsibilities."
Send Payton Davis an email at pdavis@deseretdigital.com and follow him on Twitter, @Davis_DNN.
