Contentment is the greatest wealth

Lord Buddha emphasised the importance of contentment when he said “Santhushti Paramam Dhanam” which means contentment is the greatest wealth. Contentment and the pursuit of contentment is central  to Buddhism and it runs through the teachings of the Buddha. It is an important virtue that has been mentioned in many Buddhist scriptures like  Mangala Sutta and  Metta Sutta which briefly state it is  a quality to  be cultivated for one’s happiness and  wellbeing. Contentment is simply a state of mind or an attitude.

We live in a consumer driven society, in which person’s wellbeing and happiness depend fundamentally on obtaining consumer goods and material possessions. Therefore, in an age of unparalleled consumerism and materialism contentment seems to evade many people. They feel profoundly inadequate and envious at being unable to keep up with the Joneses. 

Buddha’s teaching that the greatest wealth is contentment hold a timeless truth that rings true even today more than ever, particularly in times of scarcity.  Buddha draws attention to the fact that single-minded pursuit of material wealth cannot make human beings happy. According to the second of the four Noble Truths, the cause of dukkha is tanha which is craving. When a person gets an acquisitive yearning for some object, that object becomes a cause of suffering. Proliferation of unnecessary wants is the basic cause of suffering.

 As Gandhi put it, the earth has enough for everyone’s needs, but not for anyone’s greed. Socrates expressing similar sentiments described contentment as “He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.”

Verse 204 of Dhammapada states” Arogya Parama labha Santutthiparam dhanam vissasa parama nati Nibbana paramam sukham” health is foremost possession, Contentment is the foremost wealth, Trust, the foremost kinship, and Nirvana, the foremost happiness. Contentment could be described simply as the absence of discontent, a concept easy to understand but hard to accomplish. 

Our desires are insatiable, they never abate, but when we have a lot of expectations some of them are certain to be disappointed.  People live under the delusion that our happiness is proportional to the quantity and monetary value of our possessions. There is a pervasive illusion that augmenting our financial assets, and acquisition of more and more materialistic wealth make persons happier more contended more deeply fulfilled human beings. This acquisitive nature of mankind can be likened to an attempt to quench thirst by drinking salt water, as salt water far from eliminating thirst  will only increase it

Our society demands that we should yearn more and more than we have at the moment and as a result many people feel that they have not reached the finishing line. Many people are under the impression that having lots of money and material things would solve their problems. People still assume that wealth and money bring lasting happiness. The key to happiness is not the amount of money in our bank accounts but the ability to feel contented wherever we are in life. It must be remembered, that  even people  blessed with wealth and  other great luxuries can find  themselves unhappy with their lives. Even billionaires that can buy anything in the world feel insecure and unhappy. There are instances of  many celebrities who had access to all of comforts and luxuries disappointed with their lives committed suicide  or turned to drugs and alcoholism. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are people who have accumulated little wealth comparatively happy. Therefore, greatest wealth that we can possess is contentment not money and other mundane things. Even if one is in material terms is the poorest in the world he or she can be rich if contented. 

When we compare our sorrows with that of others our sorrows are insignificant. Clear understanding of this make us happy in whatever situation we are in at the present moment. Frugal and minimalistic lifestyle focusing on what really matters and necessary for our day to day living and also reassessing our priorities will enable us to lead a contented life. Throughout history people have displayed their acquisitive innate greed by exploiting each other and amassing wealth and they have never been good at cultivating the virtue of contentment.  Human beings do not have a natural instinct for being happy with what they have. Although we might have a comfortable life and our basic needs are being met we still feel that we fall short of the social bench mark of success. 

As human beings we all have a hierarchy of needs, but once a reasonable standard of living is achieved, we should eschew further material acquisitions. Once our modest needs are met any additional gain in our income and possessions will not really increase our level of happiness. Happiness obtained by a person who is contented who seeks joy within himself is many times more than the happiness of that person who act under the influence of desires and greed. A person who really practices contentment and self-control in life will soon realize that discontent is the cause of unhappiness.  Contentment does not mean that we should not be ambitious and should not work hard to earn money or that we should not be gainfully employed. 

Any capable person should not waste his skills but instead he should use them for the benefit of himself as well as others. Our aim for excellence should not be guided by greed or selfishness. Instead we should use our success to do good to others. 

 Lord Buddha does not decry the accumulation of wealth or extol poverty as a preferred alternative. He only recommends that wealth be acquired by right livelihood and be utilized in meaningful ways to promote happiness of oneself and others. Therefore,  as Buddhists we  need to be on guard against the temptations of material wealth, and wealth should not be idolized and should not be a stumbling block for spiritual advancement.  With the growth of consumerism people have become obsessively interested in all sorts of mundane things that lead them on and on in a fruitless search for contentment in life. They end up with more discontent more suffering because they grasp at things that have no real substance. Yet, they keep on grasping hoping to find contentment inevitably experiencing the opposite

We must maintain an attitude of contentment in our life no matter what our circumstances are. It is natural for us to feel unhappy and despondent, when we run short of some material things in our lives or when things are not going our way. But it must be remembered, pleasure derived from enjoyment of all luxurious things is short lived and superficial. Only acceptance of the situation can you give you contentment.