Chiyang Daoren, Eastern Taoism
Money has a spirit of its own: your attitude toward money determines money's attitude toward you. What your attitude toward money is can be seen concretely in how you treat money in your everyday habits.
It is said that one day the famous Hong Kong entrepreneur Mr. Li Ka-shing came out of his home, and just as his secretary opened the car door for him and he bent to get in, a Hong Kong dollar coin accidentally fell from his jacket pocket and happened to roll under a drain cover by the roadside. Mr. Li had his secretary send for someone to lift the drain cover and carefully search beneath it for the coin. After about ten minutes the coin was finally found, and Mr. Li “rewarded” the worker with 100 Hong Kong dollars.
Many people could not understand why Mr. Li would trade 100 Hong Kong dollars for a single one-dollar coin. They thought the coin must have some special status, some special origin, or some special meaning. In fact it was just an ordinary coin.
Mr. Li knew that people did not understand what he had done, and he explained it like this: a single dollar is also wealth. If you neglect it—if it “falls down the drain” and you don't go to get it back—you are looking down on it, and gradually the God of Wealth will leave you. So one should find a way to get that coin back; this is an attitude toward money. And the 100 dollars was the pay the worker deserved for searching for the coin; it should have been given even if the coin had not been found.
Mr. Li's attitude toward money is well worth pondering and well worth learning from. Now this article will discuss which habits in our daily lives make our wealth leak away and make us poor.
1. Not Taking Your Change
Many people usually think nothing of amounts under one yuan, and when shopping they often leave the few cents of change the shop gives back. Little do they know that many a little makes a lot, and your wealth luck will slip away from you without your noticing.
Of course, if in your heart you do care about the change, and you leave it as encouragement or a reward for the shopkeeper, that is a good deed that accumulates blessings, and it is another matter.
2. Not Picking Up Coins on the Ground
Many people quite often see loose money on the ground, by the roadside, in shopping malls, and so on. If it is a large note, naturally plenty of people pick it up; but if it is one yuan, or a jiao or a few jiao, or a fen or a few fen, nobody picks it up. If you saw it, would you still sing the children's song “I found a penny by the side of the road”? I believe many people would not only not pick it up but would not even deign to look at it; some would even kick the coin away, and the farther it went, the happier they would be.
Little do they know that with that kick they are kicking away the God of Wealth. In fact, no truly wealthy person (not the newly rich) would do such a thing, because they understand the right way to treat money.
3. Leaving Money All Over the House
Some people, whether for convenience or out of habit, leave money all over the house—in drawers, in bookcases, on tables, even on the sofa—putting it down anywhere and “dropping money” at random.
Little do they know that such careless habits show that we do not value money, let alone respect it. Over time, however much money we have, it will all be “scattered.” Bad habits like these can bring only poverty.
4. “Laundering Money” in the Washing Machine
In the past, collective dormitories had shared washing machines, and the auntie in charge of the laundry had “income” every month, because there were always careless young men or free-handed young women who did not empty the money from their shirts and trousers. Even now many people do not take care to empty their pockets before washing their clothes, and often find money in their own washing machines; some banknotes are even washed to shreds and can no longer be used.
Because we have no respect for money in our hearts, if this goes on, our wealth luck too will gradually be “washed” clean away, and making money will become harder and harder.
5. Placing the Safe or Cash Box Carelessly
Many people know they should keep their money together in one place, so they buy a safe or cash box especially for it, put it anywhere, and think all is well and the God of Wealth will stay forever. Not so. Why? Because each person's BaZi (Four Pillars of Destiny) and Five Elements are different, so the directions favorable to each person differ; and a safe or cash box has its own particular Five Elements attribute; and on top of that, every house has its directions of the Eight Trigrams. So let me tell you: there is an art to placing a safe or cash box in a home.
If you put your safe or cash box in a declining position rather than a wealth position, a prosperous position, or some other suitable position, then not only will you fail to gather wealth, you will leak it. Out of genuine respect for money, you should take care to find an ideal place for your safe or cash box, and also arrange some objects conducive to generating and increasing wealth. It is best of all to ask a professional to help choose the position and arrange things.
6. Writing Your Name on Money
Whether to leave their name behind, out of curiosity, or even out of boredom, there are always some people who write their own name or their company's name on money. Then this note passes from hand to hand among thousands upon thousands of people. What you may not know is that because this act is disrespectful to money, your wealth luck will slowly circulate away along with the note. Isn't that a pity?
7. Treating Damaged Money Carelessly
Now and then we inevitably come across damaged money—notes with a corner missing, or even only half left. Such money can in fact still be exchanged at the bank. But many of us think it not worth the time, or fear the trouble, and either leave it lying at home, give it away, or simply throw it out.
This is because we do not regard every cent in our hands as a manifestation of the God of Wealth. If we treat our God of Wealth this way, how could the God of Wealth not keep away from us? We should reflect carefully on the consequences of this and keep due reverence for the God of Wealth.
8. Using Money Improperly
Some people like to fold money into handicrafts of various shapes, to display, to give away, or simply out of boredom. Some paste foreign money that cannot be used at home onto their walls. Some, for one purpose or another, burn or destroy money. Some treat small notes or coins as ordinary objects and throw them away at will. All these behaviors show no feeling for money, so the God of Wealth will have no feeling for such people either. And let me tell you, you will be in trouble, because your wealth luck will get worse and worse—unless you want to live like a poor person.
9. Flaunting Wealth in Public
Some people who have suddenly grown rich, to show off their wealth and ability, take out large amounts of cash and flaunt it, spend it, and hand it out in front of classmates, friends, and their hometown, or post pictures of it on social media. Some, to promote a new product for their company, or to hold a celebration, or on some holiday, actually scatter money everywhere from balloons and cars. The result of such behavior: before long the individual goes bankrupt and the company goes under.
Taoism says “the Way of Heaven shuns fullness,” “do not display your wealth,” and “cherish blessings and blessings increase.” Money has a spirit of its own. How could the God of Wealth let you be arrogant, extravagant, and dissolute? The God of Wealth will naturally abandon you, and afterward it will be hard to seek wealth again.
10. Not Carrying a Wallet
The money the ancients used was pieces of silver, copper coins, and silver dollars. Even if they had only one left, they would wrap it carefully in cloth or a handkerchief and tuck it into their clothes against the chest. That was cherishing and respecting money, and often that money could save a life. Today many people no longer use wallets, and since digital currency appeared, even fewer do. So when they occasionally have cash or change, they stuff it into a pocket, leave it anywhere, or slip it between the pages of a book. In fact, this all shows no heart for cherishing and caring for money—how could money favor you? Even when you buy a wallet to keep it in, there is an art to choosing a wallet; choosing the wrong wallet will not do. How much less, then, when you are so disrespectful to money—how could money respect you, and how could you grow rich?
The above is only an outline of some common bad habits that make our wealth leak away and make us poor.
“It is not too late to mend the pen after a sheep is lost.” Starting now, let us first reflect on what bad habits we have in daily life, and above all ask ourselves whether, in our hearts, we truly regard money as a “living thing” with a spirit of its own. Money is not a dead object. Since money is a “living thing” with a spirit, we know that as we treat money, so money will in turn treat us.
After reading this article, if you want more wealth, let us learn from how Mr. Li Ka-shing treats money.
May all readers enjoy abundant sources of wealth, plentiful riches, and a happy life; may they benefit society, help themselves and others, and have the God of Wealth with them always.