Four ways to attain restful happiness
There was once a devout Buddhist. One day, he asked the Buddha:" Buddha! What must lay Buddhist followers do to attain restful happiness in this present life?The Buddha told him:" Lay Buddhist followers can certainly achieve this if they accomplish four things."
" Which four things are they?" asked the devout Buddhist.
The Buddha explained:" They are:
1. Wholesome convenience: whether you work as a farmer, labourer, merchant, teacher or public official, it is necessary that you earn your living by your own skill or through your service.
2. Wholesome security: the remuneration you obtain from work, after deduction of normal living expenses, should be safely kept for security.
3. Wholesome friendliness: only associate with the kind and good, and never befriend dangerous, idle and hypocritical people.
4. Wholesome livelihood: spend only what you can afford; be neither extravagant nor stingy, and lead a life of reasonable living standard."
The devout Buddhist thought he had acquired the most precious jewel on hearing this revelation of the Buddha, and was truly convinced that the Buddhist way of life was the most wholesome.
