擁有「天下五財」 身心皆富足

　　今時今日，「發財」是指經濟繁榮或發達的意思，大家在農曆新年用一句「恭喜發財」來表達對親朋好友的祝福，在此我亦恭祝經濟通的讀者「恭喜發財！」不過，今期文章內提到的「財」，是以佛經的內容解釋。在佛經裏，「財」的原意有5個祝賀涵義：

天下第一財=健康之身

　　如果失去了健康，人生便沒有甚麼意義，擁有健康的體魄是一種福氣，但我們常覺得擁有健康的身體是理所當然的事，更會恃著身體好不斷捱更抵夜，直至失去健康，才知道它的可貴。大家要趁著蛇年開始好好保重身體，《黃帝內經》對健康也有所描述，大家不妨參考：

　　- 法於陰陽

　　- 和於術數

　　- 食飲有節

 　　- 起居有常

　　- 不妄作勞

　　- 故能形與神俱

　　- 盡享天年

　　- 度百歲乃去

天下第二財=平安之家

　　希伯來文"shalom "除了有「和平」之意外，還有全部、完整、成功、充實、完全、和諧、安全和幸福的意思。在聖經所描述的宇宙規律中，有一句是「亂不得進入」（恆信，347），這裏「亂」被理解為疾病、戰爭、社會動亂或違反約章。

　　家人是真正關心和愛我們的人。他們值得我們關注和關心，我們要趁有機會好好愛惜他們。與家人靜靜地共處就是我們最大的福氣。

天下第三財=感恩之懷

　　「不懼冬風凜冽，風威遠難遽及人世之寡情……」（威廉•莎士比亞著名喜劇《皆大歡喜》）

　　「上帝令我為所得到的真正感恩，更令我為未得到的真正感恩。」（英國小說家斯多姆‧詹姆士1970年著作《從北方出發》）

　　不懂感恩的人，會將好的人和事視為理所當然，用這種態度生活的人會變得傲慢，靈魂的正氣會消失。對小事感恩是一種福氣，感恩之心不是與生俱來的，而是要從心培養出來的。

天下第四財=喜樂之覺

　　很多人從生物學、心理學、宗教和哲學方法將「幸福」定義，並追溯它的來源。美德等國的倫理學中，「幸福」一詞源自希臘語的幸福（eudemonia），即是指由感到滿足和源源不絕的喜樂所帶來的正面情緒。

　　而現代哲學家和思想家將「幸福」定義為過著有質素或繁榮的生活，而不是從情緒方面闡釋。思想正面的心理學家，努力用科學方法追溯怎樣才可達至「幸福」。不過有一點眾所周知，最有錢的人或最漂亮的女人不一定是快樂的人。

　　要感到快樂，必先要內心感到滿足和寧靜。愛爾蘭劇作家蕭伯納曾說：「想避開痛苦，就要令自己沒有足夠時間思考自己快樂與否。」簡潔地引用俄國小說家列夫‧托爾斯泰所說：「如果你想快樂，便令自己快樂。」

天下第五財=付出之心

　　付出即是施予，是自願的行為，不求回報的。

　　在佛教中，慷慨和慈善是精神訓練的中心點，例如佛教徒向和尚/尼姑化緣，就是慷慨的表現。施予的能量，是源自慈善慷慨的行為為內心帶來的滿足感。在基督教中，給予是神的恩典（哥林多後書8:1）。給予是無私的行為，而不是想上帝加許你而做的「工作」或想上帝對你好一點才做的事。其他宗教的節日，例如聖誕節、卡瓦薩節、光明節，都有儀式慶祝慷慨施予的精神。

　　可能你的朋友不需要你的錢和食物應急，但你可以給予你的時間、耐心、熱情、支持、自由、空間、尊重、機會、包容、諒解等等，作為對朋友的奉獻。

　　愛因斯坦曾說過：「一個人的價值，在於他貢獻了甚麼，而不在於他能得到甚麼。」共勉。

　　在此我再祝各位讀者：恭喜發財！

　　（按：中文內容乃翻譯及撮寫版本）

Kung Hei Fat Choy !

　　 "Fat Choy"today means financial prosperity, this Lunar New Year greeting expresses well wishes for our relatives and friends. I too, wish all ETNET readers  "Kung Hei Fat Choy", albeit not in the modern sense of the word, but in the original sense of the Buddhist doctrine , which defines "Choy" as 5 different blessings :

First Wealth: Good Health 

　　Without health, life becomes irrelevant. Yet health is a blessing we tend to ignore or abuse, appreciated only after we have lost it. Let’s start the New Year sensibly by treating our health with the care and respect it deserves . Health essentials may best be summarized by The Inner Canon of Huangdi , here in synopsis:

　　- In Sync with Seasons and Nature

　　- In Wellness lies Harmony

　　- Implement Discipline in Meals 

　　- Regularity in Lifestyle 

　　- Avoid Excess 

　　- Body and Soul in Contentment 

　　- Live to 120 years 

　　- Complete Cycle in Peace 

 Second Wealth: Familial Peace

　　The Hebrew word for peace, "shalom"has a wide semantic range including the notions of totality or completeness, success, fulfillment, wholeness, harmony, security and well being. In this cosmic order "chaos is not allowed to enter"(Hanson, 347), chaos being understood as sickness, war, social strife, or the violation of the covenant.

　　Family members are people who genuinely care about us and who love us. Let’s give them the attention they deserve, love them back while we still can. Peace with them is our ultimate peace.

Third Wealth : Being Thankful

　　Blow, blow, thou winter wind,

　　Thou are not so unkind

　　As man's ingratitude.--William Shakespeare (As You Like It)

　　Ingratitude is taking kindness for granted - this sense of entitlement reeks of haughtiness and strips one’s soul of human decency. The ability to be thankful for small mercies is a gift, best nurtured by humility of the heart - not innate, but cultivated.

　　"For what I have received may the Lord make me truly thankful. And more truly for what I have not received. "Storm Jameson (Journey from the North, v.2) .

Fourth Wealth: Being Happy

　　A variety of biological, psychological, religious, and philosophical approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources. In virtue ethics, happiness is used to translate the Greek Eudaimonia – positive emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Philosophers & religious thinkers define happiness in terms of living a good life, or flourishing, rather than as an emotion. Positive psychology endeavors to apply scientific methods to trace attainment… One thing we know, neither the richest man nor the most beautiful woman is necessarily a happy person.

　　The ability to be happy requires contentment and peace within oneself. As George Bernard Shaw said "The only way to avoid being miserable is not to have enough leisure to wonder whether you are happy or not. “. Or even more concisely put, "If you want to be happy, be.” Leo Tolstoy.

Fifth Wealth: Graceful Giving

　　To give is to bestow, to present voluntarily without expecting compensation.

　　In Buddhism, being generous and charitable -- or "dana," is central to all spiritual training, as worshippers take pleasure in offering alms to the monks. This power of giving refers to the inner enrichment gained by generous acts. Christian giving is God's activity of grace –( II Cor. 8:1.) Giving is not altruistic benevolence, neither a "work" that is meritorious before God nor does it "buy" indulgence before God. Other religions exemplifying the spirit of generosity with rituals that celebrate giving include Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah …

　　Perhaps you don’t have many friends who would need your money or food, but you could offer them your time, patience, understanding, compassion, support, latitude, space, respect, chance, tolerance, forgiveness…

　　Finally, "The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving"Albert Einstein.

Dear Readers, I wish you Kung Hey Fat Choy !