Knowing Yourself, Knowing Life: The Secret to a Business That Never Goes Bankrupt

This article shares profound lessons from Superior Thich Chan Quang on the three things each of us must understand about ourselves — blessings from merit, wisdom, and virtue — in order to succeed in business and to live in peace and joy.

There was once a businessman who earned two billion dong each month, yet he complained that it was "not enough to spend," and he rushed into a new field hoping to earn three billion dong a day. The result was that his body fell ill, his assets crumbled, and he was left with debts to the bank. He had confused ambition with intuition. Our lives in business are filled with decisions like this. So how can we come to understand ourselves and understand life correctly, so that we do not fail? The answer lies in three things: blessings from merit, wisdom, and virtue.

Three Things We Must Understand About Ourselves

Superior Thich Chan Quang teaches that each person needs to know clearly how far their blessings from merit reach, how far their wisdom extends, and how far their virtue carries them. If you know your blessings from merit are only enough to sustain three houses, do not borrow money to buy a fourth. If you know your wisdom can only manage three hundred workers, do not expand further. If you know your virtue is only enough to love a certain number of people, do not choose too many employees. When we act beyond our capacity, we invite misfortune upon ourselves.

Blessings from merit: the capital accumulated over many lifetimes, which determines the scale of the success we can achieve.

Wisdom: the ability to manage, to lead, and to expand a business.

Virtue: the foundation of the heart, which determines whom we give our money to and whom we love.

When we understand how far our blessings from merit extend, we will not step beyond them.

Ambition and Intuition: Two Impulses That Look Exactly Alike

There are impulses rising from within that drive us to decide to invest. But sometimes that impulse is ambition, and sometimes it is intuition. They are so alike that many people rush in and go bankrupt. Superior Thich Chan Quang points out that when an idea arises together with excitement and delight, that is ambition — the thing that will deceive you. On the other hand, if the idea arrives in tranquility, without any wanting on our part, and yet it reveals everything clearly, then that is intuition guiding the way.

"When a thought arises to push us to do something, and it comes with excitement and delight, then it is false. But when something arises and our heart holds no excitement within it, when we feel perfectly tranquil and we do not even want it — and yet it presents everything clearly before us — then that is intuition."

Accepting the Ups and Downs to Keep the Heart Always at Peace

Life is like a river with its winding bends. When we are going down, let us not run away; let us live simply and humbly. When we are rising, let us not become arrogant; let us keep a humility that comes from the heart. Knowing how to accept reality is the strength of character of one who truly practices. Daring to accept is precisely the secret to being free of suffering (dukkha).

"We accept because our karma is like this, because our conditions (dependent origination) are like this; sorrow and suffering (dukkha) do not simply vanish all at once. One who dares to accept is very courageous, very calm, very resolute, and is one who truly practices."

Wisdom Has Its Limits: Do Not Let Illusion Lead the Way

We often imagine ourselves to be capable because we have succeeded many times. But past success does not guarantee future success. If we expand a business beyond our ability to manage it, we will lose ground little by little. Superior Thich Chan Quang advises us to evaluate ourselves objectively, and not to hire a chief executive officer and then hand everything over to them. The person at the top must be truly talented and discerning.

"Even if we have passed through ten successes, the reality of this life may hold only two more successes remaining for us. And our capacity to expand may reach only two more steps beyond this, and then it is finished."

Virtue: The True Measure of the Wealthy

It is ordinary for a poor person to be gentle and kind. A wealthy person who is gentle and kind is a saint. When virtue is lacking and money is abundant, we easily become a person of evil. Virtue is the foundation upon which a career endures. Let us cultivate a heart of compassion each and every day.

"Whenever money is great but virtue is absent, there is only one thing left to do, and that is to do evil. But a rich person who is gentle — such a person must have descended from the heavenly realms, and not from the human realm."

Understanding yourself is the foundation of all success. Sit in meditative concentration, filter the mind, and live truthfully with yourself. When the mind becomes clear and pure, you will know what is intuition and what is ambition, and the path ahead will grow bright and clear. A business guided by wisdom and rooted in a heart of compassion — that is the true quality of life.