The Soldier and the Stack of Money in the Mist

That morning, the sky seemed ready to swallow the helicopter whole. Thick layers of gray clouds rolled into one another like an impenetrable fortress wall. Inside the cabin, the roar of the engine mixed with the shrieking wind through the door cracks, creating a tension so tight it felt suffocating. The young soldier sat there, his hands gripping the seat frame tightly, his eyes fixed on the window seeing nothing but endless white haze.

He was a helicopter pilot from the old regime, having flown through countless skies, yet he had never encountered such blinding fog. The mist was so dense that climbing higher was impossible, while flying horizontally would run out of fuel, causing the aircraft to fall freely. The only option was to descend, piercing through the thick cloud layer, but no one could be sure if the ground would appear or if they would crash straight into mountains or houses, exploding into ash.

His heart pounded wildly, sweat breaking out on his forehead. He thought of his elderly mother and his younger sibling, then instinctively reached into his pocket. There was money! A thick stack of bills remained there, representing his salary and savings accumulated over many months. In that moment between life and death, a thought flashed through his mind: “If I die now and cannot spend this money, what a waste!” He secretly regretted not spending it all yesterday, going out for drinks with friends, or buying something, rather than carrying it down to the earth.

He recounted the story to his teacher, his voice still trembling: “At that time, I only thought that if I died with money in my pocket, it would truly be a pity. I wished I had spent it all before hitting the ground. That psychology just arises naturally like that, Teacher.”

The teacher smiled, looking at him with affection. “That is the natural instinct of human beings. Everyone is the same. When we have money, we want to enjoy it all because we think death is the end, and we cannot take anything with us. But death is not the end! Death is merely the beginning of another life, which is mostly filled with suffering and hunger.”

The soldier fell silent, his face deep in thought. He had never considered anything beyond death. For him and many others, enjoying each day as it came and worrying only about the present was enough. But the teacher’s words opened up a new horizon, forcing him to reconsider his life.

The teacher continued, his voice warm and low. “The easy path, like spending all your money, is something anyone can do. But the difficult path, like restraining oneself slightly to make merit and help others, is rarely undertaken. Yet the easy path leads us to hell, while only the difficult path leads us to heavenly realms. Every road has its price.”

The soldier nodded slowly, his eyes brightening with understanding. He suddenly realized that this life is not just about personal enjoyment, but also about giving and accumulating blessings from merit for future lives. From that day on, he began to walk the difficult path—the path of reason, morality, and altruism.

The Meaning of the Story

This story reminds us that the natural instinct of humans is to seek pleasure and choose the easy way, but it is precisely this ease that leads us to suffering and lower realms. Conversely, the difficult path—knowing how to yield, sacrifice, make merit, and practice spiritual cultivation—is arduous but leads to true happiness and peace. Choose the difficult path, for it is the only way to transcend the painful cycle of samsara (cycle of rebirth).

Compiled from the dharma talk by Most Venerable Thich Chan Quang