The Boss Who Borrowed Fifty Million Dong

The light in the temple room fell upon the man's hands, making the stone on his ring flash with cold brilliance. He sat across from the teacher, still carrying the air of someone accustomed to managing large projects. The jewelry on his hand alone was enough to make others look a little longer.

He was the owner of a corporation that carried out projects worth thousands of billions of dong, not just a few billion. The work was large, the cash flow was large, and the things he used carried values that ordinary people could hardly imagine. Yet behind that glittering appearance, he had once lived through a day without a single coin in his hand.

When he recalled that period, his voice grew heavy. Perhaps even he himself could not believe he had fallen into such a situation. A man who owned businesses, used to signing enormous contracts, had finally gone to a trusted employee to borrow money.

He clearly remembered the moment he met his deputy. Even though it was only a temporary request for a loan, his throat went dry. He said:

"Let me borrow fifty million dong."

The employee looked straight at his face. In that gaze there was a flicker of scrutiny, as if wondering whether the company was about to run into trouble. After a brief silence, the employee shook his head:

"I'm sorry, I don't have any money."

The boss asked again:

"Do you really not have anything at all?"

The employee replied:

"No, sir. I gave all my money in making offerings to the temple."

That answer closed the door on the hope of borrowing. The boss stood there, clearly feeling the emptiness in his own pocket. The man managing affairs worth thousands of billions of dong could not come up with fifty million dong when he needed it. That contrast forced him to think.

During the conversation at the temple, the teacher asked why someone with such rich blessings from merit had to go through such a time of hardship. The answer lay in the way he used his money. He was not poor, but he had spent far too lavishly and wastefully.

He spread out his hand, revealing a large, glittering ring:

"This ring, if sold in Vietnam, would be worth around eight billion dong."

The teacher looked at the large stone on his hand and said right away:

"Even if you gave it to me, I would not take it."

The boss was a little surprised:

"Something of such value, and you would not take it?"

The teacher replied:

"If you gave me money, I could still use it for necessary things. But this, I have no use for."

He then held out his watch and said it was worth about four hundred million dong. The teacher picked it up, glanced at it, and set it down:

"Even if you gave it to me, I would not wear it. It is too extravagant. Four hundred million dong could still be put to use, but this watch, I would not wear."

Those frank words made the room fall quiet. The man looked at his ring, then at his watch. So much money had been poured into objects meant only to be worn on the hand, while there had been a moment when he himself had to lower his voice and ask an employee for a loan.

That was the turning point of the story: he understood that great blessings from merit could help him rebuild his career, but wasteful behavior still created a corresponding result. Cause and effect (karmic law) does not always turn a rich person completely poor. Sometimes it only pushes that person into a bitter moment of lack, enough to taste the feeling of having nothing in hand.

After that period of hardship, his situation eventually passed. His old blessings from merit were still great, so he did not collapse entirely. He returned to his work and his life of wealth. Even so, the memory of having to borrow fifty million dong from his own employee remains a quiet reminder, standing in stark contrast to the eight-billion-dong ring and the four-hundred-million-dong watch.

This story does not claim that wealthy people should not use fine things, nor does it deny the achievements they have built. What needs to be examined is spending that is out of place, especially when enormous value is poured into items meant only for display. Money is itself a blessing from merit. Used wisely, it can sustain people, create jobs, and help countless difficult circumstances. Used wastefully, even someone who has plenty may one day know the feeling of want.

From that day on, the image of a corporation owner asking his subordinate for a loan became a clear warning. Wealth does not place anyone outside of cause and effect (karmic law). However great one's blessings from merit may be, every way of using one's wealth plants a seed for the future. Only when we understand this do we learn to treasure every coin and use it for what is truly meaningful.

The Meaning of the Story

Money is a blessing from merit, but it is not inexhaustible. Lavish and wasteful spending can cause even a wealthy person to fall into hardship. Knowing how to treasure and use wealth in the right places is the way to preserve one's blessings from merit.

Compiled from a dharma talk by Venerable Thích Chân Quang