Wealth or Happiness, which is more important?

After hearing from friends, relatives or even successful people, we tend to get the idea that wealth is the major part in life. Some even go as far as to say Wealth, Status and Money is the reason for them to exist of live.

Yes, it is true that without any money, one cannot survive. In fact, everything in this world has a cost for it, we need money to buy things, food, clothing etc in order to survive. Wealth is just a word to describe, a person's Worldly Happiness (External Happiness). The more one's wealth is, there's a higher chance he/she is able to own more worldly things (things that are unable to be brought together with us when we leave this world - after death).

From a Buddhist Dharma talk, I got to know that, to attain True Happiness (Inner Happiness) which most probably we can bring along with us even after death; we need to follow and practice certain steps.

The following are just a Buddhist Guidelines to True Happiness:

• Be Content with what you have and who you are: People in this modern society often chase after latest fashion, technologies, and other trends. They place importance when it comes to outer appearances. They feel inferior when they do not have worldly things that their friends, relatives, or even other people around them have. These people often wont feel contented, resulting them to feel pressured, stressed and in some cases depressed when they fail to obtain what they wanted. This condition worsen, if the people were to do anything (even using wrong methods) to obtain things they wanted.

• Keep yourself away from as many Mental Suffering as possible: Mental Suffering consist of Sensual Desires, Anger/Hate, Worries, Sloth/Laziness, and Doubtfulness/Suspicion.

• Follow the Basic Precepts of Buddhism : Don't Kill, Don't Lie, Don't Commit Adultery, Don't Steal, and Don't take intoxicants. Precepts can be said to be rules or guidelines in Buddhism. For monks and nuns the amount of precepts are increased.
  

• Do more Good Deeds instead of Bad ones.

• Practice Meditation whenever possible. There's many benefits from meditation, such as we get to rejuvenate ourselves, our mind get to be more focused etc.
  

• Practice the Noble Eight Fold Path:

1. Right Understanding
   
2. Right Thoughts
   
3. Right Speech
4. Right Actions
   
5. Right Live hood
   
6. Right Effort
   
7. Right Meditation
   
8. Right Concentration
   

Sadu, Sadu, Sadu.