Moral people fear debts,
and those who owe debts for many things and to many people are immoral, unwise, and do not recognize that their debts will be a burden to their life. Therefore, a person who wishes to be liberated is afraid of debts.
DEBTS ARE A BURDEN TO OUR SOUL
Intellectual people never desires debts
We have talked about owing and paying back and we realize that this is a burden to our soul. Paying back debts which are caused by the law of karma, or by our conscience, is a burden on our shoulders. When our karma causes us to love someone and pay back our debt to them, then it is still a burden. When our karma caused us to meet with adversity and become a slave of someone, then, of course, this is a burden. Or even when our karma has not yet urged us, but our conscience urges us, then this is also a burden on our mind. An intellectual never desires this type of burden in this life or many lives thereafter, even in the cycle of birth and death.
So a Bodhisattva, or a wise man, is very careful when receiving a favor from someone because they know that each favor they receive will be a burden to their mind in the future. For example, when monks and nuns receive offerings from Buddhists, they know that these favors will be a burden to them because they clearly understand that these are debts. And for monks and nuns who live on offerings from Buddhist, if they cannot pay off their debts, they will not become liberated.
And as for ordinary people like us, remember that when someone loves you or helps you, you owe a debt to this person because in this world helping is a favor, even with small things. When somebody gives way to us or gives us a drink, we owe them a favor. A wise man knows that little favors accumulated throughout his life will create a big burden on them in the future. So they do not like to owe a debt, even a debt of gratitude that people voluntarily give them.
The addiction to borrowing is a true disease
There are terrible kinds of debts, such as when we use honeyed words to persuade someone to lend us something. It's a debt that is one hundred times more serious than a normal debt. A debt created when someone voluntarily helps us with their love makes us always think about it and find a way to return our benefactor's favors, let alone a debt that is not due to our blessing but our sweet words. This debt not only saddles us with responsibilities but also relates to the State law, because if you do not pay off your debt, you will be punished.
There are 6 common types of things that can be addictive. The first thing is drugs, the second is alcohol, the third is tobacco, the fourth is sex, the fifth is gambling and the sixth is pleasures. Some people are addicted to and the sixth is pleasures. Some people are addicted to food, many are addicted to drinking, some people are addicted to playing chess, some people are addicted to fishing, some people may be addicted to composing poems, others may be addicted to singing, some can even be addicted to dying their hair, and many are addicted to shopping, and whenever they have money they go shopping immediately... There are many kinds of addiction, and among them, there is a very strange and dangerous one - the addiction to borrowing.
This is a true disease. Many people just want to use their sweet words to borrow money from others. With just a few words that may cause others to believe in them, they will have money very quickly and without laboring. These are the types of people who are lazy but like to enjoy their life and prefer to get others' property. When they have many debts, they will borrow money from this one to pay back to that one, and when they cannot afford to pay off their debts, they will run away and live a very sorrowful life. When they move to a new place, if they are still blessed, they will continue with their old way of borrowing money. This kind of addiction is very dangerous. They don't know that borrowing and repaying, according to the law of karma, is extremely horrifying and when the time for their repayment will come, in this life or in the afterlife. They will have to repay a hundred times more than what they owed or maybe they will become animals to pay off their debts.
Another addiction familiar to us is the addiction to gambling. Why are people addicted to gambling? Because it is based only on luck or cheating to get others' money very quickly, but without working. Sometimes it's a very large amount. For one day of working, we may only earn a few hundreds of thousands of VNDs but gambling can help them earn a few millions of thousands of VNDs easily and quickly because it only depends on luck and cheating and causes people's addiction. This is a kind of addiction, and any type of addiction such as those above, are very dangerous.
But there is a particular kind of addiction where the more you are addicted, the better. That is the addiction to practicing Buddhism: you are addicted to going to temples, addicted to chanting sutras, and especially addicted to meditation. Those who are addicted to meditation will become saints. That means when in meditation, they feel happy and have no desire to go out, and if one day they don't meditate, they feel uneasy and uncomfortable. Then we should know that they are on the road to becoming saints. So as for these people, the more addicted they are, the happier they are because this kind of addiction is perfect.
Some can be addicted to going to pagodas to chant Suttas or recite Buddha's title, some can be addicted to charity work and helping others, some people are addicted to collecting garbage in the street, many may be addicted to building or repairing bridges and roads, and some might be addicted to releasing sentient beings... They are addicts, but good addicts. These kinds of addiction are not only very good but also help us to improve ourselves. And all kinds of other addictions for enjoyment will destroy our soul and life.
Moral people always fear debts
Moral people fear debts, and those who owe debts for many things and to many people are immoral, unwise, and do not recognize that their debts will be a burden to their life. Therefore, a person who wishes to be liberated is afraid of debts.
Written by:
Janna
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