One could say that wealth is a necessity of life, and the kind of wealth that we would normally be looking for would be something that is unfailing; something that yields benefits in the long run.

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According to Buddha's teaching, the type of wealth that we should focus on is not necessarily one-sidedly materialistic.

There are types of wealth that are beyond what we see, so to speak, such as understanding, such as common sense, etc., but mainly Buddha conveys that the practice of compassion and wisdom is probably the origin of all wealth – even all the materialistic wealth that we can imagine is in fact a result of the practice of compassion and wisdom.

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Any pleasant experiences – no matter their scale – their causes are none other than the practice of compassion and wisdom. Therefore, Buddha continuously inspires and encourages others to practice this path of generating compassion and wisdom.

Buddha himself is the result of having given birth to the absolute realisation of compassion and wisdom, of having fully accomplished the artful practice of compassion and wisdom.

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But first of all, it would be interesting to examine how we ourselves relate to the idea of wealth. More often than not – I would guess to almost 99 percent – we relate to it in terms of material wealth, whenever we hear the word 'wealth', whenever we focus on any part of that phenomenon. This is not a criticism in any way – it is just what it is. The fact that most of the time we are only able to relate to it in a materialistic way does not mean that we are good or bad – it is just a fact. It is normal.

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Another question we might nevertheless ask ourselves is whether our perspective of wealth is a good thing, whether it is a beneficial thing. Or should we improve our perspective, examine whether this mode of thinking is helping us or harming us?

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So there are all sorts of questions that we can ask ourselves. It is interesting to wonder like that, to maybe take some time every day, or from time to time, and see what kinds of answers we come up with, and what kinds of conclusions we can draw.

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I think basically that is what Buddha taught to others. He did not necessarily say, "do this and don't do that"; he just asked us to take some time to wonder what is what and just observe and nothing more.

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And I personally find that kind of teaching extremely beneficial, because it is not imposing. Often, when we are told to do something, we automatically feel some sense of threat; we feel imposed upon – whereas if we just meditate or relax and observe the simple facts, such as how we relate to certain things, that seems to be everything.