Much spiritual insurance
does create
enough material insurance.– Shilashanti
Someone asked if monastics buy health insurance. Well, I do not know who did, if any, while there can be many reasons why others did not – such as due to not knowing about its benefits, not seeing the need, and/or not having the budget… Would the Buddha had asked his monastic disciples to buy insurance, if available then? It is unlikely, especially since monastics in his time did not handle any money at all.
That said, there are two kinds of insurance today – the material (in terms of money) and the spiritual (in terms of the Dharma). Monastics especially, having renounced, or are training to renounce attachment to the worldly, should go all out to fortify their ‘spiritual insurance’ – through utmost sincere and dedicated Dharma learning and practice.
Adequate spiritual insurance ensures material insurance will not be needed – as the first will create merits that bear fruit karmically to meet material needs, including for emergencies. The tricky part is when not knowing if one’s spiritual insurance is enough. Since it is difficult to know, the only solution if to keep on having diligent Dharma learning and practice. This applies to laity too.
For those who have much material insurance but lack spiritual insurance, the first will not be useful spiritually. There might be lots of money cashed out for others – with one already dying or deceased. Eventually, not a single cent is usable. Missing spiritual practice, there is no assurance of where one is going to. Not that material insurance is useless, spiritual insurance is more important, and is crucial for everyone, monastic or lay.
Much material insurance
does not create
any spiritual insurance.– Shilashanti
Related Article:
The Four Solaces (The Four Assurances)
https://moonpointer.com/new/2010/05/why-be-good
