Great Construction

Ill-gotten Money is Soon Spent

     The old saying, “Ill-gotten money is soon spent” is quite apt and I would like to explain it from a spiritual point of view. There are various types of speculation, from the buying and selling of stocks and commodities to gambling such as in horse racing, but as representative of all these, here I would like to comment on the short-term purchase at low prices for the sale at higher prices of stocks. Before I became involved in spiritual matters, I tried my hand at buying low and selling high in the stock market for several years, but in the end I experienced a big failure, which became the occasion for my turning to faith. Through learning about the spiritual aspects of existence, I realized that profiting from the differences in stock prices is something that should not be done, so I hope that those who may be thinking about investing in the stock market for that purpose read what I have to say.
     It is true as is often said that one hundred people lose in the stock market so that one may profit. So even if one should become a nouveau riche in one stroke, there is probably no one who continues to become even richer by the same means. Rather, those who win big, also lose big. The more one profits from the difference between low and high stock prices within the market, the more one sets oneself up for a fall. This is what happens spiritually speaking. For the majority of people it is only human for those who lose to want to recover their losses. As thought, this resentment seeks the target of those who gained the money, but who received the gain is unknown, so these thoughts naturally go to the stock market exchange and collect on the money there. With a spiritually-opened eye, the faces, numbering in the thousands and millions, of those who harbor resentment about losing their money are impressed on the surface of each bill of currency in the stock exchange. Each face is connected by a spiritual cord with the originator of that resentment, and those thoughts are always pulling on the money seeking its return. Such money never rests soundly in the vaults of its owners. It will eventually be taken away and the owner, left penniless.
     This principle applies not only to speculation but to all matters regarding money. Illegally obtained money, not paying what is owed, deliberately reducing owed amounts, and not repaying debts are all occasions for encouraging resentment in the other party and causing the conditions I described above.
     Another aspect of the mistaken use of money that should be considered is the case of buildings that have used many years for religious purposes, such as churches and temples, that are destroyed by fire. One would think that buildings constructed by the donations of devotees for the pure purpose of religion should not meet such an end, but there is indeed a reason for this. The money that was used to construct such buildings was collected through unreasonable means. One example is arbitrarily setting and demanding specific amounts that members or branches must pay. This is not natural. Donations for religious purposes should be the free expression of the giver, the amount being determined voluntarily. True donations are those made willingly and cheerfully. Furthermore, the buildings to be used for worship and other religious purposes should be worthy of the purpose, and not utilized for wrongful or impure means. If so, they also receive spiritual cleansing through fire.
     Buying stocks for the purpose of receiving the interest from profits, that is, for the dividends, and not for the income derived from difference in stock prices, is quite acceptable. Such a purpose does not give rise to resentment and is to be encouraged as a key for economic development.

Hikari, Issue 14, June 25, 1949
translated by cynndd

This essay has previously appeared previously in translation once. The citation is given below for reference.

 “Ill-Gotten Money Is Soon Spent,” Foundation of Paradise, 1984, page 235.