Accumulating riches

"They don't accumulate riches, so no one steals from them." TTC, Timothy Freke

I was reminded of this verse from TTC whilst listening to a piece of classical music today. The piece was entitled "My mind to me a kingdom is", written by William Byrd (c.1540-1623), who was the court composer to Queen Elizabeth I. The verse that sent me back to my copies of the TTC was this:

"I see that plenty surfeits oft,
And hasty climbers soonest fall;
I see that such as are aloft
Mishap doth threaten most of all;
These get with toil, and keep with fear,
Such cares my mind can never bear."

This song, published around 1588, also links in with another verse from TTC:

Amass too much wealth and you will never protect it. Too much success breeds arrogance, and arrogance brings downfall."

Although Byrd would never have heard of the philosophical ideas expressed within the TTC, it is possible to see that he has arrived at these ideas through his experience of life in the Royal Court which would have been full of intrigue/politics.

So it is not just from the East that these ideas have emerged, although they are expressed, perhaps, more coherently in this tradition.

Too many people view the accumulation of riches/wealth/material objects to be the be-all and end-all of their existence; whilst most people have to earn a living and seek to secure a comfortable existence, many go beyond this and work so hard for the money to purchase these 'labour-saving' devices that they rarely have time to enjoy them properly.

I will leave the final words to William Byrd - his first verse of the above mentioned song runs:

My mind to me a kingdom is;
Such perfect joy therein I find
That it excels all other bliss
Which God or Nature hath assign'd;
Though much I want that most men have,
Yet still my mind forbids to crave."

Tag Taoism William Byrd