The Sickness of Poverty | The Six Paramitas

While this may sound strange, the poor should practice giving as a way of freeing themselves from poverty. What can a poor person give? How can his condition be improved by giving
things away? But even poor people can benefit others by working very diligently. Through diligence they will acquire what they do not have and they will gain what they lack. In the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra, Nagarjuna Bodhisattva uses the analogy of a thirsty person who, being wrapped up in self-concern, does not know how to find water. Someone with a strong intention to bring water to those around him will very diligently look for water. Because of this altruistic intention he will tend, to find more water than someone concerned only with his own thirst. Similarly, the poor are more likely to find wealth if they work diligently to benefit others. The Daoist sage Laozi said that one can gain the most by giving everything to others.

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