Can Money Buy Happiness? Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Research - Left Brain Buddha (2024)

If I had a million dollars…

• I’d put a lot of money into my children’s college funds and into my retirement fund. Because planning financially for the future is important.
• I’d embark on some fun home improvement projects: new windows, new exterior, bathroom remodel, and new closets. Maybe even a master bedroom addition. With a walk-in closet. Because the spaces we inhabit and where we spend our lives are important. {And I really want a new closet.}
• I’d book a family vacation to Mexico ASAP. Because Minnesota is really cold and my warmth is important.
• I’d donate money {Seriously. I’m not just saying that so you don’t think I’m selfish} to charities and non-profits. Mainly ones that address early childhood education, gun sense, and the environment. Because our children’s early years and their safety, and the spaces we inhabit, are important.
• I’d buy some things. I know they say we should use money for experiences, and not stuff, but, honestly, I’d probably buy some cool stuff for my kids and at least one piece of really shiny jewelry. Because fun and sparkles are important.
• Finally, I’d get that damn Bare Naked Ladies song out of my head. Because my sanity is important.

Do you ever ask yourself this question? Or its closely-related cousins: What would I do if I won the lottery? What would I do if money were no object?

And, of course, a parent to all these questions is, Can money buy happiness?

Not surprisingly, there’s actually a lot of research on the connection between money and happiness. Some of the most interesting findings:

• Money can buy happiness, but only up to a certain point. A Princeton University study found that additional money doesn’t increase happiness once you hit $75,000 in annual income.
• The best way to spend money to make yourself happy is to give it away. And, according to the above finding, that one million dollars would actually make 13 other people happy, too! Or spend it on a shared experience with someone else. Studies of how people spend gift cards or windfall money show that spending it on or with others leads to greater happiness. Another great way to spend your money? Spend it on things that will reduce your stress level, such as home or life insurance, or relaxing vacations.
• A famous study in the 1970sfound that lottery winners were no happier than a non-winning control group. In fact, the lottery winners were less able than others to find joy in everyday events.

These findings may lead us to proclaim, as the British philosopher Alan Watts did, that we should just “forget the money.” Watts said we should simply do what we love. Otherwise, life is, in his lovely metaphor, “all wretch and no vomit.”

But we can’t simply “forget the money,” because obviously we need money to feed our families and clothe our children and pay our mortgages. The Buddha recognized this {though he probably didn’t anticipate mortgages}. One of the components of the Buddha’s Eightfold Path is Right Livelihood. We must make our living with compassion, without causing harm or suffering for others. Our wealth must be “righteous wealth righteously gained.” Lama Surya Das says we must “love our world through our work.”

In contrast to western perceptions of Buddhism as a philosophy of renunciation and denial, the Buddha, in the Adiya Sutta, acknowledged the Five Benefits to be Obtained from Wealth. Repeatedly, the Buddha describes the “pleasure[s] and satisfaction[s]” derived from wealth, including providing oneself, and one’s parents, children, spouse, servants {!}, and friends with such pleasures. Our wealth should be used to “ward off calamities,” and to provide “offerings of supreme aim.”

Doesn’t that sound a lot like the advice of psychologists today about what we should do with our million dollars? The Buddha says a wise person should come to the end of his or her life and be able to say the following about their wealth:

“My wealth has been enjoyed, my dependents supported, protected from calamities by me. I have given supreme offerings…. For whatever aim a wise householder would desire wealth, that aim I have attained. I have done what will not lead to future distress.”

I love when ancient wisdom meets modern research!

{And, my Pali is a bit rusty, but I’m pretty sure the Buddha also said something about wise householders having adequate closet space…}

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This post is part of the Finish the Sentence Friday linkup. This week’s sentence is “If I had a million dollars…”

photo credit: Tracy O via photopin cc