พระอาจารย์อธิบายว่าความโลภเกิดจากการปรารถนาทรัพย์ของผู้อื่นที่เขาไม่ยินยอมให้ ส่วนการต่อรองที่อีกฝ่ายยินยอมตามกติกาไม่ใช่ความโลภ แต่เป็นผลจากบุญในตัวเราเอง แนะให้อธิษฐานหวังพึ่งบุญของตนแทนการคาดหวังในทรัพย์ของผู้อื่นPra Ajarn explains that greed arises from wanting another's wealth without their consent, whereas a negotiation the other party willingly agrees to isn't greed — it's simply the fruit of one's own merit. He advises aspiring toward one's own store of merit rather than pinning hopes on another's wealth.
A student asked: in business or trading, a company naturally hopes for profit, and so must negotiate with suppliers or find ways to secure the greatest possible margin. Does this count as greed?
Pra Ajarn explained that one must first understand that greed arises when guides someone to crave another's wealth that they are protective of, determined to seize it regardless of the other party's consent. But when a negotiation ends with the other party willingly agreeing under the terms of the exchange, that is a normal transaction, not greed.
He recalled his own experience in his early years as a monk, when invited to chant at people's homes. When the host offered an envelope of donation and it turned out to contain less than hoped, disappointment would follow — which shows one was hoping for another's wealth, not one's own merit. If instead one hopes only in one's own store of merit, disappointment never arises, because one simply receives whatever one's actual merit provides.
Pra Ajarn advised that if one wishes for greater wealth, one should repeatedly aspire, drawing on one's own inner merit — because every act of aspiration draws merit in. He gave the example of a monk, in the era when mobile phones first became available, who came to ask him for advice on wanting a phone. Pra Ajarn suggested he look up the price of the model he wanted and aspire for wealth matching that value. Within just a few days, the monk received more money than he had aspired for — proof that the merit aspired for truly bore fruit.
Negotiation in business works the same way — the outcome always depends fundamentally on one's own store of merit. Wanting more requires aspiring again and again, or accumulating more merit. Once merit reaches its full measure as intended, the expected result follows, because this world is a world of exchange — nothing is ever received without some exchange taking place. Both externally and internally, an exchange only occurs once the value on each side is fully matched.