Ajaan Lee’s image is of the difference between letting go like a pauper and letting go like a wealthy person. If you haven’t learned about the practice through the practice, then all you have to share with others is what you’ve read or heard.

"Ajaan Lee’s image is of the difference between letting go like a pauper and letting go like a wealthy person. The pauper says “I have no wealth, I’ll let go of it and say I have no desire for wealth.” But then the pauper doesn’t have anything to eat, doesn’t have anything to use. Whereas the wealthy person, having made a fortune, can let it go, and the fortune’s still there. It doesn’t run away anywhere. You don’t have to carry it around with you all the time, but the good things are there to use, for your own purposes and the purposes of others. If you don’t have a Cadillac, there’s no way you can lend a Cadillac to somebody else. If you haven’t learned about the practice through the practice, then all you have to share with others is what you’ve read or heard."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Hold on for All You're Worth"

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