Chapter 101: Wealth That Benefits No One

Verse 1009
A man has chosen a lonely life so that he might acquire a great storehouse of wealth. This he has done, but now he must protect his treasure, and so he locks himself in a vault. He is alone, without close friends or family. Despite his efforts, two thieves are walking away with his belongings.

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Weaver’s Wisdom

Verse 1001

He who has amassed great wealth but does not enjoy it
is reckoned as dead, like his unused heap.

Verse 1002

Believing wealth is everything, yet giving away nothing,
the miser himself will be possessed by a miserable birth.

Verse 1003

The mere sight of men who lust after wealth,
caring nothing for renown, is a burden to the Earth.

Verse 1004

What could a man, unloved by even a single soul,
imagine he might leave to posterity?

Verse 1005

Amid millions heaped high, a man remains poor
if he neither gives away his wealth nor enjoys it himself.

Verse 1006

Vast wealth can be a wretched curse to one who
neither gladdens himself in its worth nor gives to the worthy.

Verse 1007

The wealth of a greedy man who gives nothing to the needy
is like the beauty of a maiden growing old unwed.

Verse 1008

The wealth of a man whom no heart loves
is like fruits on a poisonous tree in the heart of a village.

Verse 1009

He who casts out love and dharma and chooses self-denial
so wealth can pile high will see it seized by strangers.

Verse 1010

The short-lived poverty of a benevolent rich man
is like the temporary dryness of a bountiful rain cloud.