It is sometimes said that the Buddhist ... - Dhamma by Ajahn Jayasāro
It is sometimes said that the Buddhist teaching of contentment leads to passivity. If we are content with what we have already, people say, then why struggle to improve anything? If everybody in a country were content then how could there be any economic development?
In fact, the teaching of contentment is never separated from teachings on right effort and diligence. The value of contentment is that it protects our mind from being consumed by thoughts of jealousy, depression and resentment when we compare ourselves with others who have more than us, or when we dwell on all the things that we don't have. Even when conditions are difficult we should try to be at peace with them, see their good points, during our efforts to improve them. Then we don't have to wait until we reach our goals some time in the future before we can be happy.
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