Beyond Praise and Fortune

 Those who see thee thus, serene and beyond conception, will be emancipated from attachment, will be cleansed of all defilements, both in this world and in the spiritual world beyond. In this world whose nature is like a dream, there is place for praise and blame, but in the ultimate Reality of Dharmakaya, which is far beyond the senses and the discriminating mind, what is there to praise? O you who are most Wise!

Gautama, Buddha. THE LANKAVATARA SUTRA (p. 4). Independent. Kindle Edition. 

This quote makes me think, indeed, there is place for praise and blame, and all human beings will probably have their share of turmoil. We go through all the round of suffering because life is hard work and takes a lot out of us, and we aren't just isolated beings. We live in community with other beings, where right/wrong, praise/blame etc. become the norm. But ultimate reality is not so strict, since there are an abundance of opportunities and we need not approach anything from the perspectives of scarcity and demands.

When we look at things from this more spacious perspective, then there is no need to be so tightly wound up within the illusory ideal of the self. Instead, we can take a more open and surrendering approach to life--not knowing what's next, but eager to find out. More importantly, perhaps we can give ourselves permission to truly belong in the universe and to know that we are also in the care of other sentient beings, and nobody is ever excluded from this care. In this realm, there is no praising one sentient being over another, since all possess Buddha nature and all will discover it eventually. There are only differences in time.

Going beyond senses and discriminating mind means there is something to hope for that is beyond the self and its concerns. When we are fully aligned to this, then we don't base our sense of worth on what we have acquired or what we do. While this doesn't excuse reckless use of money, it suggests that we not identify with what we have and simply be happy with who we are. We can give ourselves permission to fail, to make mistakes, and even to sometimes appear foolish, since life can be embraced fully with all its ups and downs as temporary phenomenon. Perhaps this is what gives us courage to live in the life of turmoil and unpredictability.