Everyone in this world loves gold, silver, and treasures. In Buddhism, it is said that the world's treasures belong to five families. When encoun-tered with a big flood, big fire, burglary, corrupt officials, and unworthy descendants, all wealth will vanish in a flash. It is said that “All things cannot be taken with you, only karma follows along.” No matter how many worldly treasures you own, once you die, there is nothing you can bring along. Hence, only the transcendental Dharma{1}, which can help us to accomplish Buddhahood, is wealth that is worthy of seeking.

According to the Dhammapada, transcendental Dharma treasure has seven kinds, and it is called Seven Noble Treasures. It is the wealth that be-longs to noble people.

1.Faith: According to the Avatamsaka Sutra, “Faith is the mother of all merits, and it nurtures all the roots of wholesome Dharma.{2}” Faith is the basis of all wholesome deeds. If we have faith in the Dharma, by all means we will practice the wholesome deeds according to it. It can lead us to a right goal in life, and gain numerous benefits. Hence, the Buddhist sutras depict faith as hands, stick, root, boat, strength, and treasure.

2. Listening{3}: To learn Buddhism, one must learn to listen to the true Dharma, in order to enter the Buddha’s path. It is stated that “Enter Samadhi through hearing, pondering, and cultivating{4}”; therefore, the first step in learn-ing Buddhism is to be “permeated by hear-ing much{5}.” While hearing the Dharma, one must have a mind that is “like the earth that can be cultivated; like a vessel that can carry water, and avoid the three faults.” One should not use a frivolous and arrogant mind, and hold a prejudice and unwholesome view. Moreover, one should not have defiled and scattered thoughts, but should use a deep, sincere, respectful, humble, gentle, pure, and eager mind to learn the Dharma. In this way, can we truly benefit from it.



【Key Words】
 {1} Transcendental Dharma：出世間聖法
{2} Faith is the mother of all merits, and it nurtures all the roots of wholesome Dharma：信為道源功德母，長養一切諸善根
{3} Listening：聽聞
{4} Enter Samadhi through hearing, pon-dering, and cultivating：以聞思修入三摩地
{5} permeated by hearing much：多聞薰習