学英语也能学成哲学家！

美国英语老师A.J. Hoge的轻松学英语Effectless english，包括一套成功商务英语，感觉非常有道理。

一、财务自由

物质享乐主义者主要对物质感兴趣，而佛教徒则主要对自由感兴趣。佛教是走中庸之道，因而绝不会对身心健康带来危害。阻碍自由之路的不是财富而是对财富的贪求；不是对愉悦事物的享受而是对他们的渴望。因此，佛教徒式经济学的要点是简单并且不复杂。

对于现今的经济学家和消费者来说，这是很难以理解的。他们习惯于通过每年的消费数量来作为生活水准的标尺，而且总是认为，如果一个人比另外一个人消费的更多，则表明其相比较为富裕。一个佛教徒式的经济学家则认为这种评判标准是十分错误的：因为消费仅是人类幸福的一个方面，目标应该是通过最小的消费来获得最大的幸福；花费较少的辛苦劳作，而有更多的时间和精力来创造艺术。

我承认，我对成功经济概念的理解和你从大多数人们那里得到的建议与很大的区别。

书店里总是充斥着关于赚钱并且变得更加富裕的书籍。他们总是伴随着基本的哲学推断而来：主旨是钱越多越好、成功的关键是变得富裕。

尽管我以前推荐过的书籍，像一周工作五小时和随心所欲赚钱等，都有一个发财的基本哲学观点。所有这些书的作者都坚信主流的资本主义思想。

我的哲学观基本上是佛教徒经济学家的那种。当其他人大谈“成功”和“财富”的时候，我关心的则是自由。我的自由概念包括：财务自由、身体自由、情感自由、精神自由等等，最终是心灵的自由。不管怎样，这次我是唯一有资格提出获得财务和生理自由建议的人。

深刻理解探寻财富和探寻自由之间的差别是重要的，主流的财务建议总是集中于获得更多、更多、更多。

无论如何，我的出发点是更少、更少、更少。简单是我通往财务自由的核心。尝试需要的更少，你将自动变得更加自由。尝试需要一个更小更便宜的生活空间、更小更便宜的汽车...更进一步地，可能是一辆摩托车，或者甚至没有车。尝试需要更少的器械，需要更少的昂贵衣服。

简单化、简单化、简单化。这是我成功理念的核心。在你担心建立一项业务之前、在你担心消除债务之前、在你担心较少工作时间或赚取更多金钱之前——将你生活的每个方面简单化——持续的、不断地、近乎残酷的。减少所有对你不必要的、使人分心的、时髦的东西，致力于你所渴望的东西。

这是自由的基础。如果不这样做，你将永远是一个奴隶......不管你有多少钱——因为你总是需要的更多......因此，永远只是工作和经济状况的奴隶。

返过来看，假如你彻底的简单化——你将会发现，获得财务上的自由比你所想象的要容易得多。你将会发现，更少的工作却能带来更好的生活。你将会发现，要避开你的工作和老板比你想象的要容易得多。你将会发现，清除债务比你认为的要容易得多。

你将会发现，在金钱方面你会变的压力更小、有更多的生活选择、更容易存钱、更容易旅游、更有时间做你以往总是拖延的事情。

简单是起点、是中心、是基础、是结论。它是你财务自由的关键。

原文如下：

Effortless English
"While the materialist is mainly interested in goods, the Buddhist is mainly interested in liberation.
Buddhism is the Middle Way and therefore in no way antagonistic to physical well-being. It is not
wealth that stands in the way of liberation but the attachment to wealth; not the enjoyment of pleasurable
things but the craving for them. The focus of Buddhist economics, therefore, is simplicity and
non-violence.
For the modern economist [and consumer] this is very difficult to understand. They are used to
measuring the "standard of living" by the amount of annual consumption, assuming all the time
that a man who consumes more is "better off" than a man who consumes less. A Buddhist economist
would consider this approach excessively irrational: since consumption is merely a means to
human well-being, the aim should be to obtain the maximum of well-being with the minimum of consumption.
The less toil there is, the more time and strength is left for artistic creativity. "
--E.F. Shumacher, Small Is Beautiful
I admit that my recipe for economic "success" is quite different than the advice you'll get from most
people.
Bookstores are filled with books about making money and getting rich. But they all come with certain
basic philosophical assumptions-- mainly that MORE money is always better and that the key to
"success" is to be rich.
Even books that I recommend, such as The 4-Hour Workweek or Your Portable Empire, have an
underlying philosophy of "getting rich". All of these writers are firmly centered in mainstream capitalist
thinking.
My philosophy is essentially that of a Buddhist economist. While others speak of "success" and
"wealth", my concern is liberation. And when I speak of liberation, I mean financial liberation, physical
liberation, emotional liberation, mental liberation,.. and ultimately spiritual liberation. However, at
this time in my life, I'm only qualified to give advice about financial and physical liberation :)
Its important to understand the profound difference between seeking wealth and seeking liberation.
Mainstream financial advice is always focused on more, more, more.
However, my starting point is always less, less, less. Simplicity is the core of my approach to financial
liberation. Learn to need less, and you automatically become freer. Learn to need a smaller and
cheaper living space. Learn to need a smaller and cheaper car... or better yet, a motorcycle,... or still
better, no vehicle at all. Learn to need fewer gadgets. Learn to need fewer and less expensive
clothes.
Financial Liberation
www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com
Simplify, simplify, simplify. This is the core of my "method" for success. Before you worry about
building a business, before you worry about debt elimination, before you worry about working fewer
hours or making more money-- Simplify every aspect of your life--- persistently, continuously,
relentlessly. Pare away all that is unnecessary, distracting, and fashionable. Work on your cravings.
This is the basis for liberation. Without doing this, you'll always be a slave... no matter how much
money you have-- because you'll always need more.... and thus will always remain a slave to work
and economics.
On the other hand, if you simplify drastically-- you'll find that financial liberation is much easier than
you thought. You'll find that you can work much less and live much more. You'll find that escaping
your job and boss is much easier than you thought. You'll find that eliminating debt is much easier
than you thought.
You'll find that you are much less stressed about money. You'll find that you have many more
options in life. You'll find it easier to save money, easier to travel, easier to do the things you always
put off doing.
Simplicity is the starting point, the center, the foundation, and the ending point. It is the key to your
financial liberation.
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