Here’s a monkey wrench on the above … would a Tibetan monk be better off to meditate in the Canadian Rockies w/ stable govt, no political oppression, etc, vs living in Tibet where the P.R.C. govt is actively suppressing all activities related to Tibetan Buddhism?

Well … guess what? Someone has to pay for that permanent visa to Canada and again, someone has to pay for that plot of land, building, and taxes in British Columbia or Alberta, for that retreat center. All and all, the argument comes full circle. Money is the primary proponent of happiness or let’s say… the pursuit of happiness, if happiness is a path then an end goal.

Giving to others is fine, I do it all the time but guess what? … I don’t have to worry about a roof over my head or where my next meal will come from. Thus, I don’t see the connection?

You’re making a type of moral judgement, based upon someone traveling 1st class vs coach, due to some experiential difference of the latter. Personally, I’d rather fly 1st class from Asia to America because it’s more comfortable than being cramped for 15 hours and I can read, sleep, enjoy the scenery, eat a “real” meal, or get my work done so that the journey is a pleasant experience. Now, whether or not that detracts from the temporary bonding experiences of being around others, in cramped seating areas, is a value call, as to maximizing a less than optimal journey. Well, I’ve done both and personally, 1st class still comes out ahead.

‘Charity is not a bone to the dog, it’s sharing the bone when you’re as hungry as the dog’ Jack London

I don’t know who this Jack London is, but I would rather give something to someone needy now than wait till I become as needy as the other person.

Yes, money does mean something to me. But the point is, it is not my means to happiness. It is to make my life comfortable. And comfortable is not equal to happiness. A person traveling by first class may be comfortable, but he may not be happy. Whereas a person traveling by second class may not be that comfortable as the person traveling first class, but he may be happy chatting around with people or watching the beautiful scenery.

The millionaire whose main concern is where to dine that evening or the starving child who wonders where the next meal is coming from?

I bet a millionaire wouldn’t even get 1/100th of the happiness dining in a 5 star restaurant that a hungry poor would get from a loaf of bread.

To enjoy food, you need appetite, not a 5-star restaurant. To enjoy sleep, you don’t need costly bed, you need sleep. Both of which the poor have in plenty coz they get up at 5am, travel 15 miles to work and are fully present doing their work till the night. Not like a millionaire, who wakes up at 9 (coz he was tossing around whole night in the bed because of a dog barking 2 miles away or because of acidity due to eating in a 5-star restaurant) and then broods the whole day on how to evade taxes and safe guard his wealth, then sweats out in the gym in the evening. And at the end of his life, spends all that he has earned on medical bills!

Good luck Mr. Realist