The Goal of Our Intention

Beyond having a good intention we hold onto until completion there is the reward, and in this case for us as Buddhists the reward is our improved life condition, the manifestation of enlightenment in our lives and in our environment. It would be a mistake to think treasure in this case is about riches. This does point out though that it is important to understand what the objective is and how to determine if we are successfully accomplishing our objective. In the case of our Buddhist practice, if we mistakenly think becoming rich is the outcome of our practice then we would perhaps become disappointed when riches fail to manifest or when we realize that riches will not make us happy.

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra