The greedy man in his love of the world is like the silk-worm...

The greedy man in his love of the world is like the silk-worm: the more it wraps itself in its cocoon the less chance it has of escaping from it, until finally it dies of grief. The opposite of greed is the virtue of contentment, which enables man to control his desires and to be content with having the necessities of life.

One who has this virtue always lives honourably and respectably, as a free man; he is immune from the vices of affluence in this world and the consequent punishment in the Hereafter. In order to free oneself from the vice of greed one must meditate on…