Rich Man And The Beggar

I admire the spirit of detachment. I assume the man by the riverbank had happiness within that was independent of wealth outside, and his happiness and wisdom expressed itself in his giving away the precious stone. He apparently knew he had no need for the stone in order to be happy. Perhaps he knew attachment was a source of unnecessary suffering. Perhaps he was willing to give the stone to the beggar so that the beggar could learn what he needed to learn. Giving away experience and wisdom without a trace of attachment has been satisfying and a significant gain for me. Giving away material perceived as valuable without any attachment has been seldom though also satisfying -- I have both attachment and detachment with regard to the material -- I obviously still have a long way to go with regard to detachment. What helps me is realizing through experience that happiness is within and independent of the material.