Part 2 of 3 · The Principle of Light series
In Part 1, we saw that to brighten a room, lighting a lamp is wiser than chasing away the darkness. But a human life is not just one room. This essay widens that principle to the four areas of human life, and introduces the seven lamps that help you bring your life into balance naturally.
Four areas of human life
There is a very simple yet profound teaching: every challenge in human life, however many forms it takes, revolves around four areas:
- Inner life: the thoughts, emotions and beliefs within us.
- Health: our body, our sleep, our daily energy.
- Relationships: family, friends, colleagues and community.
- Finances: income, spending and material sufficiency.
These four areas do not stand alone. They are joined like the walls of the same house: when one wall shakes, the whole house feels it.
Why tending one thing at a time is so tiring
Imagine someone facing a health problem. They put all their energy into getting well. Meanwhile, their work is interrupted, so their finances fall short. Worry about money unsettles their heart, and their inner life loses its steadiness. An unsettled heart becomes easily irritated, and relationships at home grow tense. Prolonged tension weakens their health further.
This is a cycle of endless fixing: one thing is resolved, and another arrives. Not because the person lacks effort, but because they are “taking the darkness out” one corner at a time, while darkness remains in the other corners.
Do not chase each dark corner. Light up the whole house.
Light up the whole house
The Principle of Light points another way: instead of tending each area separately, bring light into the whole house. Once the house is bright, the darkness withdraws from every corner at once.
Where does that light come from? From seven lamps — the seven forms of complete wealth in a human life:
- Wisdom: understanding the true nature of things and seeing cause and effect.
- State of mind: peace and steadiness in the face of every change.
- Character: living kindly, saying and doing the same, being trustworthy.
- Virtue: good qualities nurtured every day.
- Ability: the capacity to create value for ourselves and for others.
- Physical health: a healthy body full of vitality.
- Material means: enough to care for ourselves and our loved ones.
Each lamp lights several areas at once. A person with a peaceful state of mind speaks more gently (relationships), sleeps better (health) and makes wiser spending decisions (finances). That is why lighting lamps is so much lighter than patching each spot.
When I stopped chasing problems
In 2017 and 2018, at the peak of my career, I gave almost all my time and health to my work. At some point, I felt clear signs that my health was suffering. Days of irregular meals, scant sleep and constantly disrupted routines left me with some very uncomfortable symptoms. And when my body was not in good shape, my relationships with those around me — especially my husband and child — were affected too. For a while, I became impatient in my relationships and in my decisions.
A few years later, when the Covid pandemic broke out, financial challenges in my life became clearer and more serious. Each day, I felt I was always chasing problems; before one passed, another arrived.
Then I had the good fortune to study and raise my awareness, and I practiced the Principle of Light: I stopped focusing on the darkness and spent my time lighting up my life instead. Through learning, my wisdom opened: I knew what to do for my inner life, my health came back into balance, my state of mind transformed and my relationships gradually improved. And in finances, although I kept doing the same work as before, with my Teachers’ guidance I managed money better and better, while my customers continued to cherish and support me — which helped me regain my confidence in this area. Over time, all four areas of my life — inner life, health, relationships and finances — have grown more and more beautiful.
Practice for today
- Score each area from 1 to 10: inner life, health, relationships, finances.
- Look at the lowest-scoring area and ask: which of the seven lamps, if it shone brighter, would lift this area?
- Choose one small action to light that lamp this week, then score yourself again after seven days.
Reflection question: Which lamp within me, once lit, would brighten the most corners of my house?
Frequently asked questions
Which of the four areas is most important?
All four are connected, but inner life is the foundation. Only when the foundation is firm can the walls and roof stand strong. That is why Chuyện Bên Mâm Cơm begins many of its stories with the inner life.
Does living in balance mean dividing time equally among the four areas?
Not exactly. Balance means letting all four areas be lit. One good lamp can lift several areas at once, without dividing your time into small pieces.
How do the seven lamps relate to the four areas?
The four areas are the house. The seven lamps are the light within that house. Part 3 draws this house in more detail.
The Principle of Light series
- Part 1: Light a Lamp Instead of Chasing the Darkness
- Part 2: The Four Areas of Human Life (you are reading)
- Part 3: The House of Seven Lamps
This essay is an English rendering of the original Vietnamese article on Chuyện Bên Mâm Cơm.