Losing a job
Gain and loss, praise and blame, fame and disgrace, pleasure and pain — the Buddha called these the eight worldly conditions, and said they come to the well-taught noble disciple as to anyone. The difference is that they do not take over the disciple's mind; such a person neither welcomes gain nor resents loss. The suttas' economic advice to householders is plain and practical. For the nightly worrying, one short set of verses advises against reaching for a future that has not yet come. The suttas do not say the fear is unreasonable. If money is actually running out, the passages sit alongside a plan, not in place of one.
What the suttas say
Byagghapajja, these four things lead to the welfare and happiness of a gentleman in this life. What four? Accomplishment in initiative, protection, good friendship, and balanced finances.
Dīghajāṇu — the Buddha's household economics.
AN 8.54:2.1–2.3 · With Dīghajāṇu
Cattārome, byagghapajja, dhammā kulaputtassa diṭṭhadhammahitāya saṁvattanti diṭṭhadhammasukhāya. Katame cattāro? Uṭṭhānasampadā, ārakkhasampadā, kalyāṇamittatā, samajīvitā.
So gain and loss, fame and disgrace, blame and praise, and pleasure and pain don’t occupy their mind. They don’t favor gain or oppose loss. They don’t favor fame or oppose disgrace. They don’t favor praise or oppose blame. They don’t favor pleasure or oppose pain.
The difference the Buddha draws between a well-taught noble disciple and an untaught ordinary person is not that praise and blame stop coming — both meet them — but that for the disciple they no longer take over the mind.
Where this stops: It describes a disciple who reflects that each condition is impermanent; it is a training, not a mood to put on after a bad review. Not a reply to bullying or harassment at work, and not a reason to say unfair criticism does not matter.
AN 8.6:6.1–6.5 · Worldly Conditions (2nd)
Tassa lābhopi cittaṁ na pariyādāya tiṭṭhati, alābhopi cittaṁ na pariyādāya tiṭṭhati, yasopi cittaṁ na pariyādāya tiṭṭhati, ayasopi cittaṁ na pariyādāya tiṭṭhati, nindāpi cittaṁ na pariyādāya tiṭṭhati, pasaṁsāpi cittaṁ na pariyādāya tiṭṭhati, sukhampi cittaṁ na pariyādāya tiṭṭhati, dukkhampi cittaṁ na pariyādāya tiṭṭhati. So uppannaṁ lābhaṁ nānurujjhati, alābhe nappaṭivirujjhati; uppannaṁ yasaṁ nānurujjhati, ayase nappaṭivirujjhati; uppannaṁ pasaṁsaṁ nānurujjhati, nindāya nappaṭivirujjhati; uppannaṁ sukhaṁ nānurujjhati, dukkhe nappaṭivirujjhati.
Householder, these four kinds of happiness can be earned by a layperson who enjoys sensual pleasures, depending on time and occasion. What four? The happiness of ownership, using wealth, debtlessness, and blamelessness.
Money worry in the Buddha's own frame; blamelessness outweighs the rest.
AN 4.62:2.1–2.3 · Debtlessness
Cattārimāni, gahapati, sukhāni adhigamanīyāni gihinā kāmabhoginā kālena kālaṁ samayena samayaṁ upādāya. Katamāni cattāri? Atthisukhaṁ, bhogasukhaṁ, ānaṇyasukhaṁ, anavajjasukhaṁ.
Don’t run back to the past, don’t anticipate the future. What’s past is left behind, the future has not arrived; and any present phenomenon you clearly discern in every case. The unfaltering, the unshakable: having known that, foster it.
The Bhaddekaratta verses — letting go of the chase after what is gone and what has not yet come, in favour of what is here.
Where this stops: The verses go on to urge effort today, since no one knows whether death comes tomorrow; they are about where attention goes, not a dismissal of planning or of a past that still needs repair.
MN 131:3.1–3.8 · One Fine Night
Atītaṁ nānvāgameyya, nappaṭikaṅkhe anāgataṁ; Yadatītaṁ pahīnaṁ taṁ, appattañca anāgataṁ. Paccuppannañca yo dhammaṁ, Tattha tattha vipassati; Asaṁhīraṁ asaṅkuppaṁ, Taṁ vidvā manubrūhaye.
As the wind cannot stir a solid mass of rock, so too blame and praise do not affect the wise.
The same teaching in four lines, short enough to carry into a meeting.
Where this stops: An image of the wise, not a demand to feel nothing when criticized.
Dhp 81:1–4 · 6. The Astute
Selo yathā ekaghano, vātena na samīrati; Evaṁ nindāpasaṁsāsu, na samiñjanti paṇḍitā.