REPOST: Buddhist Economics

---This is a repost from 2009. I decided to repost it given the continued, poor economy---

We currently find ourselves in a global economic crisis. There aren't many in the world who can say that they haven't been affected in some way by these difficult times. Yet in between hyperventilating fits I am realizing that I knew this was coming. It's a cyclical thing.

Buddha certainly saw this coming all those thousands of years ago. I find myself depressed now and then that the world is in such terrible times but then I remember that this is samsara, and thus the world has always been in such terrible times. The reality hasn't changed but my concept of what is reality has changed.

My mind wants so badly for things to never change and yet that is impossible, nor is it desired in the long run. Imagine a world where nothing ever changed--would such a world even be possible? I say no. But that doesn't mean that we have to surrender to the suffering. The world is just as amazing, beautiful, beneficial and worthwhile too. We might have to look a little harder because pain is often the loudest, crying, baby in the mind but the good is there as well, to be sure.

I already knew that the economic goods times wouldn't last. The "Laissez les bon temps roulez" (let the good times roll) bubble has burst as Buddha would have warned us all. I think he would have warned us to save (even if it's only a little) money for these inevitable crashes. Yet saving means putting a muzzle on our desires because the mind would say, "Put it on a credit card; then you won't have to worry about not having the money and you can have that [insert material item that I'll tire with in two months].

Not so fast. Buddha would, I think, stress mindfulness as in all areas of life. If we are mindful of our money, mindful of the good and not so good about it as well as being mindful of the fleeting nature of it, then perhaps we will be more committed to living within our means. I think Buddha would advise us that credit cards are the Earthly, material versions of karma--sooner or later they must be paid off for there is a consequence to every action.

Buddha might say that despite our best efforts, and no matter how fiscally responsible we might be, sooner or later a devastating blow will hit us. Life is anything but predictable. "Such is the nature of this existence," he would gently remind my exasperated mind. I imagine him softly, slowly advising me of this and imagining that its calming effect like pouring cold water over raging, hot coals.

Buddha teaches us that we are all interconnected, which in economic terms means that we take care of the needs of our brothers and sisters more. That means perhaps living a more modest lifestyle so that others might have basic human needs such as hospital care, food and shelter. This isn't a popular one in our CEO-driven, "capitalism on steroids" society but if we were to look out more for the needs of others than we wouldn't need so much ourselves.

Yes, maybe what I'm speaking of is an utopia but still we can try our best to share and travel through this life together so that the greater good is accomplished. In the west we look at a person's accomplishments in their job and income but that is a false assessment of what is valuable because that is all going away no matter which bank you put it all in. And because it is based upon greed, we need to focus more on the Gross Domestic Happiness more than GDP such as in Bhutan.

We would also do our society a lot of good to put more emphasis and value upon people and time together with those people than making buckets of money. And upon nature, which is (if we are totally in the moment) one of the most wonderful things to experience; and you don't need much money to enjoy it. Maybe we should spend more time listening to the birds and the sound of the wind caressing the vocal cords of the trees, making them whisper mantras than getting the new iPod model accessory.

Another thing he'd probably tell me is that I don't have to have all the things that I think I need for living life well. I'd be reminded of the simple monk who despite owning basically only his robe and his bowl is happier than probably most people with all the bells and whistles of modern, material life. It seems so liberating to cast off all your possessions and walk a simple path of being present. When I am present, I realize that in reality, all that I need is the Dharma because it is the I Ching for all of life's questions and dilemas. Well, that and a nice plate of stir-fried vegetables and a bowl of sticky rice now and then (wink).

One final note, which comes right back to that impermanence of all things mentioned in the beginning of this post. We need to realize, I think, that we are in an economic transition period right now, all over the world. The old paradigm is dying out but we need not be crushed by the change because while the change is bringing turmoil it is also bring new industries such as the green economy.

It is an exploding industry that will not only give people good paying jobs, but also let them live Right Livelihood; all while healing the planet for future generations. We need to embrace this opportunity with our collective energies. Perhaps we just need to shift our thinking to see a better, greener economy that has been with us since the first winds blew across our beautiful blue planet. It has been with us since the first rays of the sun kissed our Earth and when the water first churned to create energy. The new economy is literally right underneath our feet--in nature. We help nature and nature helps us.

PHOTO CREDIT: Scott Chan for Free Digital Photos

-Om gate gate paragata parasamgate bodhi svha!!-

Buddhist Economics.

***This is a long post but I hope worth it***

By the way, I find it ironic that Nepal has put the non-materialist Buddha upon money (above). It's probably a commemorative thing but still It's kind of odd given his teachings on giving up materiel possessions.

We currently find ourselves in a global economic crisis. There aren't many in the world who can say that they haven't been affected in some way by these difficult times. Yet in between hyperventilating fits I am realizing that I knew this was coming. It's a cyclical thing.

Buddha certainly saw this coming all those thousands of years ago. I find myself depressed now and then that the world is in such terrible times but then I remember that this is samsara and thus the world has always been in such terrible times. The reality hasn't changed but my concept of what is reality has changed.

My mind wants so badly for things to never change and yet that is impossible nor is it desired in the long run. Imagine a world where nothing ever changed--would such a world even be possible? I say no. However I digress. But that doesn't mean that we have to surrender to the suffering. The world is just as amazing, beautiful, beneficial and worthwhile too. We might have to look a little harder because pain is often the loudest crying baby in the mind but the good is there too to be sure.

I already knew that the economic goods times wouldn't last. The "Laissez les bon temps roulez" (let the good times roll) bubble has burst as Buddha would have warned us all. I think he would have warned us to save (even if it's only a little) money for these inevitable crashes. Yet saving means putting a muzzle on our desires because the mind would say, "Put it on a credit card then you won't have to worry about not having the money and you can have that [insert material item that I'll tire with in two months].

Not so fast. Buddha would I think stress mindfulness as in all areas of life. If we are mindful of our money, mindful of the good and not so good about it as well as being mindful of the fleeting nature of it then perhaps we will be more committed to living within our means. I think Buddha would advise us that credit cards are the Earthly, material versions of karma--sooner or later they must be paid off for there is a consequence to every action. In a way credit cards are worse than karma because karma doesn't (as far as I know) accrue interest!

Buddha might say that despite our best efforts and now matter how fiscally responsible we might be that sooner or later a devastating blow will hit us. Life is anything but predictable. Such is the nature of this existence he would gently remind my exasperated mind. I imagine him softly, slowly advising me of this and imagining that it would calm me down like pouring cold water over raging hot coals.

Buddha teaches us that we are all interconnected, which in economic terms means that we take care of the needs of our brothers and sisters more. That means perhaps living a more modest lifestyle so that others might have basic human needs such as hospital care, food and shelter. This isn't a popular one in our CEO, "capitalism on steroids" society but if we were to look out more for the needs of others than we wouldn't need so much ourselves.

Yes, maybe what I'm speaking of is a utopia but still we can try our best to share and travel through this life together so that the greater good can be achieved. In the west we look at a person's accomplishments in their job and income but that is a false assessment of what is valuable because that is all going away no matter which bank you put it all in. And because it is based upon greed, which is a desire that brings much false happiness. We need to focus more on the Gross Domestic Happiness more than GDP such as in Bhutan.

We would also do our society a lot of good to put more emphasis and value upon people and time together with those people than making buckets of money. And upon nature, which is (if we are totally in the moment) one of the most wonderful things to experience and you don't need much money to enjoy it. Maybe we should spend more time listening to the birds and the sound of the wind caressing the vocal cords of the trees making them whisper through the air than getting the new iPod model accessory.

Another thing he'd probably tell me is that I don't have to have all the things that I think I need for living life well. I'd be reminded of the simple monk who despite owning basically only his robe and his bowl is happier than probably most people with all the bells and whistles of modern, material life. It seems so liberating to cast off all your possessions and walk a simple path of being present. When I am present I realize that in reality all that I need is the Dharma because it is the I Ching for all of life's questions and dilemas. Well, that and a nice plate of stir-fried vegetables and a bowl of sticky rice now and then (wink).

One final note, which comes right back to that impermanence of all things mentioned in the beginning of this post. We need to realize I think that we are in an economic transition period right now all over the world. The old paradigm is dying out but we need not be crushed by the change because while the change is bringing turmoil it is also bring new industries such as the green economy.

It is an exploding industry that will not only give people good paying jobs but also let them live Right Livelihood all while healing the planet for future generations. We need to embrace this opportunity with our collective energies. Perhaps we just need to shift our thinking to see a better, greener economy that has been with us since the first winds blew across our beautiful blue planet. It has been with us since the first rays of the sun kissed our Earth and when the water first churned to create energy. The new economy is literally right underneath our feet--in nature. We help nature and nature helps us. So those are some of my thoughts.

~Peace to all beings~

Healing Our Environment and Ourselves.

In one sitting meditation, when I focused my attention on my heart--breathing in, I am aware of my heart, breathing out, I smile to my heart--suddenly I realized that this is not the only heart that I have. I have many other hearts. Suppose that I look at the sun in the sky. I know that it is also another heart of mine. If this heart failed I would die right away. But if the other heart, the sun, explodes or stops functioning as the sun, I would also die right away.

~Thich Nhat Hanh, The Mindfulness Bell, winter/spring issue 47, 2008.

James: Another heart is our planet Earth, it is literally alive and very much like our own bodies. For example, most of our planet consists of water just like the human body. Deep inside the Earth a constant movement of hot liquid rich in iron keeps the planet alive much like our blood (also rich in iron) keeps us in health. If this plasma like layer where to cool and harden then life would eventually cease, not unlike too much blood loss causes the heart to stop.

The Earth's ozone and magnetic field act as shields that protect life here from harmful radiation emitted from the sun. Radiation is important and helpful in some respects but in small doses just like some bacteria is helpful in our bodies but again in small doses. If too much bacteria grows within our body then our white blood cells are stimulated to neutralize the dangerous levels of bacteria to return our body back to a stable, balanced environment. In that regard the Earth's atmosphere acts as those white blood cells to maintain the right balance to enable life to flourish on this planet.

So when seen through mindful openness an intricate interconnection unfolds within this Universe from the tiniest molecules to the largest stars until it can no longer be described and becomes parinirvana which is beyond our limiting labels, concepts and knowledge.

But let's return back to the present moment as I look out the window and gaze upon the gentle breeze dancing through the branches of the mock pear tree out front. That tree is apart of me as it relies upon the same sun to grow as I do, therefore if I do not care for that tree and millions like it then I will in turn die off. Trees thrive off of the carbon dioxide that we emit from breathing oxygen which is in turn partially created by those very trees and other plants. This leads to recycling.

We humans have not existed in harmony with the other organisms that share this planet with us, we have not been good neighbors over time. We have become in many ways a parasite or a cancer on the Earth because we have taken so much and given so little back to the circle of life that is our environment. Yet all is not lost, we can heal the scars that we have inflicted and return our lovely celestial body back to a more balanced state of being by recycling and using renewable energy sources.

In our city we have a recycling program that we participate in. We save our plastic bottles and recyclable metal and plastic containers in one bin and all our newspapers and paperboard waste such as old pasta boxes go in another bin. Then once a week a truck comes along and picks it all up to be sorted through at the recycling factory who then sell the metals and paper back to companies to make more metal and plastic containers and paper products and the cycle continues. Every time I put those bins on the curb I smile in peace knowing that I am giving back to my fellow organisms that share this planet with me.

The same goes with renewable energy, we harness the abundant clean energy available to us in using solar power, wind power, water, geothermal and others to meet our needs without harming the very body (Earth) that we are apart of. Through these measures we begin to cease being the separate, destructive cancer and return to being just another variation of being on a vast and beautiful heavenly body.

It is true that we can not prevent the eventually destruction of Earth but we do not want to have the karma of speeding up that process by our less than skillful actions. Life ebbs and flows of it's own accord and it is not our right to take life away from any living being and that includes our living Earth.

The Deer Park Monastery in the Zen tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh threw the switch that makes their property environmentally friendly. They are now completely off the grid, what a great example for the rest of us!!

~Peace to all beings~