So this is the second talk on the Dharma of money and it's a really wonderful exploration.
As we explore this together perhaps you begin to see that money always represents something and what we're finding is that it has more to do with,
For me anyway,
Self-confidence and one's place in the world and our relationship to power and our relationship to security.
It's an incredibly rich field of exploration.
So as we've talked about before when Buddhism went into other countries it took on the characteristics of the country.
So when it went to China it took on the characteristics of Confucianism and when it went into Tibet it took on more shamanic practices.
And so when it came to America it took on consumerism,
Right?
That's what we're about.
So you can get like a Zen alarm clock or every type of like a mala,
You know,
That you can imagine.
$100 meditation cushions,
You know,
All of these things that are available.
Statues and summer treats are really expensive,
You know.
Summer treats can really cost thousands of dollars.
And then there are all of the Buddhist magazines that have all kinds of things that you could want.
Every type of book,
Vacations that you can follow in the footsteps of the Buddha,
All kinds of attainment.
So where it gets interesting,
As I shared about on Tuesday,
Is my teacher at UC Berkeley who really opened my eyes.
He opened my eyes to inequality,
You know.
That was really a powerful teaching.
Like how accessible are these teachings to everyone?
Like who can go on a retreat for a week and pay a thousand dollars?
Recently I heard Western Buddhism characterized as the upper middle way.
I thought that was so funny.
The upper middle way feels like that.
So there are all of these issues of equality that they just can't be ignored when we're talking about money.
Economic inequality is a real problem in our culture and it's getting worse.
My son's second grade teacher moved to Alaska because they paid teachers almost $20,
000 more and she can afford to buy a house for $300,
000.
But she can't do that here.
She has to live in Alaska where it's so dark and cold.
Because low-income housing in Carbondale,
Where I live,
A two-bedroom 900 square foot unit is $2,
400 a month.
That's a low-income unit.
And on the other side of that coin,
People who are born into wealth and privilege,
It's not their fault.
It's not their fault that they have more money and access.
And it's not for me to tell them how to spend their money.
Although I do have some thoughts about that and I have to work with that in my own mind.
Sometimes seeing how people spend their money is really disturbing.
I watched this film the other night where the hedge fund manager during the pandemic bought a house next door to his mansion so he could tear it down and build a tennis court so his family could play together during lockdown.
I certainly have a reaction to that lifestyle choice.
I do.
So I share this because it brings us to the question of how much is enough.
You know,
Does money bring happiness?
So much of the culture says yes,
It does.
But the Dharma says that happiness doesn't come from the external.
It comes from the inside.
There was a study done many years ago looking at the question,
Does money buy happiness?
And according to the study,
It does.
Up to $50,
000.
So $50,
000 is like the happiness sign.
And if you don't have your basic needs met,
Like food and medical and a roof over your head or a bed to sleep in,
If you don't have those basic needs met,
Then people aren't happy,
Understandably.
But what this researcher found is that once we get to those basic needs,
Those basic needs are met,
And you know,
You have about $50,
000,
People didn't have any more happiness after that amount.
They didn't have any more happiness after that amount.
That's interesting,
Isn't it?
So we have these questions to ask as Dharma students.
You know,
How much is enough?
I've really been grappling with this question.
You know,
I want to give my son a better life than I had growing up,
An abundant life.
And by abundant,
I'm talking about values and ethics,
The benefits of an honest day's work.
And what seems to be happening is that he is surrounded by so much material abundance and privilege and entitlement,
That it doesn't appear that he's having a better life at all.
The life that I was intending for him.
In fact,
It's loaded with problems.
And it lacks substance.
And I'm looking for books right now to try to figure out,
How do I talk to and teach him our values and work with all of this abundance and privilege?
It's really something that my husband and I are trying to work with right now.
And as a Dharma practitioner,
You know,
I turn to the teachings as a navigational point.
So I was called to sort of look at the precepts that we take.
These commitments of not harming,
Of not taking what isn't given,
Of not lying,
Not using my sexuality in a harmful way,
And not clouding my mind with drugs and alcohol.
These are the five precepts.
And they also apply to money.
How does my spending cause harm?
And like looking at that.
You know,
I know people who practice the Dharma and are pretty upstanding individuals,
Yet they've lied to the IRS.
So where does that ethical line,
Like where's the line up there with our ethics?
Sure,
We might not like where our taxes are going.
And if our money is going towards the military establishment,
We might not like that.
There are certain implications to that.
And admittedly,
I have said,
If you know,
Trump gets in for another four years,
I don't know if I want to pay taxes.
Like I have said this to my fat,
Like to my husband,
Like,
I don't know.
Now that's,
You know,
It's,
That's not ethical,
Right?
So I have to tune in to what are my,
What are my values?
I like to think that when I spend money,
You know,
I'm putting a certain spin on that money.
Like it represents,
I think Lisa said last week,
Lisa Dancing Light,
That money represents energy towards,
You know,
Production.
And my livelihood mostly comes from Donna,
From people making donations to me through Roaring Fork Insight.
You know,
And that makes me very happy,
And I'm grateful that we are still together,
And that that form of exchange is working.
But when I get this money,
There is a feeling for me like it's sacred in a way.
You know,
I'm offering the Dharma and practice,
And there's a real wholesomeness to that offering.
And because of that goodwill,
I received the gift of this sort of sacred money.
So how I spend the gift is not,
You know,
I'm not going to go out and spend it on liquor and tobacco.
That feels unethical.
And I also don't smoke and drink.
But in this example,
If I were to do that,
It puts a particular spin.
Supporting the cigarette industry puts value in a direction that is unwholesome and causes harm.
But if I go off and I purchase organic produce from the farmer's market or from a local farm,
Well,
That puts a different spin.
And now I'm supporting something that I think is good and helpful for our society.
So we all are putting a spin on the money that we spend.
And it can kind of represent our values,
That spin.
And so that's something to look at,
As we look at our relationship to money.
So there's a lot to talk about here.
And you know,
Just to say,
It's been a beautiful and sort of awakened exploration for me.
It's opened up a whole lot of other areas that I am looking at and exploring.
As I've mentioned,
You know,
Privilege,
Entitlement,
Abundance.
So as we open up this conversation,
You know,
I'd like to just remind you that the Dharma is really about our relationship to everything,
To everything.
It has to go into every aspect of our life.
So look at the patterns of your life and see,
Well,
Maybe this is not an area that you get stuck.
Or maybe it is.
But if there's one thing that I'm learning,
Continually learning,
Is that the promise of this practice is that if we're investigating where we get stuck,
Or where we contract,
Where there's a lot of emotions or resistance,
If we look there,
We can get free.
That's been my experience.
So let's open it up for discussion.
And thank you for your kind attention this morning.
