Again in 2000, our household van was getting outdated, with a number of miles on it, and we wanted a brand new one. I did my analysis and determined to purchase a Toyota Sienna minivan.
The Sienna got here in three fashions. The highest of the road was the XLE. It was candy. It had wood-grain trim, premium stereo, alloy wheels, and an electrical sliding door. The mid-level mannequin was the LE, and it had the premium stereo, the alloy wheels, and the electrical sliding door, however not the wood-grain trim. The most affordable mannequin was the CE, and it simply had the fundamental stereo, hubcaps, and a handbook sliding door.
We determined that we couldn’t afford the XLE or the LE, and we went with the CE, the bottom mannequin. After signing the deal, I drove off the lot of the dealership in my brand-new minivan, and I used to be feeling good. A brand new automobile is so nice. It had that new automobile scent, and the Sienna was approach higher than our outdated minivan.
However as I used to be driving dwelling with my new automobile, one other new Sienna handed within the lane subsequent to me. I may see the again of the automobile because it handed—it was an XLE. It had the wood-grain trim, the premium stereo, the alloy wheels, and the electrical sliding door. I caught myself pondering, “Possibly I ought to have purchased the XLE.” Then I assumed to myself, “I simply purchased a brand-new automobile, and never 5 minutes later I’m already wishing I had a greater one.”
In Buddhism, that’s what we name greed. Greed isn’t restricted to wealthy Wall Avenue stockbrokers or tech billionaires. Greed is inside all of us. It means wanting extra—an even bigger home, a better wage, a greater work place, the most recent pc, or a fancier automobile. Even when we get what we predict we need, in a brief time period we aren’t happy and wish “just a bit extra.” We get our dream dwelling however suppose, “If solely it had yet another room and the kitchen was only a bit larger.” In my case, my sense of satisfaction lasted all of 5 minutes earlier than I used to be fascinated with the XLE. However in time, we liked that CE. I nonetheless miss it.
In Buddhism, greed is among the three poisons, together with ignorance and anger. These highly effective psychological states can damage your life, no totally different from consuming poison. The issue is that we’re typically in denial about how these psychological states are manifesting in our lives and the way detrimental they’re.
Ignorant? I’m not ignorant. I’m not sensible, however I’m undoubtedly not ignorant.
Anger? Oh, I get mad typically, however anger doesn’t management me.
Greed? I’m not grasping. I’m very happy with every thing.
Yeah, proper.
So, how will we overcome our greed, or any of the three poisons? Is there a remedy, a treatment, an antidote?
Varied Buddhist traditions provide differing methods to strategy this downside. Some would possibly say you need to suppress or squash these poisons. I discover that troublesome, if not not possible. For instance, in case you are on a weight loss plan and your weak spot is chocolate cake, chances are you’ll say to your self, “Don’t eat chocolate cake!” However you find yourself pondering of chocolate cake on a regular basis. Does it actually work to suppress or squash our needs?
Shinran (1173–1262), who based the Shin Buddhist custom, of which I’m a member, was aware of the three poisons in his life. His strategy was to see them deep inside all of us. The secret is not eliminating them however relatively seeing them. Seeing is step one in transcending or going past the three poisons.
Step one to restoration from drug habit or alcoholism is to confess that you’re an addict. “Oh my gosh! I’m an alcoholic, via and thru. Look what it’s doing to my life, to my household.” Seeing is the primary vital step to restoration.
Years in the past, I discovered how drug habit is a vivid instance of the world of greed, what Buddhists name the realm of the hungry ghost. In Buddhist cosmology, beings on this realm dwell in a state of fixed starvation and
thirst, but nothing can fulfill them; no matter meals or drink they contact turns to fireplace. It’s a horrendous existence to think about, at the same time as a metaphor.
Someday, I used to be at my temple workplace when a younger man I knew from Buddhist youth actions stopped by to say howdy. I hadn’t seen him since he was an adolescent. He mentioned that he had simply gotten out of a rehab program. I assumed that he meant he was a counselor or one thing there, however then he defined that he’d had a critical habit to cocaine for years.
I discovered a lot from him about drug habit. He mentioned that
he had his “drug associates,” which he stored separate from his “temple associates.” He advised me that over a number of years he’d spent greater than forty thousand {dollars} on his habit. He mentioned, “I may’ve purchased a flowery automobile, however I wasted it away on medication.” I discovered that the primary time you employ cocaine, the excessive is so intense that you just need to expertise it once more, but the character of the drug is such which you could by no means match that first excessive. That’s what hooks you on the drug.
Fortuitously for this younger man, his dad and mom compelled him right into a rehab program, and he was capable of recuperate. After our dialog, I had him communicate to Buddhist youth teams concerning the risks of drug habit.
The world of greed can vary from a cocaine or alcohol habit to simply wanting slightly bit extra of this or that, like shopping for an XLE. The Buddha taught that dana—giving—is the antidote to greed. Generosity is the primary of the six paramitas, the practices of a bodhisattva, and thru it we soften our greed and attachments.
There are 4 sorts of giving. The primary is materials giving, corresponding to making a donation or giving a present to somebody. The second is nonmaterial giving, corresponding to providing a pleasant face, form phrases, or a smile. The third is impure giving, which is to provide with some considered receiving acknowledgement or reward in return. I do know a minister who has an exquisite line: “If I ever make an nameless donation, I discover that I’m the primary one to inform somebody about it.” Lastly, the fourth sort of giving is pure giving, which is giving with none expectation of acknowledgement, recognition, reward, or reward.
I can actually say that I’ve by no means practiced pure giving, however I’ve been the recipient of it. I spent 5 years in Japan learning Buddhism. My spouse and I lived in slightly condominium near my college. Someday, somebody went to our landlady and paid for half a yr’s hire for us. To this present day, I have no idea who it was. The individual made our landlady promise to not disclose their identification. They simply mentioned, “The younger man in your condominium constructing is learning to develop into a minister. I need to assist him as he shall be doing vital work to share the dharma sooner or later.”
I can not write a thank-you card to this individual. I don’t even know who it was. All I can do is honor their want by doing my greatest to share the dharma. That was my expertise as a recipient of pure generosity.
There are numerous methods to follow giving in our each day lives, in massive and small methods. There may be extra pleasure in giving than in receiving. It really is an antidote to the poison of greed.
However I nonetheless suppose I ought to have purchased the XLE.
This piece is an excerpt from The Antidote to Greed, Hatred & Ignorance.