Winning the lottery and happiness
(Seattlepi.com) Jim McCullar, the retired Boeing worker who won $190 million in the Mega Millions lottery this week, had better beware. CNN's story on the perils of becoming suddenly rich beyond imagination shows how quickly the predators can come out of the woodwork. It's fun to think about what you would do if you played lottery numbers that brought in millions of dollars. But, disillusioning as it may seem, big winnings can come with big costs, especially because of the greed of others, experts say. The story>>
(Seattlepi.com) Jim McCullar, the retired Boeing worker who won $190 million in the Mega Millions lottery this week, had better beware. CNN's story on the perils of becoming suddenly rich beyond imagination shows how quickly the predators can come out of the woodwork. It's fun to think about what you would do if you played lottery numbers that brought in millions of dollars. But, disillusioning as it may seem, big winnings can come with big costs, especially because of the greed of others, experts say. The story>>
Enlightened Advice on Winning
CC Liu (Wisdom Quarterly)
I want you to get rich, rich beyond your dreams. And I want to win a lottery jackpot, too. But an enlightened Buddhist teacher taught me something about that that had never occurred to me. As background, the reason someone wins and keeps mega millions is not because s/he bought a ticket. That's part of it. But what makes it possible is the fruition of the karma of generosity. And not proportionate generosity as some people think. It's all out of proportion:
Give to a human who asks, give to an ordinary good person, give to a virtuous person, give to a partially enlightened person, and it multiplies the result exponentially. Find a stream enterer, or give to the collective noble Sangha, and the result will fruit beyond all measure.
That's not the thing she said. That's common knowledge that comes with a Buddhist understanding of the Workings of Kamma (karma). What she pointed out was how unfortunate it would be win such a large lottery. You will win it, say, in middle age. You won't be able to spend it all (not because you couldn't, but because you'll cling to it out of fear of running out of money). You'll enjoy it for 50 years. Then what? There goes the result of that good karma.
If instead, she pointed out, that karma came to fruition when you were passing away, you would be reborn -- on account of it -- in some long lived state, in a better world (say, a deva world). Then your good fortune would last eras, epochs, or aeons. The very same karma coming to fruit would serve you and result in much more happiness than it ever could in this world as a lottery winning.
So when you win, do some good with a portion of those winning -- give, give, give to the virtuous, to the spiritual, the enlightened, and thereby ensure your future happiness for a long time. If instead out of greed multiplied by the winnings you were to behave like a miser, neglecting family, friends, the virtuous, and the needy -- how would that possibly serve you?
To do good, one needn't win the lottery at all. It really is not the size of the gift. It's in the giving -- the intention of generosity, sharing, and helping others as yourself -- and the recipient. Giving with an understanding of karma is better than giving with no thought to the result. Think of the result, that's fine.
(Why JudeoChristians think acting/feigning total disinterest and "selflessness" magnifies the gift is beyond me. There's no correspondence in the Dharma that I have found). Take pleasure in doing good, and do it over and again. Altruism comes from caring about someone else the way we do about ourselves, not martyring oneself as if that's doing anyone a favor.
So buy a ticket. One is enough -- since it's not about odds. And remember, winning has nothing to do with "luck." The blessing (or beneficial fruition) is the result of karma. And with that in mind, make for yourself many future winnings rather than worrying about winning now.
Not in a mood to give? That's fine. There's another thing you can do to make merit (beneficial karma) -- rejoice, take delight, commend the giving of others! It's called mudita, and one share in that karma without diminishing that person's giving. We'll all be rich.
Not everyone actively supports Wisdom Quarterly and our Dharma-dana offering. But if they could all rejoice (sadhu sadhu sadhu, xie xie) that we're here increasing understanding of the Dharma (as well as the esoteric and wide array of topics we cover) in the West, then that is sharing in whatever merit is made here. We wholeheartedly share that merit with our readers.
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