If only the Buddha taught about money

The Buddha did teach about money, how to manage and grow it, in the Sigalovada Sutta below.

Temu.com has this cute wall decoration for my home decor (Emotional Pain Chart)

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How much haul of merchandise piles up.

It all started on Brown Friday, calling the plumber the day after Thanksgiving because, well, Americans consume a lot.

That was the first bill. Then began Black Friday wargames at the mall. Who knows what moves me. It's not emotions.

Today is Cyber Monday, so it's time to order what I really wanted but didn't find elbowing people in person. I can track it down and order online. Delivery guys in shorts need the work. It's alright.

Do marketers use our emotions to sell us on things, claiming we sell ourselves with their help?

Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday, when I allay my guilt at overspending and running up credit card charges (personal debt) I can't afford by spending more on giving money away. I call it philanthropy, charity...snacking. Dieting makes me crazy. I gave at the office, my home office, when I was trying to order shoes.

If only the Buddha taught about money

How our gold is chipped away

In the most important sutra for lay Buddhists, the Sigalovada Sutta (DN 31) or compiled "Advice for Householders Discourse," he does just that. He is giving advice to young Sigala on the best way to live.

The Buddha advises how to use money to become safe and rich. In a simple formula, one's money should be divided in four and spent to make more money, ensuring the future: Gather riches like bees who work pick up pollen. Riches grow like a termite hill suddenly piling up. Gathering wealth in this way, a householder has enough for family and holds on to friends. That wealth is divided into four equal parts:

1. The first portion is to enjoy here and now.
2. The second is used to pay off debts.
3. The third is used to purchase inventory.
4. The fourth is set aside as savings for times of trouble.

• Did the Buddha really care about money? As Prince Siddhartha, he was born rich and influential because his homeland, Kapilavastu (at the foothills of the Himalayas in a part of the range known as the Hindu Kush, Afghanistan not Nepal), was on the Silk Route. Many rich and powerful kings befriended him. His greatest lay-devotee was known as the millionaire (Anathapindika, Sudatta the Banker, his foremost male patron and supporter), who was worth so much money that he was a kind of Mansa Musa. The Buddha also had the great Ven. Sivali, foremost in receiving alms due to his previous store of skillful karma of giving dana. So money (gold, silver, cattle, fields, servants, property) was no object, and the Buddha had no love or need of it, having renounced all such worldly things, but his supporters loved it. So he taught them about making merit (punya) so they would always have all they needed.

Avoid wasting money

Well, I'm not really wasting money. I'm actually saving more the more I buy. The ad says so.

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[A penny earned is a penny saved seems to mean that we make as much money by not spending money as by earning it. Save up. How?] One is advised to avoid the “Six Drains on Wealth.”

“What six drains on wealth does one avoid? (“Drains on wealth” is apāyamukha, literally “openings for departure.”) This is emphasized since a good person wants as an heir to be a proper steward and not squander away the family fortune.

According to the Buddha, habitually engaging in the following things is a drain on wealth:

1. consuming intoxicants like alcohol (beer, wine, liquor);
2. roaming the streets at night;
3. frequenting parties and festivals;
4. gambling;
5. bad friends (companions);
6. laziness.

Alcohol?

The most common phrase in Pali for alcoholic beverages lists three items. Surā is brewed from grains and yeast (Bu Pc 51:2.1.2), meraya is made from sugars, fruits, or flowers (Bu Pc 51:2.1.4), and madya is a catchall term. Together they correspond with a modern classification of the potent drinks “beer, wine, and liquor.” See also Manu 11.94, Arthaśāstra 2.25, Suśrutasaṁhitā 1.45, Amarakośodghāṭana 3.6.

There are six drawbacks of drinking alcohol. Habitually tossing back beer, sipping wine, or guzzling liquors that cause intoxication causes problems like: (1) loss of wealth, (2) quarrels, (3) illness, (4) disrepute, (5) indecent exposure, (6) and weakened wisdom (liquid ignorance). More

• The Buddha sees a young person performing useless rituals and asks then teaches useful behaviors in their place. This becomes the most detailed sutra (DN 31) on lay Buddhist morality and ethics (suttacentral.net).
• DN 31: Siṅgāla Sutta (Kelly, Sawyer, Yareham) translation
• Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Wisdom Quarterly

Being free of clutter (Why Bother?)

Why Bother? (ifnotnow.com) Colonial Contest; Jen Bradford (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Happiness is the way, so be happy right now.

As physical beings we need room to move. Controlled surroundings feel secure. The world is bigger than us. Why have uncongested (uncluttered) space.

Making a home requires the imagination to make use of our existing surroundings.

• Process (ifnotnow.com)

One great trick for getting our imaginations unstuck is to stop trying to think about the home we have. Instead, think about the life we live and how we’d live in some other house.

Then we can take the creative ideas we’ve come up with and apply them to the home we have. The COLONIAL HOME CHALLENGE is a Getting Unstuck Game for all of us.

Click the link and see a house description. Then see plans that use the very same house reused in numerous ways to meet the needs of different families.

Now it’s your turn. Imagine a family -- possibly your own.... How could YOU use the house? If you can’t find a solution for your needs, send us a description. If it’s really difficult we might try to solve it as a group! Why Bother? (ifnotnow.com)

• Ceasefire NOW — IfNotNowMovement (unrelated)

What about sex? Scarlett on monogamy (video)

Ashley Wells, CC Liu, Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly (OPINION); Cosmopolitan.co.uk via Yahoo News; unreleased Lana Del Rey (via a music video presented by Jessica Stone Fox)

(Jessica Stone Fox) Lana Del Rey performs "Because of You" (Music Video)

Scarlett Johansson has opened up about her relationship with French journalist Romain Dauriac, saying monogamy isn't for everyone.

 

Scarlett divorced Ryan Reynolds, who of course went on to wed Blake Lively, in 2011 [then to star in the greatest R-rated action movie of all time].

Two years later, she got engaged to Romain in August of 2013 after ten months of dating. She said at the time: "I've never been much of a traditional girl, but I do think [being engaged is] a nice period. There's something old-world nostalgic about it."

 

The couple of course went on to have daughter Rose Dorothy in 2014, but as 2017 rolled around, rumors emerged that she and Romain had split in the summer of 2016. Pictures of her at the Women's March without her wedding ring only fueled speculation further. More: Cosmopolitan UK

  

Standing up to The Man at the Women's March on Washington DC (democracynow.org)

When will "polyamory" be considered natural?

What's stopping you? Jail?

Poly means many, and amory means love. In a country of serial monagamists, were we date a lot of people but one at a time, what would it be like to date multiple people at the same time? Ask someone in the 60s and 70s. It's happening all the time, only most of us think or feel that it's cheating. Why? We aren't mature enough to talk about it openly, explain that it's our preference, and be fine with the other person doing it, too. No. You will not. We don't mind doing it, but the other person? Never. So we're hypocrites, clinging, and trying to have it all and have it our way like children. Then when people in Utah become polygamists (many marriages, not to be confused with bigamists, who marry again without telling the new person that they are already married, which is unethical and illegal), we freak out. Admittedly, even though the Christian Bible likes it, polygamy has it's own problems -- all that welfare to support a poor Mormon man's fecundity, the implicit sexist bias, the [add your offense here]. All of this is different than polyamory, the mature and open loving of more than one person. When will we consider it "normal and natural"? When the same people who gave us acceptance of interracial dating, feminism, and gay marriage feel like it. Our society and Western culture is pulled by strings. Movers and shakers, the mainstream media, religious leaders, the Hollywood machine, Washington DC, and the clandestine alphabet agencies -- we think it's our choice, but it's really them not so much telling but "manufacturing our consent." So love whom you want, but don't expect backing from society for awhile. In the Buddha's day, there was polygamy. There still is. Around the world, if you have the money, everyone is fine with it. Well, almost everyone. They don't have to be marriages. Throughout Europe, it's understood. A man will have multiple partners, and there's tacit acceptance of it. You just don't talk about it. There's comfort and things can carry on, hypocritcally, if we just don't talk about it. Ruin the family not for cheating (or molesting, or raping, or being gay, etc.) but for the CRIME of talking about it! How dare you mention it in this family; get out!

"BRAINWASHED" (TV show)

Tom Silver and the Discovery Channel; Seven and Amber Dorrian, Wisdom Quarterly

(DSC.discovery.com/Curiosity) Are we truly in command of our own minds? To find out, a group of leading experts and researchers embark on an audacious experiment to see if ordinary people can be brainwashed and turned into assassins: Such unwitting killers are colloquially called "Manchurian Candidates." Curiosity investigates. Watch on Oct. 28, 9:00 pm (TV-14, 60 mins) and again on Oct. 29, 12:00 am. Wait. Can people really be hypnotized -- but what about against their will?

(Hypnosis Hypnosis)

• AUDIO: Boost kids' math brain power using electroshock?
• Why do some make better brainwash targets than others?
• How does brainwashing work on a person?
• Who is at risk to become an alcoholic?
• Was Patty Hearst brainwashed?
• VIDEO: Cure years of depression in 30 seconds

Emotion Replacement Therapy (ERT)

Practice Radical Forgiveness, here's how

Wisdom Quarterly; RadicalForgiveness.com

Let yourself off the hook. Practice radical forgiveness. The words are easy and almost useless. Forgiveness is a practice. Not something we do once and move on. It is something we do every time limiting feelings of vengeance, victimhood, stuckness, sadness, or blinding rage arise.

Healing starts with recognition but is only complete when we have radically forgiven. There was once a mass murderer who killed more than 1,000 people and made a garland of their fingers. He was set to kill his mother when the Buddha intervened. He then tried his hardest to kill the Buddha.

He is called Angulimala ("finger-garland"), as most Buddhist figures are known by a moniker rather than their actual name.

The Buddha had freed himself of the affliction of nonforgiveness (thoughts of cruelty, revenge, anger). He forgave him and did much more than that: He successfully encouraged others -- the extended families of the victims, the royals, and neighbors -- to forgive him. He made sure the king forgave the murderer.

The Buddha then ordained Angulimala as an contented-ascetic (bhikkhu) and trained him until Angulimala reached what many would have thought impossible: He gained full enlightenment and, by his own efforts to reform himself, was freed from all suffering. This story troubles many who seek "justice" by means of endless cycles of revenge.

"Hatred never ceases by hatred;
by love alone it ceases," the Buddha taught.

When seeking to forgive, we should first pick that person who in all the world is most deserving of our love -- ourselves.

If we can forgive ourselves, we may be able to forgive others. We may even be able to one day begin to think about possibly forgiving Ven. Angulimala. Many of us will not forgive ourselves even though we have judged ourselves of far less than mass murder.

• The Sound of Transformation (Rev. Beckwith on KPFK)
• Join the Peace Corps, find love (theworld.org)
  

3-Minute Meditation Technique

Watch 3 Minute Meditation in Faith & Spirituality  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Stress? Frenzy? Dr. Judith Orloff suggests this simple "meditation." Stop. Take a deep breath (pulling in prana). Place your hand over your heart (activating heart chakra).

This is energy medicine, transforming emotion by this simple technique. The mind goes to a peaceful place as we stand right where we are. In a sense, the technique pulls the calm and levelheadedness we experience when we're calm into the moment when we are not.

It's as simple as that. The reptilian brain (fear, worry, anxiety that thrusts us into a thoughtless, protective, survival-mentality in desperate mode), the linear mind, and our habits have a "normal" way of doing things. They have brought us to stress, worry, and even a frenzy.

The heart, on the other hand, stretches, is flexible, and sees things in new ways. It is like the shaman figure in "The Fall" versus the linear thinkers that lead us to the edge of ruin.

Orloff claims that Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's Nobel Peace Prize laureate and its democratically-elected but deposed leader, wrote her recently stating that she was reading Emotional Freedom using Kindle (eBook reader). Even peace leaders need comfort, Orloff claims. (Hear her interview on The Aware Show).

NEWSFLASH: Our emotional energy literally and measurably affects everything around us, particularly our electronic devices and gadgets (computers, cell phones, iThangs) and energy vampires. Frenzy will lead to frustration with our technology, and it's no coincidence. Patience is transformative and a spiritual practice in itself. We can intuitively know when the time is right.

Emotional Freedom Technique: Wealth

(Cymanicat) Attract as much wealth and abundance as you wish! Society may or may not be fair. But it's still up to you. Tap away limiting beliefs about money. Here's a simple tool to help you get there!

Emotional Freedom Technique: EFT (video)

(Magnus Tapping) Visit tapping.com for more Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) videos, EFT articles, and an e-book. EFT is a simple acupressure technique for releasing negative feelings. If one feels negative feelings in the body, one must go to the body to work on them. EFT is one way to do this. Anyone can release a negative feeling right now with this video. This introductory video explains a little bit about how tapping works and takes one through a first few sessions.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: How hard should I tap?

A: Tap lightly, just so that you feel it. The purpose of the tapping is to bring your attention to different parts of your body. It actually works if you just imagine tapping -- as long as your attention is drawn to the right points.

Q: How can I be sure I am finding the right points?

A: Use two fingers to make sure you cover the points. Sometimes the point will "feel" right, as if there is a slight indent in the skin or the point is particularly sensitive. It's all connected so you don't have to be 100% accurate.

Q: You have missed out points that Gary Craig teaches!

A: Yes. Feel free to tap those too. I left them out to keep the video simple, and it seems to work fine without them. If you find the video doesn't work for you, try tapping the additional points: around the top-middle of the head and just under the armpit.

Q: Is the sequence important?

A: No. You can tap the points in any order. In fact, you only need to tap one or two of the points for each particular feeling. It's just you have no easy way to know which point, so you might as well tap them all.

Negative Feelings: Solution

Tapping.com

The "Emotional Freedom Technique" (EFT) is a simple acupressure technique for releasing negative feelings.

Negative feelings are felt in the body, so one must go to the body to work on or through them.

Negative feelings can be released right now with this video. Tapping can be used to easily clear the chakras (energy centers in the body). This is a very fast, reliable, and easy-to-learn method for clearing chakras inspired by Nicola Quinn.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: How hard should I tap?
A: Tap lightly, just enough to feel it. The purpose of tapping is to bring attention to different parts of the body. It actually works if one just imagines tapping -- as long as attention is drawn to the right points.

Q: How can I be sure I am finding the right points?
A: Use two fingers to make sure the points are covered. Sometimes the point will "feel" right, as if there were a slight indentation on the skin or the point is particularly sensitive. Since it's all connected, one needn't be 100% accurate.

Q: You've missed points Gary Craig teaches!
A: Yes. Feel free to tap those too. I left them out to keep the videos simple, and it seems to work fine without them. If you find this video doesn't work for you, try tapping the additional points -- around the top-middle of the head and just under the armpit.

Q: Is the sequence important?
A: No. The points can be tapped in any order. In fact, one need only tap one or two of the points for each particular feeling. It's just that one has no easy way of knowing which point that is. So one may as well tap them all.

Q: I am a skeptic! / You are a charlatan!
A: Thanks. Tapping is perfectly explainable scientifically. But it goes beyond most people's understanding. It really does work though. The best way to prove it to yourself is to try it and watch negative feelings disappear.

• For more information, see introductory video which explains a bit more.
• This video shows use of an electro-acupuncture pen to show that the tapping points have a different electrical resistance to other parts of the body.
• See Tapping.com for more Emotional Freedom Technique videos, EFT articles, and E-Book.

Job woes getting you down? See the Unemploymentality.com blog.