don't buy in |
ContentsIslamic WisdomFrom the Qur'anFrom the Prophet MuhammadFrom the poet RumiBuddhist WisdomThe Story of 2 Brothers and 100 Yaks The Fifth Mindfulness Training
LinksrevbillyCenter for a New American Dream By Michael Niman: TV Turn-off Week: Kicking the TV Habit By Charlie Keil: |
This site is meant to be part of a web of wisdom that will inspire people to slow up, think it over, take it easy, and, whenever possible, make the decision for less, for simplicity, for small, for sustainable, for an ecologically balanced planet. Don't buy in, don't reach for your money or credit card, just stop shopping. Think about the freebees and the three b's –bartering, borrowing, begging. Think about more "being," and less "having." As the slogan at one of the sites we link to has it: "more fun, less stuff." We'll be adding a story, a piece of wisdom, a poem, an inspirational message, a short book review, every few weeks to back up the more strategic, tactical, and practical anti-consumerist sites that we point to with a link.
|
Islamic WisdomFrom the Qur'an: Piety does not lie in turning your face to the East or the West. Piety comes from belief in Allah, the Last Day and the Angels, the Scriptures and the Prophets, and from giving away your wealth, out of love for Allah, among your kin and the orphans, the wayfarers and mendicants, freeing those who are enslaved, observing your devotional obligations, and in paying alms and fulfilling the pledges you have given, and being patient in hardship, adversity, and times of peril. These are the ones who affirm the truth, and they are those who follow the straight path. From the Prophet Muhammad: Two kinds of desirous people can never be satisfied, the seekers of knowledge and the seekers of worldly possessions. But while the seekers of knowledge receive the pleasures of Allah, the seekers of worldly possessions delve deeply into tyranny. From the poet Rumi: A certain man had forty silver coins. He would take one a day and throw it into the ditchwater. He was trying to teach his worldly soul how to give up greed. "Give it up all at once," cried his worldly soul, "so I can go into despair and be delivered from this trial." "No," said the man, "Deliberation is my way." Then your only food becomes Divine Love. |
|
The Story of 2 Brothers and 100 YaksThere is a story in Tibet cocnerning two brothers, one of whom had ninety-nine yaks while the other had only one yak. The poor brother was quite content with his one yak. He was quite happy and thought he had great wealth. He had one yak and that was really all he needed. It was quite sufficient and he wasn't particularly afraid of losing it. In fact his enjoyment of owning it was greater than his fear of losing it, whereas the other one was always very afraid of losing his yaks. He had always to look after them, and generally you find in the highlands of Tibet that there are a lot of wolves and Himalayan mountain bears, and the yaks quite often die through the hardships of winter. There are far more obstacles there than in this part of the world when it comes to looking after animals. So one day the rich brother thought, "Well, I think I'll ask my brother a favor." You see, he was not only afraid of losing his yaks, he was also very keen on accumulating more of them. And he went to the other brother and said, "Well, I know you have only one yak, which doesn't make much difference to you. So if you didn't have one at all it wouldn't really matter very much. But if you give me your yak then I will have a hundred yaks, which means a great deal to me. I mean a hundred yaks is really something. If I had that much I would really be somebody rich and famous." So he asked the favor. And the other brother gave up the yak quite easily. He didn't hesitate; he just gave it. And this story became proverbial in Tibet to illustrate that when someone has a lot he wants more, and when someone has less he is prepared to give. So there is this possessiveness, this psychological hunger. And this relates not only to money and wealth but to the deep-seated feeling of wanting to possess, wanting to hold on to things, wanting things definitely to belong to you. For example, supposing you are window shopping. One person might be unhappy all the time, and when he sees things he likes, this always produces a kind of pain in his mind because he is thinking, "If only I had the money, I could buy that!" So all the time he is walking through the shops this hunger produces great pain. Whereas another person may enjoy merely looking. So this wanting to own, wanting to possess and not being prepared to give out, is not really a weakness for any particular thing. It is more generally wanting to occupy oneself with something, and if you have lost or lose interest in that particular thing, then you always want to substitute something else in its place. It isn't particularly that you can't manage without a motor car or central heating or whatever it may be. There is always something behind that, something fundamental, a kind of wanting to possess, wanting to own, which is always changing and developing and substituting one thing for another. So that is the real weakness - though not exactly weakness, but more a kind of habit that one tends to form through a neurotic process of thoughts. The whole thing boils down to this overlapping of thoughts which goes on all the time in our minds. We never allow anything to really happen or take place in our mind. One thought comes and almost before we finish that another one comes in and overlaps it and then another. So we never allow any gap which would permit us to be free and really digest things. Therefore it becomes a continual demand, a continual process of creating and wanting to own. And that is why one has to develop this generosity of really opening oneself. pages 72-75
Meditation in Action |
|
The Fifth Mindfulness TrainingAware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I am committed to cultivating good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking, and consuming. I will ingest only items that preserve peace, well-being, and joy in my body, in my consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my family and society. I am determined not to use alcohol or any other intoxicant or to ingest foods or other items that contain toxins, such as certain TV programs, magazines, books, films, and conversations. I am aware that to damage my body or my consciousness with these poisons is to betray my ancestors, my parents, my society, and future generations. I will work to transform violence, fear, anger, and confusion in myself and in society by practicing a diet for myself and for society. I understand that a proper diet is crucial for self-transformation and for the transformation of society. This is the fifth of the Five Mindfulness Trainings. Have you made an effort to study and practice it during the past two weeks? This is from the "Five Mindfulness Trainings Recitiation Ceremony" as led by Thich Nhat Hanh during his annual visits to the USA from his base in Plum Village, France. The first four Mindfullness Trainings also have much to offer as guides to study and practices for sustainability. |