Collective Greed

This next series of talks we're exploring our connection and relationship with the natural world but from the Buddhist perspective, the harm that we are seeing to our natural world is a direct result from the greed, hatred and delusion that reside in our own hearts. That these, are the root causes that need to be addressed to end the destructive impact humans have on the environment. Greed refers to our selfishness and this is where we will start today. Our misplaced desire and attachments.

Transcript

So, In these next weeks we are not only exploring our connection and relationship with the natural world, So I'll keep asking throughout these weeks if people would like to share their relationship through the letter to the Earth. But, You know, From the Buddhist perspective we're looking at the harm that we are seeing in our natural world and from that perspective the harm that we see is a direct result from greed, Hatred and delusion that reside in our own hearts and that these are the root causes that need to be addressed to end the destructive impacts humans have on their environment. So these are called the three poisons, Greed, Hatred and delusion or the three fires and the framing suggests that they're pretty negative and afflictive. So I'm going to attempt to reframe them a little bit and just to say that my stretching may have, I think that some Buddhist scholars would agree, Disagree with my stretching here, My thinking around this. But I really want to de-vilify greed, Hatred and delusion. They're more like operating behaviors for most human beings and although they can be dangerously destructive, When we understand them we can transform them in ourselves. So greed refers to our selfishness and this is where we'll start today. Our misplaced desire, Our attachments and grasping for happiness outside of ourselves. Hatred refers to our anger, Our aversion towards unpleasant people or unpleasant circumstances, Our own uncomfortable feelings and delusion it refers to our dullness or confusion or our misperception or views of reality, Our kind of wrong view of reality. And these three are deeply conditioned in our personalities and our behavior is habitually influenced by them. So these are, You know, These three they also operate collectively and institutionally. So our economic system is institutionalized greed. And the Buddhist teacher and scholar David Loy, He wrote this about our institutionalized greed. He says, Corporations are never profitable enough and people never consume enough. To increase profits we must be conditioned into finding the meaning of our lives in buying and consuming. We must find conditioned, We must be conditioned in finding meaning in our lives through buying and consuming. Think about that for a moment. Think about our spending habits. I think we're pretty well conditioned in finding meaning through that next experience or that next pair of tennis shoes. So the environment and the quality of our life have become subordinate to this demand for more and more profit and growth which is a goal that can never be satisfied. And so who's responsible for the pressure of this growth? The system, This is where it becomes institutionalized, Has attained a life of its own. So we're all participating in this process of institutionalized greed as employers and workers and consumers and investors and pensioners with very little if any personal sense of moral responsibility for what happens. So this is how greed has been completely institutionalized. That's why the framing of a poison doesn't seem accurate. It's a habit now. It's a conditioned response. It's our internal pollution, Let's say. And realizing the nature of how greed has been institutionalized is just as important as any personal realization we might have as a result of our practice, Of our meditation practice. One could argue that any individual awakening that we may have on our meditation cushion remains incomplete until we increase, Until it's sort of increased by our social awakening, By this awakening to institutionalized greed. So what does Buddhism have to say about this solution to this individual and institutionalized greed? Well, That's tricky. I don't think that Buddhism has the answers to these questions, Nor do I suspect anybody else does. Yet, Buddhist principles can contribute to developing a solution. The solutions can't be found. They actually have to be worked out together. And it's challenging, But it's not impossible. The basis of Buddhist social engagement, Which is what I'm talking about and what I'm interested in, Is the need to work on ourselves as well as our social systems. So if we have not begun to transform our own greed, Or at least look at it, Our efforts to address the institutionalized forms are likely to be useless. If I don't work with the greed inside of myself, It's very likely that I'll be inclined to take advantage of situations that serve my own interest. That's just how it goes. And although this teaching, You know, It appears to be maybe negative or unpleasant, A wise understanding of greed is ultimately positive and empowering. We've got to make peace with the greed in our own hearts and minds. Peace is not the goal so much as it's the way. You know, We ourselves must be the peace we want to create. It's just like Gandhi said. The antidote to overcoming greed is we learn to cultivate generosity and contentment. You know, If we're really experiencing a strong desire or greed in the body and mind, We can think about the impermanence of the object of our desire. Changing, Not lasting. We can practice giving away those things that we'd most like to hold on to. We can practice selfless service, Offering care and assistance to others in any way we can. The problems associated with greed and attachment only arise when we mistakenly believe and act as if the source of our happiness is outside of ourselves. So thank you for your kind attention this morning.

Reviews

Thank you, Lisa, for this first in your series on the three poisons, or defilements. Appreciate your short talks in my busy life. 🙏☸️