The Spectrum Of Greed

This is the first of three talks about the felt experience of what it’s like for us when we are in these energies in our body that quite often pull us around unless we are really attuning to them. They are called the three poisons or fires and at their extremes, they really burn everything down but there are variations, all these the little fires that are on the spectrum of greed. When we can see and start to understand the whole spectrum of greed, then maybe we can transform it in ourselves.

Transcript

So we just finished a series of talks on the Four Noble Truths and how stress, Our internal suffering or contraction, Directly relates to how we hold on or cling to what we want and what we don't want. How not really paying attention to these movements of wanting and not wanting have a life of their own and literally will lead us to the experience of dissatisfaction when we're not attuned to them. It's a little bit of a counterintuitive movement to attune to them because most of our culture holds the belief that if only I get this shiny new object or have this epic experience, Then I will be forever satisfied. Then I will be at ease. Things will provide lasting happiness. This experience will provide me with lasting happiness. This is the cultural belief, What's advertised and sold to us. So today I'd like to talk with you about kind of the felt sense of what that's like, What that's like to be constantly seeking for experiences, Constantly looking for that lasting happiness. You know, What's it like when we are in these fires of clinging, The energies in our body that can quite often just pull us until we really attune to them. Thich Nhat Hanh said, Once there is seeing, There must be acting. Otherwise, What's the use of seeing? And in our last classes, I likened the seeing of the four noble truths with the forces of the four elements and clinging. The second truth is a fire element. It's an energy when you think about fire that can spread really easily. And it can also be extinguished when we remember to enter the water element, The stream of our practice. And we can feel that fire burning within us, That wanting, That not wanting. It's a felt sense in the body. And maybe it doesn't occur for you as heat, Although that's certainly how I experience it. It can also feel like a contraction or a tightness. With wanting, There can be an urgency or an impatience. And these fires, As they're known in the Buddhist teaching, Are the fires of greed and aversion and delusion. And they're said to be the root causes that need to be addressed to end the stress and suffering that we have in our own hearts and in our own minds and in the world. And they're also called the three poisons. And that framing suggests that they're really pretty negative and afflictive, Right? And at their extremes, They are. But as we kind of looked at a little bit last week, This is the middle path. So let's look at the variations. What I'd like to do is to look at the variations of these afflictive and negative experiences within us. For many, Many people, These forces of greed and aversion and delusion look more like operating behaviors. So the term greed at its extreme can be really dangerous and destructive, As we have seen, Like on the world stage. But as we move towards the middle path, We can also see that greed is on the spectrum. The impact of our wanting and the impact of our desire for pleasure, That leaves an imprint. And these are all the little fires that are on the spectrum of greed. So when we can start to see and understand the whole spectrum, Then maybe we can transform small pieces of these fires in ourselves so that we don't end up in this clinging, Grasping, Greedy place in our bodies and minds. So for a little clarification, Greed refers to our selfishness. And this is where we'll start today. Our misplaced desire, Our attachment, Grasping for happiness outside of ourselves. Hatred refers to our anger, Our aversion. And it can be just aversion towards unpleasant people and circumstances, Our own uncomfortable feelings. And delusion refers to kind of dullness, Putting our head in the sand, Confusion, Kind of our misperception or wrong view of reality. And just to point out that even though we're all in this same place, We're all in the same place. We're all in the same place. And just to point out that each of these forces are on a spectrum. So when I hear greed, The framing often lands as, Wow, Bad, Wrong. And sort of the position in my body and mind is that I'm not greedy. I got that. I'm not greedy. But yet we all have wanting every day. So there's a desire to meet the day without pain in my body. That would be nice. And to the extent that I do, I'm satisfied. And this is a pretty wholesome wanting. And I can actually take action so that that desire can actually be fulfilled. I can get up and stretch and support my aging body with wise effort. Wholesome desire. This is what that looks like. But if I wake up in the morning and I want a gold toilet in my bathroom, Is that wholesome? Is that a wholesome wanting? The resources alone to make that desire happen have suffering embedded into it. Last summer, I talked a little bit about the institutionalized greed. That is really our economic system. That's institutionalized greed. There was an article just last week about increasing the debt ceiling in the United States. Like that seems a little problematic and stressful to me. That relationship to greed and suffering is really clear in my mind, In my view. The Buddhist teacher and scholar David Loy, He wrote this, And it really speaks to our institutionalized greed. Corporations are never profitable enough and people never consume enough. To increase profits, We must be conditioned through advertising into finding meaning in our lives through buying and consuming. So where is that description on the spectrum of suffering? I would assert that really supports the golden toilet. So the Buddha said that there's a direct connection to our greed, To our wanting, And our suffering. So let's start to pay greater attention to that in our own life. What are you wanting in your life that leans into this territory of strong desire, Even greediness, Or compulsion? And the invitation is just to see it, Or to write it down, Or to speak it out loud, Openly. A wise understanding that all of us have greed is ultimately positive and empowering. We've got to make peace with the greed in our heart and our mind. And peace is not only the goal, But it's the way. You know, We must be the peace that we want to create. Just meet it peacefully. One of the, An antidote, I suppose, To overcome greed is we learn to cultivate generosity and contentment. I know for myself, When I experience having enough, Not needing anything, When contentment is my primary experience, What arises isn't what would make it better, But how can I share? How can I serve from this place of abundance? So as we explore the spectrum of greed in our hearts, In our minds, In our conversations, Begin by tuning into the felt sense of it, The pull, Like the fire, The pain of it, The drive of it. You may see the spectrum of suffering increasing, And then ultimately decreasing as you begin to experience the seeing of it, And the associated problems with holding on, An attachment that arises when we mistakenly believe and act from that this thing, This experience is the source of our happiness. When we mistakenly believe that our happiness is outside of ourselves. So I offer this reflection for your consideration. And I also invite you to share what is true for you in the spectrum of greed and wanting. What it's like when there is strong desire in your body, Like the actual feeling tone of it.