Wealth & Consciousness Are Compatible?

[Thought Art]

@Eskilon He did return to his family though?

Regardless, there is nothing in his teachings that is anti-wealth. 

[Eskilon]

7 minutes ago, Thought Art said:

He did return to his family though?

He returned briefly to share his teaching but did not resume family life and obligations.

 

7 minutes ago, Thought Art said:

Regardless, there is nothing in his teachings that is anti-wealth. 

I didnt say that. But Buddha is not for seeking wealth either because that is greed and causes suffering, which makes awakening more difficult.

[Lyubov]

14 hours ago, How to be wise said:

Again I fully understand your argument and it makes sense but there's no denying that if we focus on the illusiory world we will not be aware of its state of illusion. I haven't figured out how to live fully in the world and at the same time be aware that it is pure illusion and it is not real at all.

You can choose what words you wish to place on reality. You call it illusory, which sounds like you're almost downplaying what you have here. I call it a gift, a miracle and a mystery. I'm not losing sight of anything here nor unaware of anything I should be in this moment. You are deceiving yourself by trying to place these words on reality and rationalizing through your beliefs that now you don't need to make an effort because you believe this or that about reality. One thing we can agree on is that you are here now, you are experiencing your life now, and it requires your utmost attention. 

[Thought Art]

@Eskilon I think the Buddha actually has teachings on how to use wealth and how to get it in the proper ways. 
 

A lot of us only have a shallow grasp of this teachings which are pretty comprehensive. 
 

There is a pop understanding of Buddhism, which is like the myth of Buddhism I think. 

[Elliott]

The 'altruistic' millionaire Bernie Sanders has three homes. Buddha wouldn't own a casino? Lol

 

Edited 4 hours ago by Elliott

[Eskilon]

@Thought Art Buddha was probably not against anything really.

If you would come to him and said " I want to kill somebody" he wouldnt stop you, but would look at you with compassion. Everyone has its demons that need to be conquered -- thats why he would give different answers to the question "Does god exist?" he wouldnt always say yes like Leo does, he would consider the subjectivity of the person asking. The path is highly custom.

But stil, if you are a serious seeker eventually you need to drop wealth seeking, the question is only how long will it take to get there.

Theres a reason that almost no wealthy person is enlightened, it is in the end, a big distraction for most people.

Edited 4 hours ago by Eskilon

[Thought Art]

@Eskilon There is almost no people in general who are enlightened. 
 

You are side stepping my point about Buddha’s view on wealth with a general platitude. Be careful there. 
 

Wealth seeking perhaps is an important stage of life to build the foundation of freedom for spiritual pursuits. 
 

Most humans will not truthfully pursue enlightenment. 
 

Truth is, most poor people are doomed to constant stress, survival and craving and have 0 chance of deep spiritual progress. 
 

Wealth is key in modern age to truly become spiritually developed. 
 

The trick with Buddhism is how you are using your mind to create suffering. Wealth doesn’t inherently stop one from enlightenment. But, wealth seeking as an attitude can be toxic. 

Edited 4 hours ago by Thought Art

[Thought Art]

The Buddha clearly teaches non-violence. But, does not teach non-wealth. He teaches non-attachment. But, not poverty. 

[Harikrishnan]

misers do not reach the heavenly worlds, and fools do not praise generosity, but wise people rejoice in giving and are happy in the hereafter. 
dharmapada 177

do anyone know story behind this verse? Why buddha said this verse. Its a interesting story. 
 King of khosala Pasanedi was going to give 14crore gold coins to buddha and his monks. But kala his minister knowing absurdity in giving this much wealth intervened and asked monks to go sleep if they had good meal. Buddha came to know this and disliked what kala said, so at that day noon buddha didn’t talk much and started walking back. Seeing Buddha displeased and walking back King went and inquired why? Knowing Buddha displeasure with what kala said, he was removed from job. 

Edited 3 hours ago by Harikrishnan

[Eskilon]

@Thought Art I agree with you. But to say Buddha in this day would be a millionaire is a stretch. He is known precisely because he rejected wealth, didnt come back to it, and got enlightened.

Leo is just projecting his path in his answer I feel.

Edited 4 hours ago by Eskilon

[Thought Art]

@Eskilon That is not why he is known. 
 

Study the Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching that Thich-Hat- Nanh. 
 

Buddha actually contributed a teaching and system for transcending suffering and living a good life. It’s a powerful system. But, it in truth does not promote poverty as a core tenant. 
 

Many people choose to be poor as part of an ascetic spiritual path. Many misunderstand Buddha and choose to be poor. But, it’s not the focus on why Buddha is known. 

Edited 3 hours ago by Thought Art

[How to be wise]

49 minutes ago, Lyubov said:

I'm not losing sight of anything here … it requires your utmost attention. 

In other words, you choose to get sucked into Maya.

This is where we part ways. I absolutely prefer to stay conscious of the non-existence of this world. 

[Eskilon]

@Thought Art It is. You could say it was because he build the framework of the eightfold path. But essentialy it was because he was not corrupt by wealth or any other human afliction for that matter.

[Thought Art]

@Eskilon It was the value he contributed to others. 
 

He ultimately did not teach poverty. 
 

How he positioned himself was key to his work. He was also an extraordinary individual. He focused on his work and his teachings. His wealth came from being a prince. But, as a prince he could not pursue his work. At his time he could not build wealth while also pursuing truth and awakening. 
 

We live in an age where you can develop wealth, and you can then go about your spiritual pursuits. This possibility is there for modern humans. 
 

How Leo positioned himself is key to his work. Leo is wealthy I think, and he does not pursue wealth but consciousness and understanding. 
 

The trick is not letting it corrupt you.

This is my opinion. I respect different approaches. There is no one path, so do as you see fittest. 
 

A key difference is the teachings he gave to his monks- Acetic poverty and house holders - healthy relationship to wealth. 
 

A monk is like a little Buddha clone. They are designed and programmed to access his awakening and to preserve his teaching. Again, there was no written language back then and therefore a monk is like a form of spiritual technology. They also continued to evolve and contribute to the body of work by being full time. 
 

But, I think most of us here are considered householders. We can build wealth and manage it well is taught by Buddha. 
 

Being wealthy is spiritual. Poverty, is not required. 

Edited 3 hours ago by Thought Art

[UnbornTao]

2 hours ago, Thought Art said:

@Leo Gura Buddha was a millionaire king. 

Not sure he was a millionare, but the point of that story is that he gave it up.

[Thought Art]

@UnbornTao Well, he was a prince. I was wrong about a couple things. He lived in poverty by choice for 45 years after

[UnbornTao]

Just now, Thought Art said:

@UnbornTao Well, he was a prince. I was wrong about a couple things. He lived in poverty by choice for 45 years after

Sure, thank you. I just wanted to mention that detail.

[Thought Art]

@UnbornTao Yeah I thought he layered returned but then recalled he did, but not to his roles. 
 

However, it remains that he did have teachings for house holders. He didn’t have an illusion of a whole world of monks. 

[VioleGrace]

10 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

No. Be careful!

Nothing I said contradicts the power of that course. The course is even more powerful than you imagine. But it will not change your personality. It will not turn you into a kangaroo.

By the way @Leo Gura When are you realeasing that course ? Any news or (realistic ) estimation  ? 

 

[Leo Gura]

1 hour ago, UnbornTao said:

Not sure he was a millionare, but the point of that story is that he gave it up.

I am saying his teachings would earn him millions.

You guys are so dense. Arguing with me over silly things.

If today the Buddha was as popular as he was in his day, he would make millions. And this is a good thing because it means he is useful to others, it means his teachings are popular.

Look at Eckhart Tolle. That is a modern Buddha. Net worth: $30 million. Does that mean he's some greedy fuck? No. It just means his books sell well.

Edited 1 hour ago by Leo Gura