Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte, and#8220;The Show of Wealth,and#8221; is an excerpt from the talk and#8220;Padmasambhava and the King of Tibetand#8221; another tour-de-force from Vajratara. Looking to approach the great figure of Padmasambhava and#8211; the and#8216;Second Buddhaand#8217; and#8211; through his famous meeting with the King of Tibet. As ever, a provocative, fully engaged and fully engaging take on the Dharma and the challenges that face us on the Path.
Talk given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre, 2007
[music] Dharma Bites is brought to you by Free Buddhist Audio, the Dharma for your life. Our work is funded entirely by donations from our generous listeners. If you would like to help us keep this free, make a contribution at freebuddhistaudio.com/donate. Thank you, and happy listening. [music] So the last thing is this show of wealth. The turquoise is the coral ornaments, the gold, the silken tents. That show of wealth, which in a way I think is a really key thing for us. We make a bear sense to money. We make a bear sense to money because we think we can buy our way into security and we can buy our own happiness. So a lot of what we do in our life is motivated by how much money we can get out of it, how much money we can save by doing it. And in a way, again, there's nothing wrong with money in itself. Money in itself is neutral. But it's this constant pandering to the financial situation all the time. Every choice that we make involves how much money it's going to cost. And it's a king. The money is a king to us. It rules us. It rules our everyday behavior. And in a way, that's the way it's going to be because it's a capitalist economy. And in a capitalist economy, things are only worth doing if they're profitable. So we think that we can buy security. We can buy our way out of dukkha. We can buy our way out of dukkha. We can have big cars or bigger houses or bigger television sets, better mobile phones, smaller mobile phones, mobile phones with your cameras and whatever you have on your mobile phone. We can buy our way out of suffering with a holiday and a sun. But, you know, okay, well, let's go back and look at all this. You can't rely on possessions. You can't rely on money because they're not permanent. You can think that you've amassed enough. But actually, it can fall through your fingers. It can fall through your fingers through inflation. Your house price can suddenly drop. Your pension plan can just fall through just like that. It doesn't take a lot actually for that money to disappear. You rely on possessions and they break. You get that beautiful big car. And it breaks down and costs you a lot of money to fix. You get that great house and you find out it's got rising damp. So you can't rely on the permanency of material possessions and money, having money. But also, it doesn't really do it for us money. Because in a way, well, what is it? It's just a figure. It's just a number on your bank sheet. Or it's just a thing. And we tend to get very bored with things actually. They do it for us for a while. But then, what was really in fashion and really groovy to get the best mobile phone of one year is not the best mobile phone of the next year. So there's constantly a movement in technology. Constantly a movement of thinking we could get better and better. Stuff, really. And actually, what we find out is we need a lot less than we think we do. Actually, a lot of that stuff that we think is buying us out of Dooka isn't really. It's not really up to much. You find our happiest moments have got nothing to do with money. We don't need it all. We don't even need the TV and the video and the DVD player. Some people, myself included, my happiest times are on retreat. There's no TV there. And I've got to wash all my clothes by hand. And I usually take a very small suitcase with only a few clothes. So actually, it doesn't really do it for us money. And I was thinking about tractiveness. Okay, well, what are the archetypes of wealth and money? The archetype of going for refuge to money, I think, is Scrooge. So going for refuge to money is a bit like your old miser sitting there on Christmas Day counting your money. It's not particularly attractive. It's not particularly what I want to be when I grow up. And what's the archetype of possessions and wealth? Well, posh and bex comes mind. That's here. They've got quite a lot of money, actually. And quite a big house and quite a lot of dresses. Both posh and bex. Yeah, it's not going to do it for us. It's very, very limited. As for refuge, well, I know what Padma Samma would have to say. I am Vadratara the beggar. Mine are the teachings of renunciation. I live hands to mouth. I am Vadratara the queen. Mine are the teachings of spiritual abundance. I live enriched with the Dharma. I am Vadratara the lover. Mine are the teachings of energy. I live in raptured, obsessed, intoxicated with the Dharma. I am Vadratara the old hag. Mine are the teachings of contentment. I see beauty in friendship, not in clubs and short skirts. I am Vadratara the old man. Mine are the teachings of simplicity. I don't hanker after an exciting life. I am Vadratara the emperor. Mine are the teachings of Buddha pride. I hold the crown and scepter of the lineage of the Buddhas of all space and time. And you, king of money, king of pieces of low quality paper, anxiety and craving surround you, you rely on the greed of pandering fools. You stand haughty and high, thinking you are the ruler of all men and women, thinking that they would do anything you ask of them. But I, Saya, will not bow down before you. And yet, in accordance with the rules of society, I have to earn and spend you. But I will only do that for the good of my true rulers, the three jewels. We hope you enjoyed today's Dharma Bite. Please help us keep this screen. Make a contribution at freebuddhistaudio.com/donate. And thank you. [music fades out] [music fades out] [music fades out] [ Silence ]
