This is a continuation of the Buddhism and Wealth article.
Dadadee from Hardwarezone forum: Money Mind has shared some his insights and this is part 3 of his article.
9. Do not say untruthful things for the sake of personal interest or to impress people. Do not utter words that cause division and hatred. Do not spread news that you do not know to be certain. Do not criticize or condemn things of which you are not sure. Always speak truthfully and constructively. Have the courage to speak out about situations of injustice, even when doing so may threaten your own safety.
To many people, that which comes out of the mouth appears to be trivial. They do not see the harm that can be done by gossiping about their colleagues or passing on rumours about the neighbours. Indeed, there is a maxim that summarises this kind of thinking that goes like this - "Sticks and stones can break my bones but words shall do me no harm".
This maxim trivialises the amount of harm that seemingly simple words and statements can cause in the long run. I would like to quote a paragraph or two from one of my earlier posts in HWZ regarding karma.
"Every single thought that we produce in our minds and every single action that we do produces a chain of consequences. This chain is extremely long; in fact, it is infinite. Imagine a sequence of domino tiles stacked standing next to one another. When you push the first tile such that it falls onto the second, you start a chain reaction in which the second pushes on the third, the third on the fourth and so on and so forth. The first tile therefore is linked to the last tile in the sequence because it indirectly led to the latter's fall.
The tiles in the above illustration can be likened to the events that take place in our lives. Each event, as it unfolds, leads to other events which in turn lead to more events. The first event (let's call this Event X) in the scope of our consideration is a result of many other events that happened before it. It became reality because of other events. Therefore as you trace the events leading from Event X and the events leading to Event X, you will realise that the resultant web of connections between events become exponentially complex. If we were able to see the links between events precisely, we would probably be overwhelmed by the mass of details within just one or two levels of tracing either way."
Thus, a simple word of anger or a statement of deceit goes towards the pushing the tiles of cause and effect. As they move down the net, they grows exponentially and correspondingly, the amount of damage and harm it can do swells in size as well. That is only negative aspect of what may happen. That works to discourage us from indulging in falsehood and deceit. The positive aspect follows in that a word of genuine praise and a statement of truth can grow just as fast as they move from person to person. With the exponential growth, many beings of this world would be able to benefit from the kindness and love that you have passed to just a small group of people in your daily living.
In building wealth, the same principles apply. In our professional work, we interact with a certain number of people - our customers, our vendors, our partners. Each that we work with has the opportunity to benefit or be harmed by us. When we make the choice of spreading rumours or deceit, we bear the responsibility of the damage that arises when our immediate contacts unknowingly or knowingly continue the chain of negativity. How do we overcome this? The first step is to be aware and acknowledge that we tend to trivialise the harm that gossip or rumours can do. The second step is to cut down on these form of behaviour even if we think that a half-truth or some light gossip is harmless (for entertainment purpose). The third is to actively provide positive energy into the chain of cause and effect i.e. actively speaking the truth.
Speaking the truth does not mean that you go around telling people that they are fat or that they are ugly. On the contrary, speaking the truth means that you work on the basis of honesty but you close the loop by explaining how the person you are telling the truth to can benefit from that revelation, and even to the extent of helping the person overcome whatever was keeping him or her from accepting the truth. The underlying intention should always be benign and positive.
10. Do not use the Buddhist community for personal gain or profit, or transform your community into a political party.
A religious community, however, should take a clear stand against oppression and injustice and should strive to change the situation without engaging in partisan conflicts. In any group of people, it is always possible that politics will arise and specific individuals who harbour ill intentions may twist the essence of the community into a politic-based one. Thus, even in a Buddhist community, it is not surprising to see cases of individuals who end up in disputes with one another over how certain events may be run or how certain projects should be conducted. As a member of the community, it is crucial that one keeps a look-out for the roots of such occurrences and actively help to avert such conflicts through guidance and teachings. At the same time, it is imporatant to recognise that violence does not resolve problems but adds to them. For example, the protesting against the Beijing Olympics by the Tibetans may have started off with the right spirit in condemning oppression and injustice but the politics that came into the groups turned the whole situation into a bloodbath. Violence begets violence.
Likewise the community that you are part of in the course of wealth-building can become victim to such political play. As a member, it is crucial that one does his utmost to prevent politicisation of group activities so that the focus can remain on building wealth and its related activities. The group that fails to live by this guideline will eventually lose focus and degenerate into a political arena which does not bode well in terms of wealth-building for its members.
Politics is a tool. It can be good or it can be used for evil. The human ego creates temptations based on the power and status that politics can bestow on an individual. Without spiritual cultivation, many will succumb to the evils the politics can bring about. It is not a matter of if but when.
11. Do not live with a vocation that is harmful to humans and nature. Do not invest in companies that deprive others of their chance to live. Select a vocation that helps realise your ideal of compassion.
Human nature is weak. Greed, sloth, lust, gluttony, wrath, envy and pride are but some of the many vices that are present in varying degrees in each and every one of us. Any thought or action that has its basis on the above is bound to generate bad karma for the person who does it as well as the entire universe. The danger comes when excuses are depended upon to field activities that are based on these vices in order to make them palatable to people. For example, one may try to convince himself that ogling at pretty girls is harmless because he does not touch them. However, he fails to understand that if his intentions of doing so are grown out of the vice of lust, then his actions are not harmless. For one, it changes the way he perceives women. Another reason is that it demeans women in the eyes of others who witness the act. The temptation to engage in vice-related activities is strong when the duration of the activities is short. However short they may be, it does not mean that there is no harm propagated by his negative thoughts and actions.
Vice-related commercial activities appear to generate the most revenue. Casinos (greed), prostitution (lust), fine dining (gluttony), advertising (envy), etc are some of the fastest growing commercial sectors. The reason is simple. Human nature leads individuals to indulge in their vices. They derive short-term pleasure from these activities. In a world that is built on the premise of enjoyment and pleasure, more and more people are finding it difficult to fight temptation. Firstly, they would question themselves why they need to keep clear of vices when others around them are not. Secondly, by sheer numbers, these commercial players overwhelm the tiny amount of resistance that the individual has. Lastly, people no longer believe that they can be punished for bad behaviour other than by law and legislation.
The reduced amount of awareness that individuals have as consumers, specifically pertaining to how they are affecting the rest of the world (or even the universe to a certain extent) means that they are in a downward spiral towards vice-based consumption. Accordingly, commercial entities whose businesses revolve about catering to these consumers thrive even as more get sucked into it. As a wealth builder, it is crucial to recognise the dangers of deriving wealth directly or indirectly from such activities. While the money may come easily, the damage it does to you as a person is also great. Those who live by the sword die by the sword (though not literally in most cases but you get the idea).
Part 1 here
Part 2 here
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