Below are the quotes from each of the world's common religions themselves about possessions & money (not listed in any order of superiority). Actually, it isn't really just about possessions & money, it's about the deepest heart of all that we value, the deepest heart of all humanity. Do they all agree? Judge for yourself.
The Root of All
Like a brambly tree, its branches seem contradictory & chaotic. But when you follow any of these branches down low,
low, low, to the trunk, to the ground, to simplicity, you find the Root. Then you find that all the branches are One.
Do you Practice Your Own Religion?
If you don't see all religions as one, is it a sign that you don't practice the Foundation of Simplicity that your own religion teaches? When all possessions are given up, in other words, when all humility is taken on, then all things, physical & spiritual & intellectual, become Common. And, at this point of no-possession, like the Book of Mormon states, there are no more isms or ites or property, and, like the Buddhist sutras state, no more self and other.
Totally Radical
Radical means "of the Root." If you're afraid to get radical, you're not worthy of your own religion. Humble means "of the soil." You can't get to the Root unless you get humble. You have to give up everything. You have to bow your head to the ground, to the soil.
Every Religion, Every Philosophy, is a Witness
But the majority of religious folks think their own religion the only true religion. Seems ridiculous. But is it? This tribal mentality, Ego, is also an intriguing part of nature. This mentality has kept the witnesses separated. Separation, unity, separation, unity. This is the perpetual Law of all the universe. You can't know the truth in a court of law if you don't keep the witnesses separated. And you can't know the truth if they don't eventually come together. But it all must happen at its proper time, or it won't work.
Now is the time when the witnesses can no longer isolate themselves. Now is the time when we compare the testimonies of the world's witnesses.
Now is the time when the 12 tribes gather from the Four Directions and realize they are One.
What Buddha preaches in his language, people receive and assimilate in their own language as if it were intended exclusively for them.
(Mahaparinirvana Sutra)
Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I Am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? wherefore I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.
(Book of Mormon, 2Nephi 29:8)
Babylon
Yes, religion becomes meaningless babble under the drug of greed. Religion has become Babylon. Of course religion is meaningless babble when you sever it from its Root, Simplicity. Religion has become dead, separated branches that bear no fruit. Get back to the Root of anything, and it all becomes clear, all contentions cease, and the twelve tribes gather again as One from the four corners of the world. Plus, the branches will actually produce fruit!
Let the Tower of Babel come tumbling down!
Babylon is fallen, is fallen!
Heaven & Hell
And what's with Heaven & Hell? Are they not Credit & Debt? Are they not our Great Test, revealing the Authentic & betraying the impostors of religion? Those who desire heaven & fear hell betray themselves that they are servants of desire, otherwise called greed: slaves of Mammon. They cannot help but be children of greed, chasing dollars.
True devotion is for itself:
not to desire heaven nor to fear hell.
--Rabia al-Adawiya (The Mother of the Islamic Sufi Way)
You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
(The Torah, Deuteronomy 5:32)
Blessed are those whose minds are filled with this longing.
They do not seek wealth, and they do not desire paradise.
They are immersed in the deep love of their Beloved, and the dust of the feet of the Holy.
(Adi Granth, Gauri Bavan Akkhari, M.5, p. 251)
We must learn to remove from all God's gifts to us
the sense of our own self,
to possess nothing of our own and to seek nothing,
neither advantage nor pleasure
nor inwardness nor sweetness
nor reward nor heaven itself
nor our own will.
--Meister Eckhart (Talks of Instruction)
Your people shall be volunteers
in the Day of Your Power
(Tanach, Psalm 110:3)
He who loves money will not be satisfied with money;
Nor he who loves abundance, with increase.
This also is emptiness.
When goods increase, they increase who eat them;
So what profit have the owners
except to see them with their eyes?
(Tanach, Ecclesiastes 5:10-11)
There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing;
And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.
(Tanach, Proverbs 13:7)
"I have made the earth,
And create Adam on it.
I—My hands—stretch out the heavens,
And all their host I have commanded.
I have raised him up in righteousness,
And I will direct all his ways;
He shall build My city And let My exiles go free,
Not for price nor reward,"
Says HaShem of hosts.
Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
For thus says HaShem: "You have sold yourselves for nothing, And you shall be redeemed without money."
You shall not covet
(Torah, Exodus 20:17)
Vengeance and repayment are Mine.
Be not like the servants
who minister to their master
upon condition of receiving a reward;
but be like servants
who minister to their master
without the condition of receiving a reward;
and let the fear of Heaven be upon you.
Hear this, all peoples;
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
Both low and high, Rich and poor together. . . .
Why should I fear in times of trouble,
when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,
men who trust in their wealth
and boast of the abundance of their riches?
Truly no man can ransom himself,
or give to God the price of his life,
for the ransom of his life is costly,
and can never suffice,
that he should continue to live on for ever,
and never see the Death.
For he shall see that even the wise die;
Likewise the fool and the senseless person perish,
And leave their wealth to others.
Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever,
Their dwelling places to all generations;
They call their lands after their own names.
Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not remain;
He is like the animals that perish.
This is the way of those who are foolish,
And of those after them who approve their words.
Like sheep they are laid in the grave;
Death shall feed on them;
The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning;
And their beauty shall be consumed in the grave,
far from their dwelling. . . .
Do not be afraid when one becomes rich,
When the glory of his house is increased;
For when he dies he shall carry nothing away;
His glory shall not descend after him.
Though while he lives he blesses himself
(For people will praise you when you do well for yourself),
He shall go to the generation of his fathers;
They shall never see light.
A man who is in honor, yet does not understand,
Is like the animals that perish.
(Tanach, Psalm 49:1-20)
Even a poor man who himself subsists on charity
should give charity.
Now hear this, You heads of the house of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel,
Who abhor justice and pervert all equity,
Who build up Zion with bloodshed
And Jerusalem with iniquity:
Her heads judge for a bribe,
Her priests teach for pay,
And her prophets divine for money.
Yet they lean on HaShem, and say,
"Is not HaShem among us? No harm can come upon us."
Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins,
And the mountain of the temple
Like the bare hills of the forest.
(Tanach, Micah 3:9-12)
He who trusts in his riches will fall,
But the righteous will flourish like foliage.
(Tanach , Proverbs 11:28)
A man with an evil eye hastens after riches
and does not consider that poverty will come upon him.
Wail, you inhabitants of the market district!
For all the merchant people are cut down;
All those who handle money are cut off.
(Tanach, Zepheniah 1:11)
And there is no merchant any more
in the Temple of the HaShem of Hosts in that Day!
(Tanach, Zechariah 14:21)
Receive My instruction, and not silver,
And knowledge rather than choice gold;
For Wisdom [Hakmah] is better than rubies,
And all the things one may desire cannot be compared to Her.
(Tanach, Proverbs 8:10-11)
Do not forsake Wisdom [Hakmah], and She will preserve you;
Love Her, and She will keep you.
Wisdom is the principal thing;
Therefore get Wisdom.
And in all your getting, get understanding.
Exalt Her, and She will promote you;
She will bring you honor, when you embrace Her.
She will place on your head an ornament of grace;
A crown of glory She will deliver to you.
(Tanach , Proverbs 4:6-9)
Incline my heart to your testimonies
And not to greed.
Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things,
And revive me in your way.
(Tanach, Psalm 119:36-37)
I have been young, and now am old;
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
Nor his descendants begging bread.
They will throw their silver into the streets,
And their gold will be like refuse;
their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them...
They will not satisfy their souls,
nor fill their stomachs...
(Tanach, Ezekiel 7:19)
As a cage is full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit.
Therefore they have become great and grown rich.
They have grown fat, they are sleek;
Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the orphan;
Yet they prosper,
And the right of the needy they do not defend.
(Tanach, Jeremiah 5:27-28)
"Even the stork in the heavens
Knows her appointed times;
And the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow
Observe the time of their coming.
But My people do not know the justice of HaShem.
....Because from the least even to the greatest
Everyone is given to greed;
From the prophet even to the priest
Everyone deals falsely.
[The Prophets Jeremiah and Hosea observed that environmental destruction goes hand-in-hand with greed. Notice how, in Hosea, as in all the Tanach, greed is synonymous with prostitution (working for money, not love) and adultery (not being content with who or what you have, but lusting after another) and idolatry (serving the symbol, the image, rather than Reality)]:
I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains,
And for the dwelling places of the wilderness a lamentation,
Because they are burned up,
So that no one can pass through;
Nor can people hear the voice of the herds.
Both the birds of the heavens and the animals have fled;
They are extinct. . . .
Why does the land perish and burn up like a wilderness,
so that no one can pass through? . . . .
...And HaShem said,
"Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them.
How long will the Earth mourn,
and the herbs of every field wither?
The animals and birds are extinct,
For the wickedness of those who dwell there,
Because they said,
He will not see our final end.
Yet your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your greed,
for shedding innocent blood,
and practicing oppression and violence.
Hear the word of HaShem, You children of Israel,
For HaShem brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land:
"There is no truth or mercy Or knowledge of HaShem in the land.
By swearing and lying,
Killing and stealing and committing adultery,
They break all restraint,
With bloodshed upon bloodshed.
Therefore the Earth will mourn;
And everyone who dwells there will waste away
With the beasts of the field
And the birds of the air;
Even the fish of the sea will be taken away. ...
My people ask counsel from their images,
And their staff informs them.
For the spirit of prostitution has caused them to stray,
And they have played the prostitute against HaShem.
But why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and do not do the things which I say?
--Jesus (Luke 6:46)
Forgive us our debts,
even as we forgive our debtors.
--Jesus (Matthew 6:12)
"No servant can serve two masters,
for either he will hate the one and love the other,
or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
You cannot serve both God and money."
The Pharisees, who were lovers of money,
heard all these things, and they ridiculed Jesus.
So likewise, whoever of you
does not forsake all that he owns
cannot be My disciple.
--Jesus (Luke 14:33)
Blessed are you poor,
for yours is the Kingdom of God.
. . . . But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your credit.
--Jesus (Luke 6:24)
And as he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
Then Jesus said to them,
"Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of people."
They immediately left their nets and followed him.
When he had gone a little farther from there, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.
And immediately he called them,
and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants,
and went after him. (Mark 1:16-20)
After these things he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi,
sitting at the tax office.
And he said to him,
"Follow me."
So he left all, rose up, and followed him.
[Notice in the above two passages how the disciples immediately left their jobs without notice].
Give to everyone who asks of you.
And from him who takes away your goods
do not ask them back.
And just as you want people to do to you,
you also do to them likewise.
. . . . And if you lend to those
from whom you hope to receive back,
what credit is that to you?
For even sinners [debtors] lend to sinners [debtors]
to receive as much back.
But love your enemies, do good,
and lend, hoping for nothing in return,
and your reward will be great,
and you will be Sons of the Most High.
For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.
--Jesus (Luke 6:30-31, 34-35)
He then told them,
"Watch out and be on guard against all greed,
because one's life is not in the abundance of his possessions."
Then he told them a parable:
"A rich man's land was very productive.
"He thought to himself,
'What should I do, since I don't have anywhere to store my crops?
"I will do this,' he said.
'I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones
and store all my grain and my goods there.
"Then I'll say to myself,
"You have many goods stored up for many years.
Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself." '
"But God said to him,
'You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you.
And the things you have prepared -- whose will they be? '
"That's how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself a
nd is not rich toward God."
Then he said to his disciples:
"Therefore I tell you, don't worry about your life, what you will eat;
or about the body, what you will wear.
"For life is more than food and the body more than clothing.
"Consider the ravens:
They don't sow or reap; they don't have a storeroom or a barn;
yet God feeds them.
Aren't you worth much more than the birds?
"Can any of you add one moment to his life-span by worrying?
"If then you're not able to do even a little thing,
why worry about the rest?
"Consider how the wildflowers grow:
They don't labor or spin thread.
Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor
was adorned like one of these.
"If that's how God clothes the grass,
which is in the field today
and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow,
how much more will he do for you -- you of little faith?
"Don't strive for what you should eat and what you should drink,
and don't be anxious.
"For the Gentile world eagerly seeks all these things,
and your Father knows that you need them.
"But seek his kingdom,
and these things will be provided for you.
"Don't be afraid, little flock,
because your Father delights to give you the kingdom.
"Sell your possessions and give to the poor.
Make money-bags for yourselves that won't grow old,
an inexhaustible treasure in heaven,
where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Now as He was going out on the road,
one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him,
"Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"
So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good?
No one is good but One God.
You know the commandments: '
Do not commit adultery,' '
Do not murder,'
'Do not steal,' '
Do not bear false witness,' '
Do not defraud,'
'Honor your father and your mother.'"
And he answered and said to Him, "
Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."
Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "
One thing you lack:
Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven;
and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."
But he was sad at this word,
and went away sorrowful,
for he had great possessions.
Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples,
"How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"
And the disciples were astonished at His words.
But Jesus answered again and said to them,
"Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches
to enter the kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves,
"Who then can be saved?"
But Jesus looked at them and said,
"With men it is impossible, but not with God;
for with God all things are possible."
Then Peter began to say to Him,
"See, we have left all and followed You."
So Jesus answered and said,
"Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house
or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands,
for My sake and the gospel's,
who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time--
houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions--and in the age to come, eternal life.
And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.
Freely you received, freely give.
Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts,
or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff;
for the worker is worthy of his support.
Listen, my beloved brethren:
Has not God chosen the poor of this world
to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom
which he promised to those who love him?
But you have dishonored the poor man.
Do not the rich oppress you
and drag you into the courts?
Do they not blaspheme
that Noble Name by which you are called?
He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,
and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully --
each one as he purposes in his heart,
not grudgingly or from obligation;
for God loves a cheerful giver.
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you,
that you, always having all sufficiency in all things,
may have an abundance for every good work.
-- Apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 9:6-8)
Come now, you rich, weep and howl
for your miseries that are coming upon you!
Your riches are corrupted,
and your garments are moth-eaten.
Your gold and silver are corroded,
and their corrosion will be a witness against you
and will eat your flesh like fire.
You have heaped up treasure in the last days.
Indeed the wages of the laborers
who mowed your fields,
which you kept back by fraud, cry out;
and the cries of the reapers
have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury;
you have fattened your hearts
as in a day of slaughter.
You have condemned,
you have murdered the just;
he does not resist you.
Now all who believed were together,
and had all things in common,
and sold their possessions and goods,
and divided them among all,
as anyone had need.
So continuing daily with one accord in the temple,
and breaking bread from house to house,
they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,
giving Credit to God and having Grace with all the people.
Now the multitude of those who believed
were of One Heart and One Soul;
neither did anyone say
that any of the things he possessed was his own,
but they had all things in common.
...persons who are depraved in mind
and bereft of the truth,
imagining that godliness is a means of gain.
There is great gain in godliness with contentment;
for we brought nothing into the world,
and we cannot take anything out of the world;
but if we have food and clothing,
with these we shall be content.
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation,
into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires
that plunge men into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is the root of all evil;
it is through this craving
that some have wandered away from the faith
and pierced their hearts with many pangs.
--Apostle Paul (1 Timothy 6:5-10)
Then Peter said,
"Silver and gold I do not have,
but what I do have I give you
(Acts 3:6)
For who makes you special?
And what do you have that was not gifted you?
Now if you, indeed, were gifted it,
why do you boast as if it weren't a gift?
I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.
Let your conduct be without covetousness;
be content with such things as you have.
For he himself has said,
"I will never leave you nor forsake you."
That the creation herself also will be set free from her slavery to corruption
into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ...
He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all,
how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?
(Romans 8:21, 32)
You might just be surprised what the droves of early Church Mothers and Fathers implored, unanimously:
Those who have endured the labors and dangers of the sea and then amass material riches, even when they have gained much desire more. They consider what they have at present to be nothing, and reach out for what they have not got. We, who have nothing that we desire, wish to acquire everything through God.
--Amma Syncletica of Alexandria (died 350CE)
Those who wish to make room for the Lord must find pleasure not in private, but in common property…. Redouble your charity. For, on account of the things which each one of us possesses singly, wars exist, hatreds, discords, strifes among human beings, tumults, dissensions, scandals, sins, injustices, and murders. On what account? On account of those things which each of us possesses singly. Do we fight over the things we possess in common? We inhale this air in common with others, we all see the sun in common. Blessed therefore are those who make room for the Lord, so as not to take pleasure in private property. Let us therefore abstain from the possessions of private property—or from the love of it, if we cannot abstain from possession—and let us make room for the Lord.
--Augustine (354–430 CE)
I now come to the accusation that most of us are said to be poor; that is not to our shame, it is to our great credit. Men’s characters are strengthened by stringent circumstances, just as they are dissipated by luxurious living. Besides, can a man be poor if he is free from want, if he does not covet the belongings of others, if he is rich in the possession of God? Rather, he is poor who possesses much but still craves for more.
And so it is that when a man walks along a road, the lighter he travels, the happier he is; equally, on this journey of life, a man is more blessed if he does not pant beneath a burden of riches but lightens his load by poverty. Nevertheless, we would ask God for material goods if we considered them to be of use; without a doubt, He to whom the whole belongs would be able to concede us a portion. But we prefer to hold possessions in contempt than to hoard them: it is rather innocence that is our aspiration, it is rather patience that is our entreaty; our preference is goodness, not extravagance.
-- Tertullian (c. 160–c.220 CE)
You are like one occupying a place in a theater, who should prohibit others from entering, treating that as one’s own which was designed for the common use of all.
Such are the rich. Because they were first to occupy common goods, they take these goods as their own. If each one would take that which is sufficient for one’s needs, leaving what is in excess to those in distress, no one would be rich, no one poor.
--Basil (329–379 CE)
Thank God for the things that I do not own.
-- Teresa de Ávila
Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing frighten you. Everything passes away except God.
-- Teresa de Ávila
It is quite important to withdraw from all unnecessary cares and business, as far as compatible with the duties of one’s state of life, in order to enter the second mansion.
--Teresa de Ávila
“We who once took most pleasure in the means of increasing our wealth and property now bring what we have into a common fund and share with everyone in need.”
– Justin Martyr, 100-165 AD (1st Apology 14)
“And instead of the tithes which the law commanded, the Lord said to divide everything we have with the poor. And he said to love not only our neighbors but also our enemies, and to be givers and sharers not only with the good but also to be liberal givers toward those who take away our possessions.”
–Irenaeus, 130-200 AD (Against Heresies, Book IV, Chapter XIII, paragraph 3)
“Private property is the fruit of iniquity. I know that God has given us the use of goods, but only as far as is necessary; and he has determined that the use shall be common. The use of all things that are found in this world ought to be common to all men. Only the most manifest iniquity makes one say to another, ‘This belongs to me, that to you.’ Hence the origin of contention among men.”
– Clement of Alexandria, 150-215 AD (Paedagogus, 2)
“We who share one mind and soul obviously have no misgivings about community of goods.”
– Tertullian, 160-225 AD (Apology, 39)
“It is absurd and disgraceful for one to live magnificently and luxuriously when so many are hungry…If one who takes the clothing off another is a thief, why give any other name to one who can clothe the naked and refuses to do so?The bread that you store up belongs to the hungry; the cloak that lies in your chest belongs to the naked; the gold that you have hidden in the ground belongs to the poor.” … “How can I make you realize the misery of the poor? How can I make you understand that your wealth comes from their weeping?”
– Basil the Great, 320-379 AD
“Nature has poured forth all things for the common use of all people. And God has ordained that all things should be produced that there might be food in common for all, and that the earth should be the common possession of all. Nature created common rights, but usurpation has transformed them into private rights…God gave the same earth to be cultivated by all. Since, therefore, His bounty is common, how is it that you have so many fields, and your neighbor not even a clod of earth?”
–Ambrose of Milan, 340-397 AD
You are not making a gift of your possession to the poor person. You are handing over to him what is his.
--Ambrose of Milan, 340-397 AD.
“The rich are in possession of the goods of the poor, even if they have acquired them honestly or inherited them legally.”
“Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours but theirs.”
“When you are weary of praying and do not receive, consider how often you have heard a poor man calling, and have not listened to him.”
“The dispersion of property is the cause of greater expenditure and so of poverty. Consider a household with husband and wife and ten children. She does weaving and he goes to the market to make a living; will they need more if they live in a single house or when they live separately? Clearly, when they live separately. If the ten sons each go his own way, they need ten houses, ten tables, ten servants and everything else in proportion… Dispersion regularly leads to waste, bringing together leads to economy.”
– John Chrysostom, 347-407 AD
“Give away these earthly things, and win that which is in heaven. Give that which you must leave, even against your will, that you may not lose things later. Lend your wealth to God, that you may be really rich. Concerning the way in which to lend it, Jesus next teaches us saying: ‘Sell your possessions, and give alms, provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail’ … Worldly wealth has many foes … but no one can do damage to the wealth that is laid up above in heaven.”
– Cyril of Alexandria, 378-444 AD, (Commentary on Luke, Homily 91)
“All things belong to God, who is our Father and Father of all things. We are all the same family: all of us are brothers and sisters. And among brethren it is best and most equal that all inherit equal portions.”
– Gregory of Nyssa, 330-395 AD
“What deceived many was a blind attachment to their patrimony, and if they were not free and ready to take themselves away, it was because their property held them in chains . . . chains which shackled their courage and choked their faith and hampered their judgment and throttled their souls… And our Lord, the teacher of the good, looking to the future warning us against this, saying: ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ If the rich would do this, riches would not be their ruin; if they stored up their treasure in heaven, they would not have an enemy and a thief within their own household; their heart and thought and care would be in heaven, if their treasure lay in heaven: no man could be overcome by the world if he had nothing in the world to overcome him. He would follow our Lord untrammeled and free as the apostles and many others did at that time, and some have often done since, leaving their parents and possessions behind to bind themselves inseparably to Christ. But how can those who are tethered to their inheritance be following Christ?And can those who are weighed down by earthly desires be seeking heaven and aspiring to the heights above? They think of themselves as owners, whereas it is they rather who are owned: enslaved as they are to their own property, they are not the masters of their money but its slaves. The apostle was pointing to our times and to these very men he said: ‘Those who want to be rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.’ On the other hand, what rewards does not our Lord hold out as He invites us to scorn the property we have! For the small, insignificant losses of this world, what rich compensation He makes!”
– Cyprian, 200-258 AD, (The Lapsed 11-12)
“Share everything with your brother. Do not say, ‘It is private property.’ If you share what is everlasting, you should be that much more willing to share things which do not last.”
– The Didache, c. 90 AD, (Did. 4:8)
At his departure the apostle must receive nothing except food to last till the next night's lodging; but if he asks for money, he is a false prophet.
--The Didache: Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, 11:3-7; writings of the early church fathers.
And, the testimony of a Roman pagan:
“Christians despise all possessions and share them mutually.”
– Lucian (pagan author), 2nd century (Peregrinus 13)
Last but not least, Meister Eckhart:
...As long as we do any work at all for gain,
as long as we desire anything
God may have given or may give,
we rank with those traders.
Would you be free from any taint of trading with God?
Then do what good you can
and do it solely for God's glory,
as free from it yourself
as though you did not exist.
Ask nothing whatever in return.
Done in this way,
your works are spiritual and godly.
The traders are driven from the temple
and God is there alone
when one has no motive but God.
See your temple cleared of traders.
The man who is intent on God alone,
and on God's glory,
is truly free from any taint of commerce in his deeds,
nor is he self-seeking in any way!
--Meister Eckhart,
commenting on Jesus casting out the moneychangers
and merchants from the temple
(The Best of Meister Eckhart, p. 44)
We must learn to remove from all God's gifts to us
the sense of our own self,
to possess nothing of our own and to seek nothing,
neither advantage nor pleasure
nor inwardness nor sweetness
nor reward nor heaven itself
nor our own will.
God never has entered,
nor ever does enter someone through their own will,
but only through his own will.
And so whereever he finds his own will,
there he gives himself
and enters in with all that is his.
The more we strip ourselves of ourselves,
the more we become Him.
Therefore it is not enough
that we should give up ourselves
and all that we possess
and all of which we are capable
on one occasion alone;
Rather, we must renew this act frequently
and thus make ourselves simple
and free in all things.
--Meister Eckhart, Talks of Instruction
As far as you depart from all things,
thus far, no less and no more,
does God enter into you,
with all that is his...
--Meister Eckhart, Talks of Instruction
But the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion;
For if they labor for money they shall perish.
And they had all things common among them;
therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free,
but they were all made free,
and partakers of the heavenly gift. . . .
There were no robbers, nor murderers,
neither were there Lamanites,
nor any manner of ‘ites;
but they were in one,
the children of Christ,
and heirs to the kingdom of God.
(Book of Mormon, 4 Nephi 1:3,17)
Heirs to the kingdom purposefully refers
to this passage from James in the Bible:
Hearken, my beloved brethren,
Hath not God chosen the poor
of this world rich in faith,
and heirs of the kingdom
which he hath promised
to them that love him?
(James 2:5)
["Chosen", "faith", "heirs", and "promised" are New Testament words indicating what is not earned, but bequeathed for free, without pay, without the merit of law].
...the same messenger... added a caution to me, telling me that Satan would try to tempt me (in consequence of the indigent circumstances of my father’s family), to get the plates for the purpose of getting rich. This he forbade me, saying that I must have no other object in view in getting the plates but to glorify God...
But wo unto the rich,
who are rich as to the things of the world.
For because they are rich
they despise the poor,
and they persecute the meek,
and their hearts
are upon their treasures:
wherefore,
their treasure is their God.
And behold, their treasure shall perish with them also.
But it is not given that one man should possess that which is above another, wherefore the world lieth in sin.
(Doctrine and Covenants 49:20)
...and some were lifted up unto pride and boastings because of their exceedingly great riches, yea, even unto great persecutions;
For there were many merchants in the land, and also many lawyers, and many officers.
And the people began to be distinguished by ranks, according to their riches and their chances for learning, yea, some were ignorant because of their poverty, and others did receive great learning because of their riches.
Some were lifted up in pride, and others were exceedingly humble; some did return railing for railing, while others would receive railing and persecution and all manner of afflictions, and would not turn and revile again, but were humble and penitent before God.
And thus there became a great inequality in all the land, insomuch that the church began to be broken up; yea, insomuch that in the thirtieth year the church was broken up in all the land save it were among a few of the Lamanites who were converted unto the true faith; and they would not depart from it, for they were firm, and steadfast, and immovable, willing with all diligence to keep the commandments of the Lord.
Now the cause of this iniquity of the people was this -- Satan had great power, unto the stirring up of the people to do all manner of iniquity, and to the puffing them up with pride, tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world.
Yea, they did persecute them,
and afflict them
with all manner of words,
and this because of their humility;
because they were not proud
in their own eyes,
and because they did impart
the word of God, one with another,
without money and without price.
And it came to pass that according to his word he did destroy them; and according to his word he did lead them; and according to his word he did do all things for them; and there was not any thing done save it were by his word.
For behold, by the power of his word man came upon the face of the earth, which earth was created by the power of his word.
Come, my brethren, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come buy and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.
(2 Nephi 9:50, quoting Isaiah 55:1)
Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money andwithout price.
(2 Nephi 26:25, expounding upon Isaiah 55:1)
And now, if God,
who has created you,
on whom you are dependent
for your lives
and for all that ye have and are,
doth grant unto you
whatsoever ye ask that is right,
in faith
believing that ye shall receive,
O then, how ye ought to impart
of the substance that ye have
one to another.
And if ye judge the man
who putteth up his petition to you
for your substance
that he perish not,
and condemn him
how much more
will be your condemnation
for withholding your substance,
which doth not belong to you
but to God,
to whom also your life belongeth;
and yet ye put up no petition,
nor repent of the thing
which thou hast done.
I say unto you, wo be unto that man, for his substance
shall perish with him;
and now, I say unto those
who are rich
as pertaining to the things of this world.
And it came
to pass...
All things come,
all things pass.
(The Holy Mantra of the book of Mormon.
What appears most common, most silly and excessive, contains the key to enlightenment.
Now compare how 1 Nephi 20:3 quotes Isaiah 48:3. See how the Book of Mormon plays with us: the one time Isaiah specifically focuses on "came to pass", the Book of Mormon now mysteriously omits it!)
...great and marvelous
were the prophecies of Ether;
but they esteemed him as naught,
and cast him out;
and he hid himself
in the cavity of a rock by day,
and by night he went forth
viewing the things which should come upon the people.
And as he dwelt in the cavity of a rock
he made the remainder
of this record,
viewing the destructions
which came upon the people,
by night.
The people in this age... are like the man who found a lump of gold which weighed 100 pounds. The last that was heard of him was, he was sitting upon it, offering a great price to the passers-by for something to eat, and swearing that, if he had to starve to death, he would stick by the gold, and die a rich man.
(Brigham Young, The Essential Brigham Young, p. 275)
If your neighbor or your brother should sue you at the law for your coat, give it to him, and your cloak also, and not turn around and say, "It is my right; are you going to rob me?" The instructions of the Savior of the world... are right; and I could prove it by philosophical reasoning, and make you believe it, and you would be satisfied it is the best course you could pursue. I will give you the key to it, which is this--it gives you an influence you never can obtain by contending for your rights. You say, "Take it, it is no matter whether it is my right or not." If a man asks you to go with him one mile, go two, and then you can say, "You only asked me to go one mile, but I have gone two." That is the counsel Jesus Christ gave. If you sit down and calmly reason the case, you cannot but discover that it gives you an influence over that man, which you could not gain by contending with him in anger. All the power which is gained by contending with people is usurped power.
The power which belongs to the True Riches is gained by pursuing a righteous course, by maintaining an upright deportment towards all men, and especially towards the household of faith, yielding to each other, giving freely of that which the Lord has given to you. Thus you can secure to yourselves eternal riches and gain influence and power over all your friends, as well as your enemies. "If you want anything I have, here, take it, and I will have influence and poser over you." This is a key word to gain the True Riches; that is the amount of it.
The idler shall not eat the bread of the laborer has always meant that the idle rich shall not eat the bread of the laboring poor, as they always have.
....
You are perfectly free to make all the money you can; just as you are perfectly free to break any one of the Ten Commandments, as millions do every day, though God has forbidden it, as he has forbidden seeking for riches.
All my life I have shied away from these disturbing and highly unpopular—even offensive—themes. But I cannot do so any longer, because in my old age I have taken to reading the scriptures and there have had it forced upon my reluctant attention that, from the time of Adam to the present day, Zion has been pitted against Babylon, and the name of the game has always been money—"power and gain."
Babylon and Zion cannot mix in any degree. A Zion that makes concessions is no longer Zion.
--Hugh Nibley ("What is Zion?" CWHN 9:58)
The "Mahan principle" is a frank recognition that the world's economy is based on the exchange of life for property. This is most apparent, of course, in time of war. . . .
The fearful processes of industry shorten and impoverish life at every level, from forced labor to poisonous air and water. This is the world's economy, for Satan is "the prince of this world."
--Hugh Nibley ("Law of Consecration," CWHN9:436-37)
Voluntary charity
in Arabic is
sadaqah [صدقة],
whose root is sidq [صدق],
meaning truth.
كُونُوا مَعَ الصَّادِقِينَ
Be with the truthful
Follow those who ask of you no fee,
and who are rightly guided.
And no fee do you ask of them for This:
It is no less than a Message for all creatures.
And do not strain your eyes
longing for the things
We have given for enjoyment...,
the splendor of the life of this world;...
the provision of thy Lord
is better and more enduring.
Enjoin continual prayer on your people.
We ask you not to provide sustenance:
We provide it for you.
But the fruit of the Hereafter
is for righteousness.
How many are the creatures
that carry not their own sustenance?
It is Allah who feeds both them and you;
for He hears and knows all things.
And He provides for him [the Faithful]
from sources he never could imagine.
And if anyone puts his trust in God,
sufficient is God for him.
For God will surely accomplish His purpose.
Verily, for all things has God appointed
in due proportion.
Never have We sent
an apostle to any nation
without the wealthy saying,
"We do not believe
the message you bring."
He who gives away his wealth....
and who gives no favor to any one
for the sake of reward,
but only craving the face
of his Lord most High;
in the end he shall be well pleased!
Give not with the thought to gain,
And be patient unto thy Lord.
If you give in charity openly
it is fine,
but if you hide it
and give it to the poor
it is better for you.
There is a man who gives a charity
and he conceals it so much
so that his left hand does not know
what his right hand spends.
--Muhammad (Hadith, Bukhari 24:13)
Anyone who is stingy,
is stingy only with his own soul.
God is wealthy
While you are poor.
You shall not barter God's Covenant
for a trifling price.
God's reward is better for you,
if you but knew it.
Your worldly riches are transitory,
but God's reward is everlasting.
When they see merchandise or diversion
they scatter off to it,
and they leave you standing.
Say, "What is with God
is better than diversion and merchandise.
God is the best of providers."
As for him who freely gives
and guards against evil
and freely accepts what is best,
We will facilitate for him the easy end.
And as for him who is stingy
and considers himself free from need
and rejects the best
We will facilitate for him the difficult end.
And his wealth will not avail him when he perishes.
Woe to the praying ones
who are unmindful in their prayers,
who do good to be seen,
and withhold small gifts.
Freely give to one another,
for gifts take away malice.
--Muhammad (Hadith, Tirmidhi Mishkaat 12:17)
Every misfortune... is ordained
before We bring it to being.
That is easy enough for God;
so that you may not grieve
for the good things you miss,
or be overjoyed at what you gain.
God does not love
the haughty, the vainglorious,
nor those who, being stingy themselves,
encourage others to be stingy.
He who pays no heed should know
that God alone is self-sufficient
and worthy of Credit
Allah will reward the Grateful [Gratis-Full].
And a soul will not die
but with the permission of Allah.
The term is fixed.
And whosoever desires
the reward of this world,
I shall give it to him;
And whoever desires
the Reward beyond time,
I shall give him of it,
And I will reward the Grateful [Gratis-Full].
Never let those who hoard the wealth
which God has bestowed
on them out of his bounty
think it good for them:
indeed it is an evil thing for them.
The riches they have hoarded
shall become their fetters
on the Day of Resurrection.
It is God who will inherit
the heavens and the earth.
God is cognizant of all your actions.
You shall never be truly righteous
until you give in charity
what you dearly cherish.
The charity you give is known to God.
And one of His signs is
that He sends forth the winds
bearing Good News,
and that He may cause you
to taste of His Mercy [Unmerited Gift].
and that ships may run by His command,
and that you may seek of His Grace[Gratis],
and that you may be Grateful [Gratis-full].
Let the People of the Book recognize
that they have no control
over the Grace of God;
That Grace [Gratis] is
in His hands alone,
and that He vouchsafes it
to whom He will.
God's Grace [Gratis] is infinite.
And this is the Grace [Gratis] of my Lord,
That He may try me
whether I am Grateful [Gratis-Full]
or ungrateful.
And whoever is Grateful,
he is Grateful only to his own Soul;
And whoever is ungrateful,
then surely my Lord
is Self-Sufficient, Credit-Worthy.
And surely your Lord
is the Lord of Grace to men,
But most of them are not Grateful.
And a sign to them
is the dead earth:
We give life to it
and bring forth from it grain,
so they eat of it.
And We make therein
gardens of palms and grapevines
and We make springs
to flow forth in it,
That they may eat the Fruit thereof,
and their hands did not make it;
Will they not then be Grateful [Gratis-Full]?
Faqr Fakhri
[“Poverty is my pride”]
--Muhammad
O Lord! Keep me alive a poor man,
and let me die poor;
And raise me amongst the poor.
--Muhammad
A man came to Muhammad and said,
“Verily I love you.”
He replied, “Look to what you say.”
And the man said,
“By God! I love you,”
and repeated the same twice.
Lord Muhammad said,
"If you are sincere,
then prepare yourself for poverty:
for poverty reacheth him who loves me
quicker than a torrent reaches the sea.
(Hadith)
"The sun never says to the earth,
'You owe me.'
Look what happens with a love like that.
It lights up the whole sky."
-- Hafiz
The affairs of Faqr [poverty]
are beyond your comprehension.
Do not look upon Faqr [poverty]
with contempt.
Because dervishes
are beyond property and wealth,
They possess abundant
sustenance from the Almighty.
Is “poverty is my pride” vain and false?
No, there a hundred glories are hidden in it.
--Rumi
I will not serve God like a laborer,
in expectation of my wages.
--Rabia al-Adawiya
True devotion is for itself:
not to desire heaven nor to fear hell.
--Rabia al-Adawiya
Allah’s apostle ascended the pulpit and said, “Nothing worries me as to what will happen to you after me, except the temptation of worldly blessings which will be conferred on you." (Hadith, 4:52:95)
Every day two angels come down from Heaven and one of them says, ‘O God! Compensate every person who spends in Your cause,’ and the other says, ‘O God! Destroy every miser.’
--Muhammed (Hadith 2:24:522)
When God made a covenant with those to whom the scripture was given, he said: "Proclaim this to mankind and do not suppress it." But they cast it behind their backs and sold it for a paltry price. So evil is that which they buy.
My Lord has advised me
to acquire nine traits
which I, in turn, advise you to take on:
He has commanded me to be sincere,
openly and in secret,
to be fair when calm or angry,
to be thrifty in poverty or good fortune,
to forgive someone who has taken from me,
to build relations with whoever
has severed them with me,
to let silence be my meditation,
to let speech be my prayer,
and to let what I observe
bring a lesson to me.
--Muhammad (Hadith)
The Sage never tries to store things up.
The more he does for others,
the more he has.
The more he gives to others,
the greater his abundance.
--Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching 81)
Creating without claiming,
Doing without taking credit,
Guiding without interfering:
This is the Primal Virtue.
-- Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching 51)
There is no greater sin than desire,
No greater curse than discontent,
No greater misfortune
than wanting something for oneself.
Therefore one who knows
that enough is enough
will always have enough.
--Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching 46)
Better to stop short
than fill to the brim.
Oversharpen the blade
and the edge will soon blunt.
Amass a store of gold and jade,
and no one can protect it.
Claim wealth and titles,
and disaster will follow.
Retire when work is done.
This is the way of heaven
Be really Whole
And all things will come to you
Some wear gorgeous clothes,
Carry sharp swords,
And indulge themselves
with food and drink;
They have more possessions
than they can use.
They are robber barons.
This is certainly not the way of Tao.
--Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching 53)
When an archer is shooting for nothing
He has all his skill.
If he shoots for a brass buckle
He is already nervous.
If he shoots for a prize of gold
He goes blind or sees two targets--
He is out of his mind!
His skill has not changed,
But the prize divides him.
He cares.
He thinks more of winning
Than of shooting--
And the need to win
Drains him of power.
Greed for enlightenment and immortality
is no different than greed for material wealth.
It is self-centered and dualistic,
and thus an obstacle to true attainment.
therefore these states are never achieved
by those who covet them;
rather, they are the reward of the virtuous.
Reward-and-punishment [credit-and-debt]
is the lowest form of education.
-- Chuang Tzu
What good is it to spend your life
accumulating material things?
It isn't in keeping with the Tao.
What benefit in conforming your behavior
to someone's conventions?
It violates your nature
and dissipates your energy.
Why separate your spiritual life
and your practical life?
To an integral being,
there is no such distinction.
Live simply and virtuously,
true to your nature,
drawing no line
between what is spiritual
and what is not.
Ignore time.
Relinquish ideas and concepts.
Embrace the Oneness.
This is the Integral Way.
Do not race after riches,
Do not risk your life for success,
or you will let slip
the Heaven within you.
Better than ritual practice [abhyasa]
is knowledge [jnana, or gnosis
Better than knowledge [jnana]
is concentration [dhyana, or zen]
Better than concentration [dhyana] is renunciation of the reward of all action,
from which directly issues Peace.
(Bhagavad Gita 12:12)
[What is money
but the representation of
the reward of action?]
Running after that cur, money,
I have forgotten you, O Lord.
What a shame!
I have time only for making money,
not for you.
How can a dog who loves rotten meat
relish nectar?
(Basavanna, Vachana 313)
The person who sheds all longing
and moves without concern,
free from the sense of "I" and "mine"--
he attains peace.
(Bhagavad Gita 2:71)
This world suffers bondage from all action
save that which is done
for the sake of vajna [sacrifice, selfless giving].
To this end, O Kaunteya,
perform action without possession.
(Bhagavad Gita 3:9)
The righteous persons
who eat the remnants of vajna [selfless giving]
are freed from all sin [debt].
(Bhagavad Gita 3:13)
Just as, with attachment, the unenlightened perform all actions, O Bharata,
even so, but unattached, should enlightened persons act,
with a desire for the welfare of humanity.
(Bhagavad Gita 3:25)
Cast all thy acts on Me.
With thy mind fixed on the indwelling Atman [literally Spirit],
and without any thought of reward or sense of "mine",
shake off thy fever and fight!
(Bhagavad Gita 3:30)
A person of yoga obtains everlasting peace
by abandoning the rewards of action.
The person ignorant of yoga,
selfishly attached to reward,
remains bound.
(Bhagavad Gita 5:12)
As for those who worship Me,
thinking on Me alone and nothing else,
ever attached to Me,
I bear the burden
of getting them what they need.
(Bhagavad Gita 9:22)
Those who desire their actions to bring reward
worship the gods here;
for in this world of men
the rewards of actions are quickly obtainable.
(Bhagavad Gita 4:22)
He who finds happiness only within,
rest only within,
light only within,
that yogi, having become One with Nature,
attains Oneness with Brahman
(Bhagavad Gita 5:24)
Expecting nothing,
holding his mind and body in check,
abandoning every possession,
and going through action only in the body,
he incurs no stain.
Content with whatever chance may bring,
rid of the pairs of opposites,
free from ill will,
even-minded in success and failure,
he is not bound,
though he acts.
(Bhagavad Gita 9:21-22)
Yajnavalkya [addressing his wife]:
"Maitreyi, I am resolved to renounce the world and begin the life of renunciation. I wish therefore to divide my property between you and my other wife, Katyayani."
Maitreyi: "My lord, if this whole earth belonged to me, with all its wealth, should I through its possession attain immortality?"
"No. Your life would be like that of the rich. None can possibly hope to attain immortality through wealth."
"Then what need have I of wealth? Please, my lord, tell me what you know about the way to immortality."
(Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.4.1-3)
Who is same to enemy and friend,
who regards alike respect and disrespect,
cold and heat, pleasure and pain,
who is free from possession,
who weighs in equal scale blame and praise,
who is silent, content with whatever his lot,
who owns no home, who is steady of mind--
that devotee of Mine is dear to Me.
(Bhagavad Gita 12:18-19)
The yogi who is filled
with the contentment of wisdom
and descriminative knowledge,
who is firm as a rock,
who has mastered his senses,
and to whom a clod of dirt, a stone and gold are the same,
is possessed of yoga.
He excels who regards alike
the boon companion, the friend, the enemy, the stranger,
the mediator, the alien and the ally,
as also the saint and the sinner.
Let the yogi constantly apply his thought to Atman,
remaining alone in a secluded place,
his mind and body under control,
rid of desires and possessions.
(Bhagavad Gita 6:8-10)
The offering of vajna [selfless giving] is Brahman.
The oblatioin is Brahman.
It is offereed by Brahman
in the fire that is Brahman.
Thus he whose mind is fixed
on acts dedicated to Brahman
must needs pass on to Brahman.
(Bhagavad Gita 4:24)
Where he holds no greater gain
than that which he has gained,
and where, securely seated,
he is not shaken by any calamity, however great.
(Bhagavad Gita 6:22)
He who sees Me everywhere and everything in Me,
never vanishes from Me nor I from him.
The yogi, anchored in Unity,
worships Me abiding in all beings
lives and moves in me,
no matter how he live and move.
He who, by likening himself with others,
senses pleasure and pain
equally for all as for himself
is deemed to be the highest yogi, O Arjuna.
(Bhagavad Gita 6:29-32)
He alone is reality.
Wherefore, renouncing all vain appearances,
rejoice in Him.
Covet no man’s wealth.
(Isha Upanishad)
Fools dwelling in darkness,
but thinking themselves wise and erudite,
go round and round, by various tortuous paths,
like the blind led by the blind.
The Hereafter never reveals itself
to a person devoid of discrimination,
heedless and perplexed by the delusion of wealth.
"This world alone exists," he thinks,
"and there is no other."
Again and again he comes under my sway.
--Yama, Lord of Death (Katha Upanishad, Part 1, Chptr 2:6)
One is the path that leads to material wealth,
The other is the path that leads to Nirvana
--Gautama Buddha (Dhammapada 5:75)
If greed can be removed,
human suffering will come to an end.
(Avatamsaka Sutra 22, Dasambhumika)
Enlightened beings are magnanimous givers,
bestowing whatever they have
with equanimity,
without regret,
without hoping for reward,
without seeking honor,
without coveting material benefits,
but only to rescue and safeguard
all living beings.
(Garland Sutra 21)
Then Subhuti said to Buddha:
"What is this saying, World-Honored One,
that Bodhisattvas are unconcerned with the rewards of merit?"
[And Buddha answered]:
"Subhuti, Bodhisattvas who achieve merit
should not be fettered with desire for rewards.
Thus it is said that the rewards of merit are not received."
(The Diamond Sutra, Section 28, "Attachment to Rewards of Merit.")
If beings knew, as I know,
the Fruit of sharing gifts,
they would not enjoy their use
without sharing them,
nor would the taint of stinginess
obsess the heart and stay there.
Even if it were their last bit,
their last morsel of food,
they would not enjoy its use
without sharing it,
if there were anyone to receive it.
(Hivuttaka Sutra 18)
The one who follows the Noble Path to Enlightenment
will not maintain regrets (debts),
neither will he cherish anticipations (credits),
but, with equitable and peaceful mind,
will meet what comes
(MN 218, Madhupindika Sutra)
Students of the Way,
do not worry about food and clothing.
Just maintain the Buddha's precepts
and do not engage in worldly affairs....
Those who truly study the Way
have never practiced with the priority
of providing for their livelihood....
Moreover, I have never read
the collection of all the Buddhist scriptures
of a single Buddha or Ancestor,
who transmitted the Dharma in the three countries,
dying of starvation or cold.
In this world, inherently each person receives
a certain amount of food and clothing as a gift.
It does not come by being sought after,
nor does it stop coming by not seeking after it.
Just leave it to Fate and do not worry about it.
If you refrain from arousing the mind of Awakening in this life,
excusing yourself on the grounds that this is the degenerate age,
in what life will it be possible to attain the Way?
-- Eihei Dogen, 1200-1253 AD (from his Shobogenzo Zuimonki)
It is because people cherish the idea of ego-personality
that they cling to the idea of possession;
but since there is no such thing as an "ego",
there can be no such things as possessions.
When people are able to realize this truth,
they will be able to realize the truth of "non-duality".
(Avatamsaka Sutra 34, Gandavyuha)
I have no desire for wealth or possessions,
and so I have nothing.
I do not experience the initial suffering
of having to accumulate possessions,
the intermediate suffering
of having to guard and keep up possessions,
nor the final suffering of loosing the possessions.
This is a wonderful thing.
-- Tibetan Yogi Jetsun Milarepa
A True Offering is one that gives
not occasionally but constantly.
Neither is it a True Offering if after the act
there are feelings of regret or self-praise;
a True Offering is one that is given with pleasure,
forgetting oneself as the giver, the one who receives it, and the gift itself.
True Offering springs spontaneously
from one's pure compassionate heart
with no thought of any return,
wishing to enter into a life of Enlightenment together.
(Mahaparinirvana Sutra)
Heaven and Earth give themselves.
Air, Water, plants, animals, and humans
give themselves to each other.
It is in this giving-themselves-to-each-other
that we actually live.
Whether you appreciate it or not, it is true.
--Zen Monk Sawaki Roshi ("Homeless Kodo")
The world in which people give and receive things
without saying "Give it to me!"
is the truly beautiful world.
It differs from the world of scrambling for things.
It is vast and boundless.
--Sawaki Roshi
If your heart is pure,
Then all things in your world are pure.
Abandon this fleeting world,
Abandon yourself;
Then the moon and flowers
Will guide you along the way.
--Zen Poet Ryokan
The impulse "I want"
and the impulse "I'll have" --
lose them!
That is where most people get stuck;
Without those, you can use your eyes
to guide you through
this suffering state.
(Nipata Sutra 706)
One should give even from a scanty store
to him who asks.
(Dhammapada 224)
Many years before I came to Wat Pah Pong I decided I would give up money. For the greater part of a Rains Retreat I had thought about it. In the end I grabbed my wallet and walked over to a certain Mahā who was living with me at the time, setting the wallet down in front of him.
‘Here, Mahā, take this money. From today onwards, as long as I’m a monk, I will not receive or hold money. You can be my witness.’
‘You keep it, Venerable, you may need it for your studies.’ The Venerable Mahā wasn’t keen to take the money, he was embarrassed. ‘Why do you want to throw away all this money?’
‘You don’t have to worry about me. I’ve made my decision. I decided last night.’
From the day he took that money it was as if a gap had opened between us. We could no longer understand each other. He’s still my witness to this very day. Ever since that day I haven’t used money or engaged in any buying or selling. I’ve been restrained in every way with money. I was constantly wary of wrongdoing, even though I hadn’t done anything wrong. Inwardly I maintained the meditation practice. I no longer needed wealth, I saw it as a poison. Whether you give poison to a human being, a dog or anything else, it invariably causes death or suffering. If we see clearly like this we will be constantly on our guard not to take that ‘poison’. When we clearly see the harm in it, it’s not difficult to give up.
--Ajahn Chah (The Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, Chapt 7, "Understanding Vinaya". Published for free distribution by Aruna Publications. Free download at www.forestsanghapublications.org
He, who does not abandon the notion of "mine"
over the body and possessions,
that `I am this and this is mine',
gives up the sramanya (the status of a saint)
and goes astray.
`I do not belong to others,
nor do others belong to me;
I am mere knowledge';
he, who meditates thus in concentration,
comes to meditate on his (pure) self.
(Pravachansara, Book 2, verses 190-191)
Those who are without possessions
and free from delusion,
who endure 22 kinds of hardships.
Have subdued the evil passions
and are free from the paraphernalia
for (indulging in) sin
are on the way to emancipation.
"In the upper, the lower, and the middle world
no one is mine, I am all alone."
Through such mental attitude
the yogis attain everlasting bliss.
Devotees of God and the preceptor,
bearing in mind the traditions of non-attachment,
absorbed in meditation with rectitude of conduct.
such people are on the way to emancipation.
(Ashta Pahuda, Acharya Kund kund, Book 6, v 80-82)
On gaining the desired object,
one should not feel elated.
On not receiving the desired object,
one should not feel dejected.
In case of obtaining anything in excess,
one should not hoard it.
One should abstain from acquisitiveness.
One who sees Reality should consume things
in a manner different from that of a layman.
(Acarangasutra 2.114-19)
Once upon a time, there lived a king. One day, he decided to offer gold coins to monks. He called one of his ministers and gave him a bag of gold coins. The king told him to give the coins to all the monks in the town.
The minister searched for monks all day, but he could not find a single monk to give the coins to. He gave the bag of coins back to the king. The minister very politely told the king that he could not find a monk to give the coins to. The king became very angry and said, "What is this nonsense! You could not find a single monk, in such a big city." The minister admired the king for his good intention, and said that real monks did not accept the gold coins. The others who did want to accept the coins, were not true monks, because true monks do not take money. He added that the king would not want to give gold coins to greedy people, who wore the clothes of monks but did not observe the religious principles. After listening to the explanation of the minister, the king became calm and started thinking. He realized that his minister was right, and gave him one hundred gold coins as a reward.
True monks don't have or keep any wealth. Jain monks and nuns don't keep or ask for money for any reason. They don't ask anyone to collect and keep money for them either. They have given up all the concerns about their future needs and do not need any money. They may encourage you to give to charities out of compassion, but they don't get involved in its management.
(From Jainworld, Level 2, Lesson 15, "True Monks")
…how will all these things make our journey more comfortable?
We cannot clutter up our lives, not now or ever.
We must travel light, live simply, and not worry about tomorrow,
secure in the knowledge that God will always provide—
perhaps through the generosity of people like the good Uppals.
--Guru Nanak (from Harish Dhillon's The First Sikh Spiritual Master)
The birds have no money in their pockets.
They place their hopes on trees and water.
He alone is the Giver.
You alone, Lord, You alone.
(Guru Nanak Dev, p 7)
Riches do not remain with anyone -
not even the golden palaces of Sri Lanka.
People gather and hoard their possessions,
and give nothing to anyone else . . . .
the poor fools think that everything is theirs.
Listen, you foolish and ignorant mind –
only His Will prevails.
My Banker is the Great Lord and Master.
I am only His petty merchant.
This soul and body all are His.
He Himself kills, and brings back to life.
(Guru Nanak Dev, p 155)
I don't think there is such a thing as
an intelligent mega-rich person.
For who with a fine mind can look
out upon this world and
hoard what can nourish
a thousand souls.
My only Support is the Naam,
the Name of the Lord;
as He keeps me, I survive.
The leaders and kings shall not remain.
The bankers shall die,
after accumulating their wealth and money.
Grant me, O Lord,
the wealth of Your Ambrosial Naam.
(Guru Nanak Dev, p. 227)
You claim that your body and wealth
are your own;
you do not chant the Lord's Name
even for an instant.
Look and see,
that none of your possessions or riches
shall go along with you.
(Guru Arjan Dev, p 678)
The false world is engrossed in greed.
Crying out, "Mine, mine!"
they collect possessions,
but in the end, they are all deceived.
(Guru Arjan Dev, p. 1004)
Through corruption, one may obtain
thousands and millions of enjoyments,
but even so, his desires
are not satisfied through them. . . . .
By continual oppression and exploitation,
he accumulates wealth, gold, silver and money,
but the load-bearer gets only paltry wages,
while the rest of the money passes on to others.
He grabs and collects horses, elephants and chariots,
and claims them as his own.
But when he sets out on the Long Journey,
they will not go even one step with him.
The Naam, the Name of the Lord, is my wealth;
the Naam is my princely pleasure;
the Naam is my family and helper.
The Guru has given Nanak the wealth of the Naam;
it neither perishes, nor comes or goes.
(Guru Arjan Dev, p. 497)
O God, save us who are involved in the love of money.
Bound by covetousness and worldly love,
we have committed various sins. . . .
I am lowly and know nothing.
Having rejected the gem of your Name,
I have amassed human money.
I am a degraded and silly being.
By the comission of sin
I have amassed what is very unstable
and forsakes man.
(from Rag Bihagra [Prayer for Forgiveness])
Blessed is the straw hut
where God's praises are chanted;
Worthless the white mansions
where remembrance of God is not.
Poverty with the holy
while contemplating god
is bliss itself.
Burn that pride of high state
that involves the self with Maya.
Grinding grain with rough clothing
brings to the mind joy and contentment.
What worth kingship
without peace of soul?
(Adi Granth, Suhi, M. 5, p. 745)
Without the Naam, the Name of the Lord, O Nanak, all are reduced to dust.
The dust of the feet of the Saints is sacred.
Blessed are those whose minds are filled with this longing.
They do not seek wealth, and they do not desire paradise.
They are immersed in the deep love of their Beloved, and the dust of the feet of the Holy.
(Adi Granth, Gauri Bavan Akkhari, M.5, p. 251)
One is poisoned with the very wealth that one has accumulated,
It will prove unfaithful in the end.
(Adi Granth, Guru V, Bihagara Rag)
Were I to disclose unto you the mysteries
which God hath enshrined therein,
ye would, of a truth, offer up your lives in His path,
renounce your riches, and forsake all that ye possess,
that ye might attain this transcendent and all-glorious station.
(Súriy-i-Mulúk 50)
O kings of the earth! . . . .
Fling away, then, the things ye possess,
and take fast hold on the Handle of God, the Exalted, the Great.
Set your hearts towards the Face of God,
and abandon that which your desires have bidden you to follow,
and be not of those who perish.
(Súriy-i-Mulúk 2)
What is it of which ye can rightly boast?
Is it on your food and your drink that ye pride yourselves,
on the riches ye lay up in your treasuries,
on the diversity and the cost of the ornaments
with which ye deck yourselves?
If true glory were to consist
in the possession of such perishable things,
then the earth on which ye walk
must needs vaunt itself over you,
because it supplieth you,
and bestoweth upon you,
these very things, by the decree of the Almighty.
In its bowels are contained,
according to what God hath ordained,
all that ye possess.
From it, as a sign of His mercy,
ye derive your riches.
Behold then your state,
the thing in which ye glory!
Would that ye could perceive it!
(Súriy-i-Mulúk 13)
Cast away the things ye possess,
and cling to that which God hath bidden you observe.
Seek ye His grace,
for he that seeketh it treadeth His straight Path.
(Súriy-i-Mulúk 21)
Overstep not the bounds of moderation,
and deal justly with them that serve thee.
Bestow upon them according to their needs,
and not to the extent that will enable them
to lay up riches for themselves,
to deck their persons, to embellish their homes,
to acquire the things that are of no benefit unto them,
and to be numbered with the extravagant.
Deal with them with undeviating justice,
so that none among them may either suffer want,
or be pampered with luxuries.
This is but manifest justice.
(Súriy-i-Mulúk 66)
O concourse of Ministers of State! Do ye believe in your hearts that We have come to divest you of your earthly possessions and vanities? Nay, by the One in Whose hand is My soul! Our intention hath been to make clear that We oppose not the commands of the sovereign, nor are We to be numbered with the rebellious. Know ye of a certainty that all the treasures of the earth, all the gold, the silver, and the rare and precious gems they contain, are, in the sight of God, of His chosen ones and His loved ones, as worthless as a handful of clay. For erelong all that is on earth shall perish, and the kingdom will remain unto God, the All-Powerful, the Incomparable. That which perisheth can never profit Us, nor can it profit you, were ye but to reflect.
(Súriy-i-Mulúk 55)
Neither the pomp of the mighty, nor
the wealth of the rich, nor even the ascendancy of the
ungodly will endure…What advantage is there in
the earthly things which men possess? That which shall
profit them, they have utterly neglected. Erelong, they
will awake from their slumber, and find themselves
unable to obtain that which hath escaped them in the
days of their Lord, the Almighty, the All-Praised. Did
they but know it, they would renounce their all, that
their names may be mentioned before His throne.
(The Kitab-I-Aqdas 40)
Amongst the proofs demonstrating the truth
of this Revelation is this, that in every age and Dispensation,
whenever the invisible Essence was revealed
in the person of His Manifestation, certain
souls, obscure and detached from all worldly entanglements,
would seek illumination from the Sun of
Prophethood and Moon of Divine guidance, and
would attain unto the Divine Presence. For this reason,
the divines of the age and those possessed of
wealth, would scorn and scoff at these people.
(p. 179, Gleanings From the Writings of Baha'u'llah, Sec 91)
Within every blade of grass are enshrined
the mysteries of an inscrutable Wisdom,
and upon every rose-bush a myriad nightingales pour out,
in blissful rapture, their melody. Its wondrous tulips
unfold the mystery of the undying Fire in the Burning
Bush, and its sweet savors of holiness breathe the
perfume of the Messianic Spirit. It bestoweth wealth
without gold, and conferreth immortality without
death. In each one of its leaves ineffable delights are
treasured, and within every chamber unnumbered
mysteries lie hidden.
(P 269, ibid)