Greed is an antidote to poverty .

[sentinel]

Greetings ,

Buddha's teaching regards greed as something unwholesome and wanted to eliminate it.
But the whole world advancement depends on it as a kind of prime mover without which the society will not move forward .
So, greeds seems to be a necessary source for one to aspire for a better life and future and to get rid of poverty .
What do you think if all buddhist were to abandon greed and therefore remains in destitution and stagnation ?!

[2600htz]

Hello:

This quote is somehow relevant

"Headman, recollecting back over 91 aeons, I do not know any family to have been brought to downfall through the giving of cooked alms. On the contrary: Whatever families are rich, with much wealth, with many possessions, with a great deal of money, a great many accoutrements of wealth, a great many commodities, all have become so from giving, from truth, from restraint."

Regards.

[justindesilva]

Buddhism encourages non attachment to material goods and less wants for living. Both these are overcome by not being greedy for material goods and wants.
World agricultural economists have tried to encourage farmers to do dairy farming and finally sending the non milking cows to abatoirs. Some farmers do not agree on this as it is not human. Adding chemical msnures for grass growing to get higher incomes saw advertant effects on the customers using milk from such cows.
It means that as a result consumers are becoming poorer with higher medical bills with other ill healths. This is the result of greed by one part of people in trying to be rich causing many others to be poorer. And it is common to the whole world. The ego created by greed has resulted in prompting masses of people in nations to have the desire of travelling in luxury vehicles and living in luxury homes which causes stress often unable to bear the costs. Also as a result both parents have to work for money resulting in neglecting children. This is common to the whole world.
Looking for better money for material gain many women not only in eastern countries but in Africa and central america philippines,& myanmar go to rich countries ultimately to see that their family lives are devastated.
Though not directly but indirectly cula dukkakanda sutta explains the effect of defilements of the mind such as greed lust and aversion on any body.
The greed of a person can affect the livesof others too resulting in accumulating akusal kamma.

[thepea]

When I go to work I try not to think of money, I focus my energy on doing the best job that I can with that which is available to me. With this attitude I have managed to stay profitable and keep a few other people employed.
Slowly and steadily my family’s wealth has increased and still manage to give charitably at times.
I know there is greed within but noticing this characteristic and the way it plays a role in life it has seemed that the wealth has come from a place free from greed and fear. When greed appears it clogs up the natural flow of positive progression.

[SarathW]

Buddha encouraged right livelihood.
You do not have to be greed to generate wealth.
In my opinion, greed is a hindrance to the long-term growth of wealth.

[Sam Vara]

In terms of relative poverty, we might say that greed causes poverty rather than alleviating it. Poverty is the state of lack, of wanting more than we have. This wanting is merely the conceptualising of a greedy mind-state.

Not even if it rained gold coins
would we have our fill
of sensual pleasures.

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitak ... .than.html

[SarathW]

poverty is real.
There are many millions of people in this world who lacks food, shelter, clothes, and medicine.
There was the time I was in extreme poverty.
But I was rich in comparison to many other people.
The US got many billionaires.
But the poverty is everywhere.
In contrast, it is hard to find a bigger in Japan.
How?

[paul]

“In the Buddha’s teaching, the dark forces of the mind responsible for human suffering are called the defilements (kilesa), of which the most powerful are the three “unwholesome roots”— greed, hatred and delusion. […]
The corporate economy is not only driven by its own inherent greed, but its very success depends on arousing greed in others. […] “Facing the Future”, Bikkhu Bodhi, see p 49, ‘sufficiency’.
http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/facingfuture.pdf

Sufficient Economy doctrine in Thailand:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufficiency_economy

“The concept of the "middle way" says that time should be divided between working towards consumption and meditation and the optimal allocation between these two activities will be when some meditation is utilized to lower the desire for consumption and to be satisfied with lesser consumption and the work that it involves. In economic terms this means "the marginal productivity of labor utilized in producing consumption goods is equal to the marginal effectiveness of the meditation involved in economizing on consumption without bringing about any change in satisfaction”.
Buddhist Economics, Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_economics

[SarathW]

The corporate economy is not only driven by its own inherent greed, but its very success depends on arousing greed in others.

Yes, that is how you can send the oil from the Middle East to China and rise from China to the Middle East.
How Buddhism propose to do the same?
Rules for monks can't be directly applied to lay people, even though Noble Eightfold path is same for both.

[Zom]

Concerning poverty:

[paul]

Yes, that is how you can send the oil from the Middle East to China and rise (rice) from China to the Middle East.
How Buddhism propose to do the same?
Rules for monks can't be directly applied to lay people, even though Noble Eightfold path is same for both.

“The economy most compatible with such a mode of social organization (as outlined in DN 31) would be small scale and localised..” p.54 “Facing the Future”.

Unfortunately the attitude in traditional Buddhist societies has developed such that the monks should shoulder all the responsibility, but in the western Buddhist project there is no such attitude; here the individual whether monk or lay person takes full responsibility for their own progress and applies it in the wider sphere. Western Buddhists are positive in their belief that current global problems can be solved by application of Buddhist solutions, and are in the process of implementing that, it is the only way out.

[sentinel]

Yes, that is how you can send the oil from the Middle East to China and rise (rice) from China to the Middle East.
How Buddhism propose to do the same?
Rules for monks can't be directly applied to lay people, even though Noble Eightfold path is same for both.

“The economy most compatible with such a mode of social organization (as outlined in DN 31) would be small scale and localised..” p.54 “Facing the Future”.

Unfortunately the attitude in traditional Buddhist societies has developed such that the monks should shoulder all the responsibility, but in the western Buddhist project there is no such attitude; here the individual whether monk or lay person takes full responsibility for their own progress and applies it in the wider sphere. Western Buddhists are positive in their belief that current global problems can be solved by application of Buddhist solutions, and are in the process of implementing that, it is the only way out.

Actually , how can buddhist solutions is the only way out ? Without all those greedy mans generating the process of economy and in turn make available the vacancy of jobs , how would all of us find jobs ? I think this is not as simple as what buddhist thinks .
If no Greediness driven to expand their business certainly the world scenario today would be totally different .

[SarathW]

that current global problems can be solved by the application of Buddhist solutions

Then why the Buddhist countries like Sri Lanka in doldrums for 2000 years?

[santa100]

If no Greediness driven to expand their business certainly the world scenario today would be totally different

Unfortunately, business expansion and suffering expansion are 2 faces of the same coin. So it's impossible to make the coin grows bigger by just increasing the size of just 1 face. The world scenario today is certainly different, and it holds true in both respects: we might get deeper pockets but so do our stress and anxiety. This is particularly true for white-collar professions in the US. Long gone was the day of the simple 8-hour/day job. 10-12 hr is more typical nowadays and even after getting home, there's still the company's smart phone that's always ready to wake you up at 2AM to solve a production issue. And that also explains why from time to time, some rich millionaire jumps out of the 10th floor of his luxury apartment, or use s the gun on his family, his co-workers, and finally on himself.

[sentinel]

If no Greediness driven to expand their business certainly the world scenario today would be totally different

Unfortunately, business expansion and suffering expansion are 2 faces of the same coin. So it's impossible to make the coin grows bigger by just increasing the size of just 1 face. The world scenario today is certainly different, and it holds true in both respects: we might get deeper pockets but so do our stress and anxiety. This is particularly true for white-collar professions in the US. Long gone was the day of the simple 8-hour/day job. 10-12 hr is more typical nowadays and even after getting home, there's still the company's smart phone that's always ready to wake you up at 2AM to solve a production issue. And that also explains why from time to time, some rich millionaire jumps out of the 10th floor of his luxury apartment, or use s the gun on his family, his co-workers, and finally on himself.

Yes, how unfortunately . However ,
Poverty also caused so many suicidal in 3rd world countries. Poverty causes hopelessness and then led to termination of life eventually .
Therefore , the question is would you consider to remain in poverty and hopelessness or choose to be wealthier but unfortunately still suffer in many ways ?