To think that you need to have anything this society is selling to attain enlightenment is to be very confused and ignorant about how things actually work. Having divested myself of these kinds of illusions that had previously been unquestioned, I am now free of the illusions of money, and as such, I’m fine with having or not having money, because I think I am responsible with what I do with it—it doesn’t rule or control me or what I do or do not do, and I don’t hurt, or try to use or manipulate, or otherwise try to use money as power-over-other-people or anything like that with it. I will also not do anything primarily to get more money that I don’t need. If someone’s going to give it to me, or if I write a book that someone pays me for, then fine, but I’m not going to do it, or compromise myself, for the money. If someone is going to give me money for what I am doing, that’s fine with me, I’m not going to refuse it. I mean, that would be giving money more import that it deserves. (People who make a big scene of renouncing things they decry as unimportant don’t realize that they are making it important by decrying it.)
Again, it’s not the money, but the person that matters. But that doesn’t change what is wrong with a money-based system, for there is plenty wrong with it. Any ideology that ties happiness to money, or any material things, is inherently flawed.
Let’s face it: the “American Dream,” and American society, is not, in any way, based upon being a wise and kind person. It is based on making money; because, to those who buy the party line, money means security, success, happiness. “Making something of yourself” in this society means getting a “regular job” and making a lot of money. That’s it. It has nothing to do with how people treat their families or other people, let alone who they really are. Money is what this society clearly values. And the values of “a society” are the values of the majority of its citizens. It has nothing to do with a person’s intentions or wisdom; only money. Having it or not having it says nothing to me about a person, nor does it say anything to whether that person is successful in life other than in making money. The ability to make money is simply not something I respect in the least.
Money itself is nothing. It’s a constructed illusion, an idea. And within the context of this society, it is nothing more than a means to an end. Nothing more, nothing less. But—and this is what this is all about—what end? Does money buy and provide the things that help you attain enlightenment/happiness, or rather the things that, ultimately, get in the way, or don’t really matter? Think about it. When it comes to your life, your happiness, your enlightenment, this happens to be important. Maybe you’ve just never slowed down enough to really think about it. No big deal. Why not think about it now?
In this country one is “free” as long as one believes in the money system, believes in what the system tells you, that getting a “job” to be part of the money system is what you are supposed to do, is what makes you a good person, a productive member of society. One is “free” in this country as long as they play along with the system, which is based on making money. Even most “volunteer” enterprises in this country are all about getting people back to the place where they can be plugged into the system. Why is that “Good?”
The fact that one needs money in this society does not mean that one “needs money” (as an ultimate concept—the way we are conditioned to talk and think about it). It only means that one needs money in this society because this society is run on money. But the things that money can buy are not much more than the basic necessities of life—which can certainly be gotten by other means—and luxuries that one does not need, but rather covets and enjoys.
So, what does the fact that a person can make money, and can play along in the system enough to get it, say about him/her as a person? To me, nothing. Not a thing. It tells me nothing important, because what is important to me is a person’s attitude, a person’s values, a person’s ability to live free, which means not being controlled by the illusions of the conditioned existence his/her upbringing and this society engender. The abilities and skills that one needs to make money, and thereby be successful by American society’s standards, have nothing whatsoever to do with these things. Nothing.
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From my personal notes, 11/10/99.
