6. Greediness

1) The Evolution and Development of the Human Species

Two core conditions made the survival of the human species possible: the fulfillment of material needs and the fulfillment of Jingshen needs. They are the driving forces that continually move civilization forward.

For human civilization to develop to today’s level, survival and development played central roles. Survival is the prerequisite for development. The need to survive has been the greatest, most rudimentary driving force for the continuation and development of human life. This driving force manifests as all the desires and actions to procure what is needed for survival.

The survival of individuals or groups that have more resources will be more assured than those with less. The desire to survive and live better keeps driving humans to procure more and more. Generation after generation, we humans have been driven by the basic need and desire to keep increasing our chance to survive and live a better life.

Even today, this desire has not diminished. On the contrary, it has grown stronger and stronger. What we desire has far exceeded what we need to survive. Our desire has grown incessantly, and to a level that can never be satisfied. The instinctive consciousness of desire has become greed consciousness. Once greed consciousness forms a habit, it becomes a pattern of greediness. Once greed is linked to survival, it becomes a rudimentary driving force. Eventually, the greed becomes a necessary condition for survival. Life that follows this trajectory, is not only detrimental to survival but also poses a huge obstacle for healthy development.

Note: The pattern of greediness is distinctly different from the normal and positive intention to create a healthy and good life.

Let’s look at a story about our cousins, the monkeys. In Algeria lived a group of monkeys. They often stole rice from the local farmers, causing a lot of trouble. Someone came up with an idea for dealing with the monkeys – and the others agreed. They made bottles with narrow spouts that were just wide enough for a monkey’s hand to go in and then tied these bottles to a big tree. Inside the bottles was rice the monkeys liked. The monkeys would put their hands into these bottles to reach for the rice but couldn’t pull them back out because of the rice in their hands. The farmers trapped the monkeys this way. Strictly speaking, the monkeys stole only for their own survival. Human greed can go far beyond that.

2) Basic Instincts and Needs on the Level of Human Nature

As mentioned previously, one of the core tendencies of human nature is to ‘seek benefit (interest) and avoid harm; seek simplicity (easy solution) and avoid complexity (extra work)’. Humans use all sorts of ways, including searching, procuring, fighting and competing to maximize self-interest and security in the simplest and easiest way in the shortest possible amount of time. This tendency can be strengthened by frequently responding to external factors or influences following this mentality and behaviour. Eventually this approach becomes a fixture in the consciousness, or a pattern of greediness. As the pattern continues to be reinforced, its influence will reflect back on human nature, and in a sense, contaminating human nature. The contaminated human nature can, in turn, drive the consciousness to further develop this pattern. Eventually it is very likely that human nature will become twisted and a vicious cycle with the pattern formed.

3) Social and Cultural Environment

Over a long period of time, human society developed a strong social consciousness and a cultural force that upholds and worships wealth, power, status and fame, making these external pursuits the main goals of life. This force has grown so strong that today it has become a powerful cultural phenomenon that is constantly influencing the whole of society and every individual in it. It can be found in consumerism, celebrity culture, dirty politics, elitism, corruption, war and cruelty.

With the availability of technology, information can be spread very efficiently to the whole world. We are exposed to all kinds of advertisements through all kinds of media every day. Everyone is competing in the ‘attention economy’, trying to incite our desire to want them.

The external goals mentioned above are now considered the standards for success. Defining success by how well you achieve these goals has become the social norm. Since no one wants to be seen as a ‘failure’ or ‘loser’, this social consciousness and value system has prompted people to adopt this peculiar notion of success. For example, for thousands of years in Chinese society, getting promoted to a higher rank of office and making more money has been seen as one of the core values or goals to achieve in life. Being such a dominant value in human culture and society, it inevitably has had a huge impact on the individual’s value system and view of life. When an individual identifies with such values, those values become internalized in the consciousness and the patterns of the consciousness. The individual’s consciousness will then help strengthen the social consciousness and values. A cycle forms, that becomes stronger and stronger.

4) Family Environment

A family is a unit of society. There is no doubt that family environment exerts a comprehensive and far-reaching influence on family members, especially children. Every person growing up in a family environment is subject to its influence. All kinds of information can be received from the family environment. Although much of it is well-intended, the values that are imparted to children are not always sound and beneficial to life.

For example, as a girl, you might have received a large amount of information about the princess and have the dream of ‘becoming a princess’, while as a boy, your dream might have been to become a prince, a hero or a gallant.

As we grew older, we received information such as how important it is to do well at school and become a successful person when we grow up.

We might also have received information about how important it is to have the ability to make money and become successful if we want to be respected by others and to have a happy life.

We might also have received information about how important it is to work hard, to earn our keep and gradually accumulate wealth. The harder we work, the closer we will come to success. The value of hard work, we learned, cannot be over- emphasized.

It is important to have ambition. Being complacent about what you have now is not good enough; it is a sign of weakness. Without ambition and the effort to gain more, you are wasting your life.

Information of the above type is not just communicated through verbal expression but also via real action. Parents demonstrate these values through their real action and their children gradually adopt them.

5) Education

Education has become the instrument for gaining the knowledge and skills needed to establish a footing in society. For many, income and social status are the main considerations when deciding what to focus on in their education; and how to achieve them in the easiest way in the shortest possible time.

Through the education system, people not only acquire the knowledge and skills they want for realizing their external goals in life but also get the opportunity to learn how to maximize their gain and self-interest. Students are constantly told how important it is to keep pushing themselves to achieve more and more. The value of pursuing external goals as the way to become a successful person gets reinforced through their education.

6) Personal Factor

As with all the other patterns, without the personal factor working alongside external factors, the pattern of greediness cannot develop.

Shen and consciousness have self-awareness, autonomy, initiative and freedom. To a large extent they determine the condition of the consciousness and the formation of the patterns, which in turn have great influence on the formation of a person’s value system and view of life. The formed value system and view of life can, in turn, have influence on the consciousness, including the development of the patterns of the consciousness. A circular movement develops, with mutual interaction and mutual influence.

Every person’s Shen and consciousness interact with external influences differently. Therefore, even when people are under exactly the same influences, each will develop a unique value system and view of life.

When a person’s Shen and consciousness is doing well at exercising its self- awareness, autonomy, initiative and freedom, it means their intrinsic abilities are well manifested. This puts them in a better position to improve clarity and come to more awareness, understanding and realization, which will help establish sound values and a sound view of life.

Greed refers to the strong, insatiable desire to keep procuring external natural and social resources such as wealth and fame, and acting upon this desire. Greed is fundamentally harmful to individuals, society and nature.

The pattern of greediness, to a large extent, manifests as allowing one’s ever- growing greed to dominate the activities of consciousness and life. Ultimately the pattern can develop into something like a special ‘faith’ or ‘religion’ that becomes the core value, meaning and goal of life.

The formation of greed is extremely complex. Apart from the causes mentioned above, let’s look at some other related ones.

1) Values and view of life

What drives a person to allow basic instinctual needs to develop into ever- growing greed is (a) the desire to live a ‘better’ life, in combination with (b) the view that the greatest value and meaning of life is to pursue external goals. External pursuits are seen as the way to a healthy, happy and growing life. However, the marriage of these two views is a mistake and is destined to end poorly. This is why establishing a healthy and sound value system and view of life is so crucial if we want to grow and be a constructive member of society and nature.

2) Feedback loop of action and reward

Ideas and patterns give rise to action. Action can create rewarding effects such as good feelings, satisfaction or comfort of the body and mind. These effects will carry forward and become a driving force to continue or even step up the action to maintain or heighten the rewarding effects.

3) Comparing

In a society where external goals are used to measure success, comparing oneself with others can drive people to adopt external goals and work hard for them. Everyone wants to protect their dignity; no one likes to be seen as a ‘failure’ or ‘loser’. We don’t feel good when, compared with friends, colleagues, schoolmates, neighbours or relatives, we find that they are better in achieving these external goals. Comparing ourselves with others therefore becomes a motivation to work harder to achieve the external goals.

4) Compensation

Extreme poverty or scarcity and traumatic experiences can sometimes play a role in the development of the pattern of greediness. Certain psychological or mental imbalances such as a strong sense of insecurity can drive people to acquire more and more in order to maintain a sense of balance. A person may feel the need to compensate for early deprivation. Or, a person may feel the need to keep gaining wealth and power to prove his worth – to be seen as successful and respected or admired.

The pattern of greediness can manifest in many areas other than wealth and power; for example, in an insatiable desire to look young or to overindulge in pleasures such sex, food, alcohol, a luxurious lifestyle etc. It can also manifest as feeling that things, including the physical environment and people, are never good enough. (Note: This is a very complex issue that is also somewhat related to perfectionism.)

Let’s use two parables to learn more about this pattern.

Parable 1: Three caterpillars wanted to cross a river to look for nectar. Caterpillar A said, ‘Let’s find a bridge to cross the river.’ Caterpillar B said, ‘Let’s make a boat to cross the river.’ Caterpillar C said, ‘We have walked a long way and we are all exhausted. Why don’t we stay here and rest for a couple of days before deciding what to do next? The other two caterpillars were surprised to hear ‘rest for 2 days’! Are you kidding? Can’t you see that the nectar on the other side of the river is almost gone? Caterpillars A and B immediately started into action. Caterpillar C found herself a comfortable and safe place and rested. When she woke up, she realized she had become a beautiful butterfly, and she gently flapped her wings, and in no time she was on the other side of the river. Flowers were everywhere and so was abundant sweet nectar. However, she flew all over the place trying to find her companions but couldn’t because one died from exhaustion and the other one drowned.

Parable 2: An old monk took two young monks with him to town. On the way, the old monk pointed to a withered tree and said, ‘Which do you think is better for this tree –– to continue to wither or to become lusher? One of the young monks said, ‘Of course becoming lusher is better.’ The old monk shook his head and said, ‘Being lush will eventually come to an end.’ On hearing that, the other young monk said, ‘I think it is better that it continues to wither.’ The old monk shook his head again and said, ‘Withering will also eventually come to an end.’ Another monk happened to come along, so the old monk asked him the same question. This monk thought for a moment and said, ‘If it withers, let it wither. If it becomes lush, let it become lush.’ The old monk nodded and said, ‘You are right. Let things follow their nature. Don’t get attached.’

We live in a time when many people have to work extremely hard and fight in many ways for survival. Letting go and going with the natural movement is also a way to live, and probably a much better way as you can experience more freedom and enjoyment.

Of course going with the natural movement does not mean waiting passively. Neither is it being totally at the mercy of ‘fate’ or ‘destiny’. It is definitely not blindly following mainstream society. Rather, it is the principle of:

‘Be positive and have an open and natural attitude toward the present and the future. Do your best whenever doing something and at the same time, have a natural attitude towards both the process and the outcome, regardless of how they unfold.’

To be more precise, it is allowing things to be what they are and go the way they go. Whatever we do, we constantly adjust ourselves to maintain inner balance, peace and freedom. When we keep life in this state, the quality of life will naturally be ensured. This is the essence of ‘following nature’. When we are able to ‘follow nature’, our thinking will be light and our mental burden will be eased. Pressure and stress will be relieved.

The pattern of greediness manifests as a mindset of ‘never enough’ and insatiable desire. What are the possible advantages of this pattern?

1. The desire to want more drives people to be more ambitious and do more and achieve more.
2. For people who do not have other goals or driving force, this desire at least provides something to live for, a sense of purpose and a driving force to keep them going.
3. For people who feel insecure due to certain causes, this desire can provide a sense of assurance and security.
4. For people who feel severely deprived, this desire can provide a sense of hope.
5. For those who eagerly want other people’s approval and recognition, this desire offers the possibility of achieving things that might win the approval and recognition they seek.
6. From the perspective of society as a whole, when many people have a strong desire to gain more and more, additional wealth will be created which contributes to the development of the material aspect of human civilization.

Generally speaking, the pattern of greediness is detrimental to individuals, society or nature. How does this ‘never enough’, ‘never satisfied’ and ‘more is better’ mentality cause harm? Let’s look at this further.

1) When the pattern of greediness is active, you will always feel what you have is not enough and not good enough. You will compare yourself to others and feel jealous about others having more or better. You will set yourself on the path of forever trying to find ways to satisfy your desires –– more money, things, friends, connections, pleasures. You will always be yearning for opportunities that might move you further along this path and worry about missing out on things. Everything is added to the comparison list: house, car, spouse, children. Everything that you wish for must come true, without exception. You care very much about how others see you and judge you and what they say about you. You can never let them think you are not good enough, not good-looking enough, not competent enough, not smart enough. However, this endless pursuit never brings a true sense of contentment and peace. The emptiness inside can never be filled. No matter how much you already have, you are always haunted by the feeling of ‘inadequate’, ‘lacking’ and ‘needing more’. It is hard to experience real joy; at most you get to feel superficial pleasure or fleeting happiness. The pattern of greediness drives you to always focus outside and cuts off your connection with yourself. You are unable to truly get to know yourself and appreciate yourself, let alone recognize the worth of your own life.

2) Although the goal of accumulating more wealth and resources when propelled by greed can provide a huge driving force for life, it is not a sound goal. It is not a sound goal because it could lead to a process and outcome that are not truly beneficial for individual life, society and nature.

3) Greed drives us to take action to get what we want and get more of it. Action means putting time and energy into these pursuits and in many cases sacrificing; for example, sacrificing time with family and friends, doing things we enjoy, and even the most precious assets of life such as health, happiness, wellbeing and freedom.

Furthermore, when pursuing an external goal as the most important thing for life, we can become controlled by it. We will become obsessed with the loss or gain and it will dictate how we feel. When we gain, we feel happy for some time; when we lose, we feel a great deal of sorrow. When we gain, we are afraid to lose; when we lose, we are obsessed with reversing our loss. This way of living brings a lot of uncertainty and insecurity to life. If in the end, after investing so much of our life and making so much sacrifice we haven’t gotten what we want, we could be left with a strong sense of failure, frustration, disappointment and hopelessness. At this point, we might feel like we have truly lost everything!

4) On a larger scale, if most human beings made the pursuit of external goals the main purpose of their lives, what would happen to society and to the world? The answer is actually very clear because humans have been on this path for thousands of years. So how has it worked? Greed reduces human behaviour to the law of the jungle. To get what we want we turn others, in some cases even our family and friends, into enemies. We play games with each another and distrust is bred. The tragedy of humans killing fellow humans, simply to procure more wealth and resources, has been going on for thousands of years and continues to this day.

5) Why are we humans so obsessed with pursuing wealth and power? Apart from the basic need for survival, it is to achieve good health, happiness and a sense of well-being. Many people believe that having wealth and power is the way to achieve these. It is true that when we have wealth and power, we may receive attention and recognition and we will feel valued and honored and we seem to have more choices and freedom, too. However, little do people know that this good feeling can be like fireworks or a beautiful sunset. As eye-dazzling and glorious as they may seem, they will disappear in a blink of an eye. The apparent choices and freedom are not real choices and freedom. Besides, these people eventually realize that ‘the higher you go, the colder it gets’. Their lives may not be as ‘ideal’ as others imagine. The pressures they have could very well be at a level most people would find difficult to bear. Furthermore, often these people can be subject to jealousy and even hatred from the people around them. Imagine being surrounded by such people!

6) The most devastating consequence of the pattern of greediness is probably the destruction of the environment. The resources mother Earth provides are for all lives on Earth to survive and enjoy a healthy and happy living. They should be used to meet basic needs, provide a comfortable life and serve as the foundation upon which humanity builds and develops civilization. However, the world seems to be following a different direction. In society today, desires of all kinds run rampant. Our greed for the things we want is growing bigger and bigger. To satisfy this greed, the resources of the Earth are being taken in the most outrageous way; we humans are pillaging the Earth. The result is that the fragile ecosystem and limited resources are in crises. More and more people are getting worried. The pattern of greediness is at the root of these crises.

1) Learn to value what you already have. Cultivate the five Xin qualities, especially gratitude. Relate to everything from the perspective of appreciation, rather than finding fault and seeing what’s not good about it. Constantly appreciate everything you have in your life, including all of the people, what is happening and the material things you get to enjoy. Learn to discover the goodness and beauty in even the smallest and seemingly insignificant things and be grateful for their contribution to your life. Cultivate the sense of contentment and well-being generated from gratitude. Count your blessings and constantly remind yourself how fortunate you are. Practise being in the present and connect with your own heart, and from your heart connect with everything else.

2) Decisions involving self-interest should be taken seriously. What do you consider when you make a decision and how do you measure loss and gain? Do you always consider how to maximize self-interest and achieve that goal? Do you always focus mainly on ‘What can I get from this’ or ‘What is good for me in this’? Perhaps try to consider interest from a broader perspective, including other people’s interests, and from the perspective of fairness and the balance of giving and receiving. Life is a process of constantly weighing what is lost and what is gained, and what should be taken on and what should be let go of. These concerns deserve our lifelong attention and will take a lifetime to master.

3) For us human beings, it is necessary to have a clear goal for life. If not, life can lose its direction and lack the driving force to move forward. If pursuing external goals to satisfy greed is not the most beneficial thing for life, is it possible to find a goal or purpose that is beneficial for individuals, family, society and nature as a whole? If not driven by greed, what can we be driven by? What are the values and convictions that can guide us to higher goals in life? This is something each person will have to think through and find their own answer.

4) Recognize the truth that every person deserves whatever is needed to carry out a decent basic life, and with that, achieve health, happiness and growth. Wealth, fame or power do not have a direct link to these essentials (health, happiness and growth). Furthermore, no matter how much wealth, fame or power we have gained, we can’t take any of them with us when we die. Our children and grandchildren have their own life course to follow. No matter how much we leave them, fundamentally it will not change their law of life. What should we leave our children and grandchildren? We should leave them what is truly valuable – the understanding of how a life of value should manifest. What is true wealth? Is there wealth that can bring true benefit to humanity and society? Where can we find this wealth? These are questions each person will have to think through and find their own answers.

5) We come to this world not just to survive and live; we need to prove that the life we have is valuable and meaningful. Every person needs to find her own truth in this. What we recognize as our true value and meaning of life not only lays the ground for healthy Jingshen but also provides the strength we need to overcome challenges and to move forward in life. We also need to think about how to achieve meaningful goals in a way that doesn’t deprive us of the relaxed, calm and natural state. Otherwise how can the process remain beneficial to health and life?

6) It’s time to shift the paradigm of human development. Currently competition is the main way to advance in every aspect of society. From primitive times, humans have had to compete with one another for the limited resources they need for survival and development. However, we humans have come a long way; we are in the 21st century, no longer in the Stone Age. We have enough resources, technology and wealth for all human beings to live in a dignified way if resources and wealth are used and distributed in a sound way. We humans can gradually shift from ‘the law of the jungle’, killing each other to gain resources or maintain dominance, to a model of harmony. Through working together, everybody would benefit and win. This model is not only more efficient in the use of resources but also beneficial for maintaining world peace and safety.

7) It is evident that that the way we humans treat nature is a path to self- destruction. The need for individuals to achieve health, happiness and growth and the need for human civilization to progress are both urgent. What can each individual do to ensure the wellbeing of both? What role should we play? How can each individual contribute? This is something every person should take seriously and figure out for themselves.

The pattern of greediness has a strong connection with basic needs on a deep level of human nature; it is a tenacious and deeply-entrenched pattern. Changing it requires consistent work in many areas of life. The challenge of changing this pattern does not only lie in changing our thoughts and views, but also in the real decisions one has to make related to self-interest. At times, there might be great struggle in making the right decision. Nevertheless, we can start in a few key areas. For example, examining our value system and view of life and improving them when necessary. We can also focus on the cultivation of Five Xin, especially gratitude and respect. Other Xin qualities such as empathy and kindness are also important. Establish the mindset of totality, seeing oneself as part of humanity and nature – all sharing the same destiny. This is how we can orient ourselves towards living in a way that is based on values such as support, love and harmony and hence beneficial for all.

What is most lacking and urgently needed is a social consciousness that facilitates the development of the Jingshen level and the progress of human civilization. We need an environment with a social consciousness that is characterized by friendliness and kindness and facilitates the development of health, happiness, sense of well- being and a growing life. What is also missing is the deep realization that is needed for humans to develop a harmonious and mutually enhancing relationship with nature.

We humans should always bear in mind that the real goals of life are health, happiness, sense of well-being and growth. These cannot be achieved by greed; rather, these are treasures that can only be found within. As we try to achieve these goals, we should always keep ourselves in check to see if we are getting closer or farther away from them.

When life is not dictated by endless greed and desires, our True Self will manifest and our Xin Ling will be clean, pure and beautiful. It can finally enjoy being truly light and free.

Finally, let’s conclude this chapter with the wisdom of a few Chinese sayings.

• Giving brings more happiness than receiving. (施比受更有福)

• The tighter the grip, the greater the loss. (抓得越紧、失去的越多)

• To gain more, one needs to first let go. (舍得、舍得,有舍才有得)

• Fortune favours ‘fools’. The universe takes good care of ‘fools’. (傻人有傻福, 天公疼憨人)

• Contentment is the key to constant happiness. (知足常乐)