The Path To Enlightening Your ... Wallet?

Without divulging any specifics, I have a friend who recently has started down the path of Zen Buddhism. Or, he'd like to think so, anyway. After all, he reads all the Zen blogs, reads all the Zen books, and listens to all the Zen Masters. While I'm hardly an expert in any of these fields, I know one thing is true.

The true path to enlightenment in your life does not come through paying hundreds (if not accumulated thousands) of dollars to listen to a "Zen Master" talk and teach for an hour.

Let's get this part out of the way first; I have absolutely nothing against modern lifestyles and natural human instinct. Also, I do agree that people should be striving for self improvement and 'enlightenment' in all things in their lives. I don't think Buddha ever charged for his teachings. In fact, charging money for Zen teachings is almost entirely against everything I've ever read regarding Zen. It's as ridiculous, in my eyes, as paying a religious leader to give sermons.

I'm more than positive that this topic has been touched on by countless Zen-types and such, but I feel a lot of the "Zen Buddhists" of our time carry about "the stench of righteousness". The holier than thou attitude, such as "I'm more enlightened than you are." That is not what Buddha taught. In fact, he taught in the entirely opposite direction.

I'm not really saying a lot of the Zen teachers are wrong; they generally have very good points, but when it comes to them asking people to pay hundreds of dollars for some of those teachings, you're really turning it into a business. They're business men, not lowly, humble teachers for the cause of bettering humanity. Changing the world does not require money. (But let's face it, it sure helps!)

Before I wrote this, I did a bunch of research, just to ensure I'm not making too big of a fool of myself. Buddha taught people to follow the Middle Path (or Middle Way). Not extremist one way, not extremist another. One of the more prominent Buddhist teachers (Unfortunately, his name escapes me, and I can't seem to find it) touched on the subject of "The Upper Middle Path", achieving enlightenment through expensive mountain retreats, classes, and various other methods that most of the common people could never do. While it may be somewhat of a joke among Buddhists, I think it proves how much of a 'fad' Buddhism has become in some parts of the world. (North America/The United States, to be specific.)

"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought." - Basho

Many of the Buddhist/Zen followers are still frequently angry people, still have their life running thousands of different directions, still yell at their children for miniscule things, and don't really have their emotions in check.

"He is able who thinks he is able." - Buddha

While you might say this clearly means "Confidence is key", this is not what I'm seeing, nor how I interpret it at all. If you're not acting like someone who follows Zen teachings in your daily life, stop pretending to. To put it simply; there is no possible way enlightenment is a part-time job or a "I don't feel like being Zen right now."

To end on a high note;

It is said that a man, alone and naked in a room can learn the martial art of Ninjutsu. Are a bunch of Monks going to let a few Ninjas beat them? I encourage people that are trying to better themselves, but perhaps they need to consider that they're not really following the right path to do so. I promise you will find more of yourself hiking in the mountains, sitting on a park bench, or taking an evening walk around your neighborhood, than you will ever find at a fancy spa or lecturing hall.


For those who pay for all the exquisite retreats and lectures; the only "enlightenment" you are reaching is that of your wallet. True enlightenment doesn't cost a dime.