From my junior year till about the end of senior year, I had two books on Zen teaching that I read daily when I could. They were books that had small passages so I could consume a bit of philosophical food for thought while I waited at a red light, waited for a friend at a Starbucks, or just didn’t wanna go into school quite yet. I kept them in my car and for whatever reason, I stopped reading! Don’t know why. I always loved the ideals I took away from them. So in an effort to keep up my more professionally-toned writing style AND get some more wisdom in my life, I’m going to start doing Zen Blogs. If all goes well I’ll release one every day- but I think it’s safer to assume they’ll be coming out every other day or something (so basically, for anyone who’s a regular reader, get excited??). So that’s my intro. Here comes the metaphorical meat and potatoes of this blog.
Today’s entry was entitled Zen Shopping. It was simply a list of things “money can buy” and things “money can’t buy.” Goods/Goodness—Services/Service—Food/Fulfillment—Books/Wisdom—Clothes/Style—Jogging Shoes/Self-discipline—Art/Aesthetics—Gifts/Gratitude—Companies/Cooperation—Luxury/Grace—Face-Lift/Youth—Land/Nature—Health Care/Health—Political Office/Character—Soldiers/Devotion—Guns/Security—Experiences/Experience—Zen/Zen.
It seems typical enough. You’ve probably had this lecture/theme shoved down your throat time and time again while growing up. It’s one of the most popular lessons in life parents try to teach: that money can’t buy you everything. And because of this you may think, “Eh, nothing really new to learn from here.” But that’s where you’d be so wrong. If you didn’t get the deeper meaning behind some of these pairings, look again.
What’s interesting about this zen passage is that it really reminds you that what we buy with our money is actually stemming from WHO we are at our core. For instance, clothes can’t buy me style- that’s something I have to have. Or, companies can’t just keep buying out each other, that doesn’t equal power, you have to have cooperation within your conglomerate. What I take the most from this lesson is not necessarily that money can’t buy you things, but that self-improvement is what’s going to make you happy- not just buying a piece of art or getting the best health care. Make you sure you have a deep appreciation for what’s on that canvas- understand the brush strokes, the medium used, and the theme instead of just seeing it as a great decoration. Stop smoking, lay off the drinking, decrease your fast-food intake and exercise to have better health. Even the Foods/Fulfillment pairing is awesome to look at: go the extra mile to maybe eat an organic meal that costs a bit extra or put in the time to make a homemade dinner. Granted, that’s not the full meaning this Zen writer had in mind for “fulfillment”, but it still applies!
At the end of the day, Zen is all about self-improvement and just making the most out of your life in the “best ways possible.” I put that in quotes because obviously not everyone believes in the way of Zen, and truth be told, neither do I- I believe in certain parts. But it’s that part that says there is a great toning of my soul that can always happen if I stay vigilant to the beauty and wonder of this world/life that is mine for the taking that really gets me. And for anyone with a good head on his or her shoulders, it should get them too.
So the next time you make a purchase, think… is this really the best I can do? Do I even deserve this? Can I make a better investment? Go ahead, spend your money. That is fine. You need to in order to survive, But just spend it wisely. Put it in the right place.
—Zen passage taken from zen 24/7 by Philip Toshio Sudo.
