Jain Spirit 1999 10 No 02

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 23

LIFESTYLE
ple himself. Being a son of a wealthy king he found that all his time was taken by the management of material possessions. The palaces, the furniture, hundreds of horses, elephants and domestic animals, thousands of acres of land, hundreds of servants and other paraphernalia such as robes, jewellery, shoes and thrones were absorbing all his attention and mind so that he had no space left to attend to the needs of the soul. And so he decided to leave his kingdom. He showed that to be happy you need very little.
TUNA
TUS
Do we really need all this to be happy?
on less than a dollar a day. This is a snapshot picture of a society which is based on materialistic values.
unprecedented danger of global warming and climate change. The depletion of the ozone layer is causing skin cancer and people are being advised not to sunbathe. The oil spills and other pollution are making our beaches unusable. In the wake of BSE (mad cow disease) and CJD (Creutzfeld Jakob disease) people are losing confidence in the purity and quality of the food they consume.
The teachings of Mahavir and other Jain sadhus have been to be alert, aware, and conscious of the amount of material possessions we accumulate and use. For example, every morning after meditation practising Jains would put a limit on the number of items they are going to eat, to wear, the distance they will travel, and the things they are going to purchase. Their aim will be to reduce their consumption from the previous day, and find satisfaction in using a few things well rather than too many carelessly. This is not to say that one has to be extreme and give up everything: the intention is to appreciate the importance of limit and frugality and give proper value and care to the things upon which we depend, rather than being wasteful. The point is not to become obsessed with the limits one has set oneself and suffer guilt if the aim is not achieved; the true meaning of Restraint is to be mindful of our relationship with the material world, and to create a better balance between material needs and spiritual practice.
The dissent against such a social system is growing. Environmental organisations such as Friends of the Earth are campaigning to bring about a new attitude of restraint. Many wealthy individuals are voting with their feet and giving up their lucrative careers in favour of a simpler lifestyle: 'Downshifting has become a new buzzword in the USA where people are making a conscious decision to work less, earn less and live more. Voluntary Simplicity, a book by Duane Elgin, has become a best-seller in the USA. The book advocates a way of life that is "outwardly simple and inwardly rich".
So, ecologically speaking, unlimited economic growth is unsustainable. In terms of social justice and economic equity the situation is totally unfair. The combined wealth of the world's three richest families - Bill Gates (Microsoft), Walton (Wallmart) and the Sultan of Brunei - is greater than the annual income of 600 million people in the poorer countries. One of the recent United Nations' reports called it a 'grotesque" gap between the rich and poor. UN figures show that over the last four years the world's 200 richest people have doubled their wealth to more than one trillion dollars ($1.000 billion), while 1.3 billion people are living
In this context the Jain idea of Restraint, traditionally practised by millions of people for more than 2,000 years, is extremely relevant. Our founder Mahavir said "even the angels bow to those who practise restraint." He set a supreme exam
Satish Kumar is a former Jain monk and Editor of the internationally renowned Resurgence magazine. He is Chairman and Consulting Editor of Jain Spirit.
22 Jain Spirit • October - December 1999