Half a tatami mat when waking up, one tatami mat when sleeping

 Well, I felt stupid writing this yesterday. It's so stupid to think that humans have been believing that worthless things have value for over 2000 years, maybe even thousands of years, and have been chasing after a mirage, falling for the tricks of "Mr.MONEY".

Of course, people want to become monks once or twice, saying they've escaped this world of suffering.

That's how everyone really becomes a monk in the early Buddhist scriptures, everyone. I've forgotten what happened after that.

Anyway, to recapitulate "exchange value" once again: our worshipped "God Money" has forcibly created differences in order to dissatisfy humans. He creates a difference forcibly to prevent humans from being satisfied. In fact, we have enough of food, clothing, and shelter, quantitatively speaking. So if everyone says something like

 "I only know contentment" 

like some Zen monk, and tries to live happily by relying on God's blessings, it would be a big problem. Money won't increase. There will be no economic growth. 

Ah, the "economic growth rate"! 

What a curse!

In any case, if we humans become satisfied and happy, Money will be in trouble. That's why he must create "dissatisfaction" at all costs.

So Money forcibly created "differences" between "high-class" and "low-class" clothing, "high-class" and "low-class" food, "high-class" and "low-class" shelter, and everything else, and even between "high-class humans" and "low-class humans" (i.e., the class system) in human beings themselves, so that the flames of human desire and vanity will burn forever, the cycle of profit and investment will continue forever, and Money himself will continue to increase forever. And as long as Money's rule continues, humans will be in "dissatisfaction" forever.

As long as the demand for food, clothing, and shelter remains a "quantitative" issue, it is an absolute indicator and there is a limit. There is a goal. However, when the "quality" issue of "high-class" and "low-class" is created, that is, a fabricated "difference," everything becomes "relative" and there is no limit. Even though the quantity is enough, they are led to believe that 

"What you have is "low-class." That is why you are unhappy."

 If standards become relative rather than absolute, there will be no end to it. As long as differences continue to be created, "high-class" and "low-class" will always be reproduced, and the day when everything will be "high-class" will never come. 

I said this before. In reality, there is no such thing as "rough food." Since we have been given precious lives, everything is "precious food." Even Zen monks' homes are

 "half a tatami mat when awake, one tatami mat when sleeping" (one tatami mat = 1.82405 ㎡). 

This is a teaching that expresses the living space that humans really need, 

"half a tatami mat is enough when awake. One tatami mat is enough when sleeping." 

If all humans could achieve this kind of enlightenment, the real estate market would collapse in an instant. Our ruler, "Money," would surely go mad. But if the real estate market collapsed, wouldn't rents go down and everyone's lives would become easier? The only people who would suffer would be the rich who own "luxury" properties. And those rich people wouldn't lose the "properties" they own. Prices would just go down, they'd have less money, but they'd still have a place to live, so that's fine. They could live. Just as well as everyone else, though. There would be no more manufactured "differences."

Looking at it this way, the Buddha's teachings are the most powerful when it comes to the fight against MONEY.

The "temptation of money" doesn't work on these guys.

(Actually, there is another strongest one, Islamic rule that says "you must not charge interest." I will definitely talk about this next time)