I’ve spent considerable mental energy thinking about how people know what to do at any given moment to achieve what they want. I don’t know much at all about Donald Trump other than he is wealthy. I know also that he lost his wealth but apparently found it – under a rock, maybe. I single him out because he comes to mind as an example of what a relatively small portion of the population can do: create wealth.
Creating wealth isn’t the point. It could be any kind of achievement, but here’s the point. Every morning Mr. Trump gets out of bed and does something. Everything he does begins with a thought but seemingly what he does ends up with more money in his bulging pockets. What does he think? What does he do? What does he say? To whom does he say it?
Now if I were a wealthy person like Donald Trump these questions would not be coming to mind now or ever. Rather, long ago certain thoughts would have arisen in my mind to say such-and-such to that person, make this phone call, go to this bank, and so on.
I’ve been told that the secret too success – one of them anyway – is to have a burning desire for what you want. Which brings me to another character who plays in my mind, one with infamous and ignoble history. Sirhan Sirhan is the assassin of Robert Kennedy. I think of him not because of what he did, but what he didn’t do. Many years ago, during his trial, I read or heard that as a child he had a dream of becoming a famous jockey – it was his burning desire. He didn’t become a famous jockey because he didn’t think the right thoughts, do the right things, speak to the right people who would have made that dream possible. His thoughts and actions took him in a much different direction, and the view from his window – if he has one at all – is much different from that of Donald Trump.
Some people seemingly just know the right things to do to get what they want. Others haven’t the vaguest idea of what to do next. We see these people everywhere around us. Some are homeless. Some are our next door neighbors. They drive past us on the highway or maneuver their shopping carts around us in the grocery store.
The human mind, it seems, has infinite capabilities. And individual human mind, it seems, does not. Fortunately, I do not have a mind like Mr. Sirhan’s. I don’t have a mind like Mr. Trump’s, either. I’ll add a “fortunately” to that declaration too, but I can’t say exactly why. (I could come up with some Buddhist-y thing, but it would be saccharine at best.)
Over at thinkBuddha, Will has some interesting posts about free will from a philosophical point of view. He asks, “What if my actions arise not out of some kind of personal freedom, but merely out of various interacting conditions at play in the world as a whole?” It’s a good question.
Everything that arises, including thoughts, does so out of an infinitely regressive series of causes and conditions. How many of these causes and conditions do we have any real control over? Not many, but some. From a Buddhist point of view, the Trumps and Sirhans of the world are not much different from one another in that they are ordinary worldly beings swayed by the same winds of passion and aversion and delusion as the rest of us. In that sense, they share a common prison.
The eightfold path, as I see it, offers instruction on how to get control of an otherwise unwieldy mind to create the conditions to achieve not material wealth, but spiritual wealth. Daring to push the money metaphor further, spiritual wealth is the only currency that can buy true freedom and happiness. What to think? What to do?
7 Comments
Have you read “Outliers”, Paul? It rhymes nicely with dependent origination.
I’ve read about it, James, and it interests me. I will take your comment as a recommendation.
I’ve enjoyed all three of Gladwell’s books, with “The Tipping Point” being my favorite. When you talked about Trump, it reminded me of “Outliers” where Gladwell asserts that extraordinary success is often the intersection of extraordinary opportunities, extrinsic advantages, cultural legacies, and historical timing. Donald Trump is the beneficiary of all these things, not the least of which was that his father was himself a very wealthy real estate developer, which afforded the future Combover Billionaire the opportunity to attend Wharton and to have a hands-on education in the industry from his father. Anyhow, enjoy the book. Some of the examples in the book are truly startling, especially the one of the successful hockey players who happen to be born early in the year. I hope all is well with you, and especially Robin. Gassho.
I’m not sure that the whole chain of causation is actually relevant to the choices we make today. I don’t see us as prisoners. Thanissaro Bhikkhu points out there is not one, but many karmas, and that we have the ability–and responsibility–to make the right choices freely, unhampered by the past. I think I have that right…!
Peter, I’m not sure what you mean by “the whole chain of causation.” Does that include everything or just what’s involved in one’s own karmic chain? If it’s the latter, then I think it is relevant to the choices one makes today. Relevancy here is just that – there is an association between past and present. I don’t mean to imply we are prisoners our our own actions in the sense that we never have a choice, that we are predestined by some force set into motion long, long ago. Each of us is free to make choices in what to think, do, and say in every moment. However, what I think and do today is influenced by my past and will have an influence on my future. The whole point of the post in question was a wondering about how and why some people seem to know just what to do in a given moment to make certain things come to pass – and others don’t.
Incidentally, Ajahn Thanissaro will be in Portland soon. I’m looking forward to spending some time with him.
Paul, I think those people are just more in touch than most with who they are, and are guided by some inner sense of where they need to go; or perhaps they’re just good at reading the signs.
Peter, yes, I think they are “guided by some inner sense of where they need to go.” I’m curious about what that is. What would it be like to get up each morning not only with a sense of purpose but an innate understanding of exactly what to do and what to say moment to moment. It’s just plain fascinating to me that there are people in the world like that, regardless of their achievements. Of course, those of them without achievements (or modest achievements) we haven’t heard of. Nor do we hear much about those who try so hard but fail over and over again.
On the other hand – because I’m not “successful” and continue to struggle along in my working-class way – must I assume that I am not in touch with who I am, that I am not guided by an inner sense of where I need to go, and I am not good at reading the signs?