Poor

Shunyam Thul (Peter F. Schaden)

Chopsticks made from bamboo —
Too poor to afford silverware.
Tender bamboo shoots for food —
Too poor to afford meat.

Why were people of old so integrated with their surroundings? Because the objects that they used, the food that they ate, and the activities that they engaged in were straight from their surroundings. They used sticks made from bamboo as eating implements. They used vines to make baskets. They used gourds as vessels. For food, they grew plants, domesticated animals, and caught fish and game. Their social structure was built around the cycles of the sun, moon, and stars. Newborn babies were washed with the waters of the nearest stream. The dead were buried in the same earth that provided sustenance.

Now our food is imported from distant places and elaborately processed. We have no idea where objects we purchase come from, thinking that their presence and convenience is all that is necessary. We have means of transport that can bring us to places faster than our minds can adjust. We abuse our wealth and use it to insulate ourselves from our surroundings.

That’s why being of modest means is not necessarily bad. When one is poor, one is forced to use what is at hand. It is Tao that brings us these things. The closer we can be to the earth and to nature, the more integrated with life we shall be. Followers of Tao never complain about feeling alienated from life : They have no choice. Their every action keeps them synchronized with the movement of Tao.

Deng Ming Tao, 365 Tao

“Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their suffering. Some suffer too much, others too little.” — Buddha

“Who, being loved, is poor?” — Oscar Wilde

“Ghetto-dwellers are the great fantasists. There was an extraordinary vibrancy there, an imaginative life. When you are that poor, all you’ve got left is your belief in the imagination.” — Ben Okri

“If thou live according to nature, thou wilt never be poor; if according to the opinions of the world, thou wilt never be rich.” — Seneca

“But I, being poor, have only my dreams. I have spread my dreams under your feet; tread softly, because you tread on my dreams.”
— William Butler Yeats

“If you’re in trouble, or hurt or need — go to the poor people. They’re the only ones that’ll help — the only ones.” — John Steinbeck

When the Tao is present in the universe,
The horses haul manure.
When the Tao is absent from the universe,
War horses are bred outside the city.

There is no greater sin than desire,
No greater curse than discontent,
No greater misfortune than wanting something for oneself.
Therefore he who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.

— Lao Tsu, Tao Te Ching, 46

When we didn’t have a lot of money, and were getting pretty far into debt actually, I learned to make do with what I had, to shop for things on sale, and to stretch a dollar as far as it could go. We were living on one income then while I cared for the kids when they were little and went to school part time to get my MBA. I grew a garden so we had fresh veggies. I still garden, but don’t worry so much about getting the veggies – the dogs typically eat the tomatoes and whatever else they like, and I don’t have to worry about it now.

I’m slowly learning to care a lot more about where my food comes from and try to buy locally when I can. There is a farmer’s market on Saturdays that I should go to more often, I think. I shop a lot at the local stores, and try to avoid the big chains as much as I can. I notice myself staying closer ot home these days, not needing to go other places to amuse myself.

It’s nice to have the luxury of not having to worry about money. Sure, we could live in a bigger place or drive fancier cars, but we would be paying a lot more for those choices. By learning to make do and live small, and know that isn’t a bad thing, we now have the luxury of time, extra money to do what we like and support good causes, and the joy of knowing what things in life are really important, and what things are just the product of a consumer society that never knows when enough is enough.