Man Who Gave Up Money

Man Who Gave Up Money

Go to a mall in America on any given weekend, and you will see herds of consumers buying clothing and other material goods that they believe defines them as individuals. Now fly halfway around the world and visit a place like Tibet or a Japanese Shinto Buddhist temple, and we see individuals define themselves not by material possessions, but by their spirituality. Can a nation like the United States whose populace is so entrenched in possession be able to change their definition of self into a spiritual image; and if so, what would they have to give up on their spiritual journey?

One Sunday in 1969, just as Mr. Hatch was opening the massive car door for his wife, and odd-looking character walked down the street: long hair, faded blue jeans, a Mexican blanket draped over his shoulder. A hippie, is what Daniel’s father called the type. The hippie walked right up to Mr. and Mrs. Hatch and took in their Cadillac and furs with contempt.

“Is this what Jesus taught?” he said. “Are you serving God—-or money?

The Hatches were speechless. The Hippie sauntered on past. Suelo stared after him, aghast, until his father tugged him into the chapel.

“Heathen,” said his father. “He don’t understand.”

But Daniel couldn’t shake the man’s words. He had read the gospels. Wasn’t it true that Jesus had commanded us to cast aside our worldly belongings? Mathew 19:21: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor.” And hadn’t Paul written in Timothy 6:10 that the love of money was the root of all evil?

What if the heathen was right, and the Brethren were wrong (Sundeen)?

As a young child of approximately nine years of age, Suelo was already quest...

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...c culture; the people are being forced to move away from their herds into the cities. Unlike China, in Tibet the cell phone, and internet are not closed down and restricted. The Tibetans want news of the world and they want others to know of them.

“Beliefs are important in Buddhism” (Religion Facts). “Right beliefs concerning human nature and ultimate reality are of the highest priority” (Religion Facts). “Buddha urged his followers to focus on the Four Noble Truths by which they can free themselves from suffering” (Religion Facts). Of these noble truths one must devote the time to find the answers and to know oneself. In our Western culture we do not seem to want to take the time to meditate to truly know ourselves completely in the Buddhist method. There is not a focus on God, or the afterlife, which is so prevalent in our Western culture.