Buddhist Philosophy and Money

Paul Davies
Aug 31, 2023
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Money people don’t often like to talk about Buddhism.

Buddhism people often have an ironic aversion to talking about money.

And yet shake off the loaded ‘religious’ robes, and you’ll soon see that the frameworks and exercises of Buddhist philosophy are some of the very best practical tools you have to help you live better with money.

In a very general sense, Buddhism is about ‘seeing more clearly’. Slightly more specifically, it’s about seeing more clearly your relationships with yourself, with others, and with the world.

And it turns out this — and not stumbling upon the hottest investment tip, or buying an expensive house, or saying f-you to your boss — is exactly what you need to do to make the most of the money in your life.

(Annoyingly necessary caveat: I’ve read a lot of things about Buddhism and money, and the majority boil down to bullshit like ‘abundance’ and ‘scarcity’ mindsets, or are designed to either tell you what to spend your money on, or allow you to justify hoarding possessions without feeling bad about it. You won’t get any of that impractical twaddle from me.)

  • Part 1 – Mental poisons and their antidote

  • Part 2 – An overview of the Four Noble Truths

  • Part 3 – The First Noble Truth (aka How to use money for good... or ill)

  • Part 4 – The Second Noble Truth (aka Possessed by possessions? Or possessed by unhelpful beliefs?)

  • Part 5 – The idiocy of ignoring impermanence

  • Part 6 – The Third Noble Truth (aka How to stop hitting your head against the financial self-destruct button)

  • Part 7 – The Fourth Noble Truth (aka The problematic 'path'​ to financial wellbeing)

  • Part 8 – The Eightfold Path and interdependence (aka Financial independence starts with financial interdependence)

  • Part 9 – Neuroplasticity (aka Building a better money brain)

  • Part 10 – Meditation: what it isn't (aka How to pretend you're being mindful with money while actually being an idiot)

  • Part 11 – Meditation: what it is (aka Looking at how you look at money)

  • Part 12 – Living mindfully with money

  • Part 13 – Financial enlightenment

  • Part 14 – Financial freedom, part 1 (aka The secret shackles of financial freedom)

  • Part 15 – Financial freedom, part 2 (aka The three levels of financial freedom)

  • Part 16 – How to live well, even in a palace

  • Part 17 – Denunciation is still attachment

  • Part 18 – Addicted to a dream

  • Part 19 – Denunciation bad, renunciation good

  • Part 20 – Seeing your financial world more clearly

  • Part 21 – The overlooked truth of reality that is messing up how you live with money

  • Part 22 – Some personal finance puzzles and how not to solve them

  • Part 23 – Deep wealth v shallow wealth

  • Part 24 – What seeing your financial life more clearly looks like