There are many kinds and categories of the afflictions of greed in the world of living beings, which are also wide ,large, and deep in kinds, categories and amount , including greed for food ， drink, play and amusement ,greed for wealth, beauty, fame, food and sleep, greed for fame, glory and fortune, greed for material, sound, scent ,taste, and objects of touch , and for them ,as long as one pulls one hair and the whole body is affected. They are vertical and horizontal, intricate and complex, and they are a four-dimensional net , and the hazards and sufferings they bring to all beings are innumerable.
Since all sufferings are caused by greed, it is very important for us to understand greed, the harm and suffering it brings.
According to Buddhism, greed or covetousness is the natural enemy of Buddhist practice and the root of generating all afflictions. Therefore, greed or covetousness is listed as one of the fundamental afflictions, and together with hatred and ignorance, it is regarded as one of the “three poisons” harmful to the practice of sentient beings.
In the 16th volume of the Theory on All Giving, it is said, “The evil desire for other possessions is called greed.” Popularly greed is the desire for fame, profit, possessions, and all desirable things in the outside world, and even the desire to pursue and possess the body of all living beings, which consists of the five aggregates of skandhas, without ceasing, boredom and satisfaction.
We have understood what greed is, so what effects, hazards and sufferings can greed bring to sentient beings?
Firstly, covetousness or greed leads to the eight sufferings. All beings are greedy no matter what they crave for food, drink, or anything because they feel good about that. Once they are greedy, the followings are a series of combinations arranged and built up at the same time. If they just appreciate and don’t covet, those permutations and combinations behind it don’t exist. Once they have greed, instantly while they are greedy, all the sufferings are arranged and waiting for you to suffer. The easiest thing to feel is the suffering of not being able to get what one seeks, the sufferings of parting from loved ones. For example, what would you feel if your favorite food, which you wanted to eat now, turned out to be taken by another person who is eating it? The suffering of not being able to get what you seek. If it was your favorite and someone took it from you and you didn’t eat it, how would you feel? My beloved thing is eaten by someone else, so I suffer from parting from loved ones, and I suffer from encountering those they detest. When someone else eats my favorite food, I have a strong reaction and tossing of the material, feeling, thinking, action, and consciousness, which is the suffering of being intense in the five skandhas.
Therefore, in the Praise of the Buddhas’ Conduct, it is said that greed makes people inferior, because greed naturally produces the eight sufferings followingly, so that they are reduced from a pattern of noble and happiness to a lowly pattern of the eight sufferings.
Secondly, greed causes other afflictions. A closer look will reveal that all the creations of sentient beings are for greed, so the sea of suffering is boundless. What sentient beings, from beginninglessness to this life, are triggered from ignorance ,deviant views and being upside down are all greed, always greed, if they are not greedy , then they’ll be angry. This is a very serious fundamental problem. Indeed, everything they do is for greed. His arrogance is also for greed for his own face and dignity. His suspicion is also for greed，because he is not greedy, he is suspicious. His envy is also for greed. Even if his work, marriage, bearing children, buying a house and a car, eating, drinking, playing, amusing, walking, standing, sitting and sleeping, in any state or at any time, seeing, hearing , perceiving and knowing , following money, beauty or men, fame, food, sleep, material, sound, smell, taste, objects of touch, form, feeling, false thinking, action and consciousness, are all for the sake of greed!
Thirdly, greed can keep sentient beings away from the Buddhas, hinder their birth in heaven, and prevent them from achieving anuttara samyak sambodhi. The Avatamsaka Sutra says: “The happiness of the world is nothing but suffering. It is the realm of demons ,the greed of fools, the scorn of Buddhas, the sufferings and disasters arises from it…If you are immersed in and hold on to the five desires, you will be far away from all the Buddhas and are obstructed to be born in the heaven, let alone attaining anuttara samyak sambodhi!”
Fourthly, greed can bring the suffering of cutting off one’s tongue. The Sutra on the Forty-two Chapters Preached by the Buddha says: “People do not give up wealth and sex. Like a knife blade with honey, it is not enough for a meal. If a child licks it, he will suffer from cutting off his tongue.” It is also said here that people who are greedy for money and sex will eventually suffer from the pain of cutting off their tongues.” Greedy desire is like the sweetness on the blade of a knife, as soon as one licks it, the pain of cutting one’s tongue will follow.
Fifthly, greed makes sentient beings always do not get what they want. When people are greedy, because what they focus on is greed, they often say and do things that are contrary to their wishes and desires.
Sixthly, greed obstructs the wisdom , merits and virtues of the Buddhas that beings possesses originally, so it is also called the obstacle of afflictions in Buddhism. Another example is the Avatamsaka Sutra, which says: “The Buddha’s wisdoms are everywhere. What is the reason? There is no sentient being who does not possess the wisdom of the Tathagatas, but they do not attain it due to false thinking, perversions and attachments. If one is free from the false thinking , all wisdom, natural wisdom and unhindered wisdom will be realized.” The false thinking here includes greed.
Seventhly, greed can make sentient beings as if they were entering the sea of miasma, a poisonous gas. In the Shurangama Sutra, it is said that when a Bodhisattva sees greed, it is like avoiding the sea of miasma. When a Bodhisattva sees greed, it is like seeing the sea of miasma and he must avoid it. What does miasma mean? It is a kind of poisonous gas. People will have different perceptions of different miasmas and poisonous gas, and once they are poisoned, they do not want to come out of it alive. Carbon monoxide, for example, can make people die unknowingly and painlessly. Why will carbon monoxide let people die without pain? Because it causes the body to lack oxygen. If a person’s mouth and nose are covered and the body is deprived of oxygen, the person will not die so comfortably, but carbon monoxide can make a person die comfortably. Greed is also like carbon monoxide, which can make people unconsciously, painlessly and comfortably suffer from the hardships of the three karmas of the mind, body and mouth, the running out of the oil and lamp of your body and mind, and even going to death or even all the seas of sufferings .
In summary, the dangers of greed are vast, subtle, and frightening. Therefore, we advocate strengthening moral values such as compassion and positive altruism to reduce the impact of greed. In addition, social education can be used to increase public awareness of greed and to promote change in greedy behaviors. Next, more effective policies and laws can be enacted to combat greed in order to reduce it. In the future, we need to further study how greed affects positive practices, society and the economy in order to find more effective solutions.