Money, Sex, War, Karma: Notes for a Buddhist Revolution

by David R. Loy

What's Wrong with Sex? How to Drive Your Karma Consciousness Commodified The Karma of Food The Three Poisons, Institutionalized Why We Love War
These are just some of the chapters in this brilliant book from David R. Loy.

In little time, Loy has become one of the most powerful advocates of the Buddhist worldview, explaining like no one else its ability to transform the sociopolitical landscape of the modern world.

In this, his most accessible work to date, he offers sharp and even shockingly clear presentations of oft-misunderstood Buddhist staples-the working of karma, the nature of self, the causes of trouble on both the individual and societal levels-and the real reasons behind our collective sense of "never enough," whether it's time, money, sex, security... even war.

Loy's "Buddhist Revolution" is nothing less than a radical change in the ways we can approach our lives, our planet, the collective delusions that pervade our language, culture, and even our spirituality.

Genres: Buddhism, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Religion, Philosophy, Sexuality, Politics

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

David Robert Loy is an American author and authorized teacher in the Sanbo Kyodan lineage of Japanese Zen Buddhism.

Reviews

[Kevin Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated Loy's identifying urgent social and psychological issues that would likely preoccupy the curious reader who might want to seriously explore Buddhism as a belief/philosophy that can bring solace and wisdom, but who might also be suspicious that Buddhism's quietude tradition would entail abandoning any meaningful engagement with contemporary social and political issues that transcend the concerns of one person. Loy does a good job here (but a better job in his other book, The Great Awakening: A Buddhist Social Theory, in my opiinion) of demonstrating the relevancy of pursuing a Buddhist perspective in order to understand the human impulses that create these social/political problems in the first place (such as environmental degradation, celebrity culture, unchecked capitalist greed, etc.). Loy also does a fine job of introducing some important Buddhist concepts in a lucid and plain-speaking style that I think enriches his argument without descending into obscure academic-speak. Where the book could have been better, in my opinion, is to talk about how Buddhist practices could help advance solutions and not just explanations of the various social/political issues we all face in the 21st century. I was taken aback that there really was no introduction to the Eight-fold Path and how pursuing this as a Buddhist practice might inform the ways in which we deal with the issues we confront. Maybe that is a whole other book, but I really felt it should have been touched upon and the absence of any discussion of practice really made the book read as a rushed job and an incomplete argument. But it is only one of a series of writings that Loy has done for showing how Buddhism is relevant to the group concerns we all contribute to and face if we are to bring about a better world for not only us but all living creatures, and I deeply respect Loy's ongoing commitment to Buddhist Social Activism.

[Nastja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suurepärane käsitlus budistlike põhimõtete (võimalikest ja vajalikest) kokkupuutepunktidest Lääne mõtteviisi ja elustiiliga, mis võimaldavad kahel kohati vastandlikul maailmapildil pidada üksteist täiendavat dialoogi.

Autor toob välja nii mõnedki valearusaamad, mis budistlikke põhimõtteid ümbritsevad, ning selgitab need väga kaunisõnaliselt lahti. Lisaks arutleb ta punktide üle, mis vajaksid moderniseerimist ja ümbermõtlemist, et tänapäeva konteksti paremini sobituda. Budistlikust seisukohast on filosoofia põhitõdede uudne tõlgendamine ja kaasajastamine igati loogiline samm, kuna üks budismi alustaladest on uskumus kõigi nähtuste püsitusesse. Seetõttu on kiiduväärt, et autor on ette võtnud budistlike nägemuste läbivaatamise ja analüüsimise, sobitamaks neid paremini nii tänapäeva kui ka Lääne ühiskonda üleüldse. Vaatluse alla tulevad näiteks tarbimiskultuur, militarism, kapitalism, tähelepanu killustatus, institutsionaliseeritud ahnus ja vihkamine, keskkonnakriis, geneetiliselt muundatud toit ja paljud muud küsimused. Kõigi nende probleemide puhul üritab autor sisse tuua budistliku aspekti ja vastuse küsimustele, mis võivad lugejal tõstatuda.

Minu lemmikosa ei olnud aga mitte see nö praktilisem pool raamatust, mis käsitles tänapäevaseid probleeme ja võimalikke budistlikust suhtumisest lähtuvaid lahendusi neile, vaid hoopiski raamatu esimene pool, mis tegeles peamiselt filosoofilise mõttelaadi lahiseletamise ja budismi sobitamisega tänapäeva ühiskonda. Mulle meeldis budistlike põhimõtete analüüs ja kaasajastamine, mille käigus tõi autor välja nii mõnegi silmiavava ja mõtlemapaneva mõttekäigu. Mulle meeldis mõtisklus raha kui absoluutse väärtuse üle, mille põhjal anname hinnangu ka iseendale ja mille kaudu otsime endale identiteeti (näiteks: me ei väärtusta materiaalset vara ennast, vaid seda, mida ütleb uue Mersu omamine minu kui inimese kohta - oleme omaenda loodud sümbolitest liialt kinni hakanud ja näeme neid millenagi, mida nad tegelikult ei ole). Meeldis lugeda ka karma ning minatunnetuse ja ajataju kohta.

Huvitav oli lugeda ka budistlike põhimõtete ajaloo ja kujunemise kohta. Näha, kuidas tegelikult on võimalik neid põhimõtteid kergesti rakendada ka tänapäeval. Kui lugu jõudis sõja, korporatsioonide ja muu taoliseni, muutus lugemine minu jaoks väga rahutusttekitavaks. Autoril on üpris selged seisukohad, mida ta kipub suhteliselt agressiivselt ja fatalistlikult väljendama - vähemalt mina tajusin seda niiviisi. Tundsin ennast natuke liialt häirituna - võib-olla tuleneb see minu enda hirmust sõja ees ja minu vastupanust korporatiivse kapitalismi osas, mis sümboliseerib liiga suurt ja hirmutavat süsteemi, mille ees üksi seista. Võib-olla tundsin siinkohal puudu natuke soojemast ja toetavamast tekstist, mis julgustaks ette võtma konkreetseid samme ja annaks veidi rohkem lootust sellise gigandiga rinda pista (teen seda enda silmis igapäevaselt ja üpris mitmekülgselt, lihtsalt kõigi probleemide in-your-face ettelugemine ja konkreetsete, julgustavate lahenduste puudumine tekitab veidi lootusetu tunde). Või siis aitaks teha asjaga piisavalt rahu ja leida enda võimet aktsepteerida olukorda, liikudes sellegipoolest muutuste suunas. Natuke liialt agressiivne ja hirmutav tunne jäi, ühesõnaga. Mõistan, et keskkonnakriis, sõjad jmt ongi hirmutavad, aga taolise temaatikaga teosest ootaksin natuke teistsugust tooni.

Üldiselt aga huvitav lugemine, mis lubas kõrva taha panna nii mõnegi mõttetera ja kaasajastas veidi budistlikke põhimõtteid.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mi primer libro en español! Perdona mi terrible español. Budista y profesor de ética y religión, David Loy identifica el sentido del "yo" como destructivo en el sentido de que hay una otra mitad necesaria de la cual comprendemos algo que siempre falta. Así lo llenamos de dinero, sexo, guerra y karma.

[Lentšik Tiiger Linin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nõustun kõigega peale selle kaanekujunduse ja tema anarhistlike kalduvustega.
Aga kõik muu... Vau.

[Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the title is a bit hokey in its attention-grabbiness, the idea behind Money Sex War Karma is pretty good: a series of short essays on how some of the concerns of modern life might be viewed through a Buddhist lens. After all, the argument goes, if 21st century Buddhism doesn't have anything substantive and helpful to say about how we make and spend money, or treat the environment, or regard ourselves in the media, then what actual good is it to anyone?

As a project or a prospect, I find this approach a welcome contrast to how Buddhism most often rears its head lately: as the unmentioned origin story for that corporation-sanctioned half-hour of Mindfulness that was slipped into the yearly budget because some studies suggested it might result in a slight productivity boost. "Is this Buddhist?" asks someone from the cube pod down the hall, and the facilitator looks kind of uncomfortable and says "well, not necessarily". And she's right: the tangible, physical-and-psychological, for-realsies no-fooling science-backed benefits of 10 minutes meditation are indeed available to anyone who wants them, no strings attached. I just think that when you realize that the method does indeed work, and you wonder how the method was arrived at, and you discover that the answer is "several thousand years of intense repeated research, which led incidentally to all sorts of other pretty weird and equally verifiable discoveries about what human minds are and how they work", and you then say, "ok, I'll take the 10 minutes and head back to my cube, thanks", I personally find that a little perverse, although I do understand and sympathize: we all have a lot to do.

Which is kind of the subject of these essays, what it is exactly that we're doing, or think we're doing. The overall thesis that gets explored here involves what Buddhism calls "the three poisons", or "the three unwholesome roots", usually translated as Greed, Hatred, and Delusion. We perceive the world wrongly, and in doing so create a false self that we picture as separate from the rest of the world, intensely fragile, and constantly under threat. The author posits that we are doing this not only at the level of the individual, but en masse at a societal level as well, which just makes common sense, as our late-stage hyper-consumer capitalism is driven by mass anxieties about never having enough, or doing enough, or being enough, anxieties that the various powers-that-be are more than happy to stoke for their own ends.

I didn't find any of the essays all that incisive, nor did I learn a whole lot, but again, it's the general shape of the project I admire here. If Mindfulness is really going to have any value in our culture, and not just be the latest fad subsumed by the machine and converted to a tool of corporate mind and body control, its practitioners have to acknowledge its roots and admit that it's pointing to something significant. The reason it makes you feel better is that you're spending a few moments deliberately stepping outside the rat maze that your brain runs around in all day. As a society and a culture we owe it to ourselves to take an additional moment to look at that maze from outside and give some thought to what it gives us, and what it takes away from us, before jumping back in.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very accessible introduction to engaged Buddhism, not as an object of study, but as a program of individual and social transformation to personally participate. I wish Loy had developed some arguments and explanations further--there are times when great leaps of inference are made with little justification. However, Loy is great at describing how we turn money, sex, war, advertising, etc. into dukkha/suffering, then offering a diagnosis in terms of basic Buddhist accounts of causation (ignorance, the three poisons, etc.), and finally suggesting how Buddhists might have distinctive resources to share.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of thoughtful magazine essays, but overall not as meaty (Buddhist pun) as Loy's other books. He does a solid job of translating some key Buddhist ideas into today's context, and his examination of how they apply to current dukkha-causing aspects of modern life should be helpful to anyone interested in socially engaged Buddhism.

[Whitaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great book shows us how everything is great and worth to die for

[Zach Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This is a series of short essays looking at different world issues through the lens of Buddhism. I love the idea, and stripping Buddhism away from its "la-la-la-I'm-meditating-and-everything-is-FINE" context of many granola Eastern-heads is important, but every essay basically boils down to the same formula:
1. There is a problem in the world.
2. We are not fixing the problem in the world.
3. Here's what early Buddhists might have thought about the problem.
4. Here's what might be different about thinking about it today. Okay, next problem.

There aren't a lot of solutions offered, and it all gets quite repetitive by the end. Moments of brilliance, though, and I especially loved how the author explained nirvana and karma, leading to the best essays of the bunch ("How to Drive Your Karma" and "The Second Buddha").

[Selena Piercy · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOLY COW. What a book. This took me over a month to process. While the language was easy to digest, Loy's commentary on the current state of the world was extremely thought-provoking and honestly a little depressing. This book has motivated me to try to be more present in every moment and also to not fall victim to consumerism to fill a sense of "lack", if I am able. I literally have so many thoughts about this book, but honestly it would be best for someone to read it for themselves to understand the true artistry and revolutionary words put down in these 100-something pages.

[John Fredrickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, though it sounds odd to say so. The book is a terrific set of essays, as seen through the lens of Buddhism - each of the essays focus on individual aspects of our culture that affect our ability to deal properly with reality,. Much of the book deals with the way that our culture (even more than this, any culture) screws us up as we define our "I" in our own cultural context, but is written in such a straightforward way that it is pretty compelling.

[Natalie Granatelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn’t an introduction to Buddhism, so I’d recommend studying the basics before picking this book up. This is a great layout though of how Buddhist philosophy can be applied to Western and modern cultures.

[Hughie Carroll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential perspective from a wondrous teacher!

[Ben O'Hare · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave it 5/5 stars as it is well written, clear and expertly argued and not because I agree with the secular approach (far too post-modern for me). It's worth a read anyway.

[Txem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Refreshing perspectives and interpetations of important topics but not real solutions are proposed. Still a really nice read to anyone interested in seing the world through a buddhist lense.

[Lukasz]

recommended: [Johnathan at Limbo — Reading List](https://johnathanbi.com/readinglist)

[Mad Chase · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a fine book but ultimately it is a product of 2008. It could be updated to the 2020s; however, it seems like it might just stick around as a post-Bush piece of scholarship.

[Zhouweiwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loy's commentary, if a tad dated, remains relevant today. And maybe that's the point, the names and locations change but the forces of delusion always tell you the same things.

[C]

I like Loy quote a bit but this book is dated by this point. Not the best entry point into his work. Read because it's on audible.

[Rossdavidh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Subtitle: Notes for a Buddhist Revolution. It passed through my mind to tell you that it was a sort of zen Anarchist's Cookbook, with recipes for pipe bombs and drug use and such, just because it would sound so absurd to western ears. We associate buddhism (in the west) with nonviolence and tolerance, and I think David Loy uses the word "revolution" in part to get our attention. To a certain degree, though, it is more than a gimmick, and if his "notes" were followed widely it would be more than a little disruptive.

The title is actually fairly descriptive. Money, sex, war, and karma are all discussed as problematic parts of modern society, and of course then he presents his ideas on how Zen Buddhism would address the issues they each raise.

In the three cases of money, sex, and even war, Loy does not completely condemn them. However, he points out the self-sustaining bureaucracies (either government, corporate, or alliances of the two) which cultivate and thrive upon satisfying our need as a society for all of these. The way in which bureaucracies can acquire a life of their own and act in self-perpetuating ways is reminiscent of Dawkins' "selfish gene", or the libertarian observation that government agencies tend to act in ways which justify their continued existence.

To his credit, Loy does not shrink from critiquing traditional Buddhism along with western capitalism, and the section on karma is a good example of this. The opening words of the relevant chapter are, "What are we going to do about karma? There's no point in pretending that karma hasn't become a problem for contemporary Buddhism." Hearing a religious thinker say something like that about their own religion is a refreshing change. He ends up retaining the concept for his own beliefs, but not without substantial changes relative to how it is practiced in many Buddhist nations.

Most of the book, though, is taken up with an analysis of the obsessions of western culture with money, sex, and war. It owes as much to Chomsky as Dogen, but unlike Chomsky (who is brilliant at analyzing the failures of existing power structures, without being particularly effective at suggesting how to change them or what we would want to change them to) Loy spends equal amounts of time on the problem, and how we might go about taking it on.

Does any of it matter? Well, if it requires a nation to become majority Buddhist first, then no. It is my impression that most thoughtful and knowledgeable people would find Loy's analysis useful even if they were not Buddhist (before or after reading it), but I don't know if I'm the right person to evaluate that. Most importantly is probably that it seems to address the western Buddhist community on such topics, making it in some ways the "liberation theology" of Zen. Catholicism (or at least the previous two popes) turned its back quite decisively on liberation theology. It will be intriguing to see how asian Buddhism responds to Loy's book, if at all.

Most religions are only able to remain truly revolutionary when they are young, and as they grow older and successful, they have a lamentable tendency to become enamored of the status quo. In the west, Buddhism is a young upstart, but in east Asia it has long been used to justify keeping those at the top who are already there. Not perhaps more than other religions of similar size, but not really any less so.

Anything that helps to shine a different light on how our modern mix of money and power drives us, and itself, is a welcome addition to one's intellectual arsenal.

[Gor “Gorki” Laughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and thoughtful and certainly inspiring. A great treatise on how and why human beings just love that WAR thing - chimed in with an essay by Alan Watts that I’d been reading the week before. The book brings a very contemporary approach to awakening to the table.

[cypher · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was very interesting, i can say i appreciate the teachings of this religion a lot, it's in favour of physical health, the environment, mental health, human connections, financial wealth, mental growth. it's hard to find flaws, especially compared to the other options available.

[Frank Jude · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Loy is a leading Buddhist scholar/teacher/practitioner who has spent much of his career writing about the encounter between Buddhist teachings and practices and the contemporary world. His basic thesis is that the existential sense of 'lack' (building on the traditional teaching of anatta) is the driving force behind individual and collective suffering. The three poisons of greed, ill-will and delusion have been institutionalized in the social institutions of the Corporation (greed; ie. they are never profitable enough), Militarism (ill-will) and the Media and Advertising (delusion).

Just one example of his interesting critique is in how he asserts that the issue of money is not that it makes us more materialistic, but that in fact it makes us LESS so! We begin to value the symbolic value of money above what we can actually buy with it! A wealthy person may be more concerned with how her luxury sporty car advances her social prestige rather than with simply enjoying its practical comforts! The price of the bottle of wine and how it reflects upon one's perceived value becomes more important that the taste of the wine itself!

This book is an easy to read, conversational passionate appeal to its readers to break out of complacent acceptance and to question how and what kinds of alternative visions we can collectively create to quite literally save the life of our planet. As he writes, "We need an alternative to 'there's no alternative'" kinds of thinking!

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Offers a really interesting perspective on what Buddhism and the modern western world have to offer each other, tying together Buddhist tenets of no-self, non-duality, etc. with recent ideas of western psychology and philosophy; it's pretty cool to have light shed on these somewhat esoteric Buddhist ideas by comparison to Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Freud, etc., especially regarding how language misleads us (but is still necessary) and how the self is a psychological and social construct (according to this book, the basic problem of "suffering" or "lack" in the Buddhist sense comes from the "groundlessness" the self senses and the misguided methods it tries to use to reassure itself of its reality - e.g., money, sex, war...).

The other main thing that's new to me is the attempt to apply these ideas to the modern world and see where they can help. One conclusion is that we have institutionalized collective delusion, that the delusions of the sum of us are greater than our individual delusions. The author's analysis of karma as something more practical than the old reincarnation-as-a-dung-beetle-or-something stereotype - something psychological rather than mystical - makes the solution to all this anxiety, alienation, violence, and delusion pretty obvious, albeit not easy.

[Neil Hayes · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a selection of essays, and there is no doubting David Loy's scholarship and insight, and therefore his qualifications to attempt a work such as this. However, I was disappointed by the book, because the content was so patchy. Some essays offer a Buddhist perspective on social issues which is little more than a re-statement of a social issue using the language of Buddhism. Others offer exciting insight, and valuable perspective that is a delight in the way that it challenges the way we relate to the world. In general, I found the earlier essays to be in the former category, and the later essays to be the latter. I would not recommend the book, although I will continue to buy and read everything that Loy writes.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book of essays and a concluding essay. I think the first 4 were not as strong as the rest of them, and the third to last one wasn't as strong for me. But even with the weaker essays, this book is filled with a lot of intense essays. But you have to be liberal. His solutions are liberal. Makes sense to me, but I know there's a political divide in America, I have friends who blather from the other perspective, and there's a kind of binary. That doesn't mean he's wrong or anything. I like a Dharma book that is challenging and this book was challenging. Challenging to go out and do something to improve the world. Very interesting book.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note that "The Three Poisons, Institutionalized" is probably the most enlightening chapter in the book. Concept of a parallel collective sense of greed, ill will and delusion that has grown and become institutionalized by the government is intriguing explanation for our modern sense of consumerism, resulting in the frustrating behavior of large entities such as corporations, the military, and the media to put economic gain above all else.

Overall liked it, but a bit too preachy. Touches on many important topics but doesn't go enough into enough depth to make it satisfying. A good primer for any socially engaged Buddhist on how to interpret the Dharma in regards to contemporary issues.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not all bad, but definitely disappointing.

Loy has some interesting things to say about our current problems, though you won’t find anything particularly new there. But it’s his attempt to tie them to Buddhist concepts that really didn’t work for me – his main argument isn’t convincing and he keeps using it over and over.

[Alex L · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really honest look at why and how we create our own suffering and what we can do to prevent it. If you are interested in modern day Buddhism, this is a really progressive look at how the Buddha's ideas still apply and can assist us in digging out of this mess!

[Colette · Rating 4 out of 5]

For once, I was actually reading a book when I had to return it to the library! This is an excellent book, a clearly stated examination of Buddhist principles applied to modern Western society.I'm going to buy it and read the last half as soon as possible.