Beginner’s Mind is a special project from BDG collecting insightful essays written by US college students who have attended experiential-learning courses related to Buddhism. Some of the authors identify as Buddhists, for others it is their first encounter with the Buddhadharma. All are sharing reflections and impressions on what they’ve learned, how it has impacted their lives, and how they might continue to engage with the teaching.

​Alexander Cacciato is a senior at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut,  majoring in International Studies and History. Alexander wrote this essay for his Buddhist Economics course. He enjoys learning as a student and as a teacher.

Redefining Success? Insights from a Course in Buddhist Economics

When I signed up for “Buddhist Economics,” I was feeling down and dejected about work, love, and life. For months, I had been working on my family’s start-up and learning how to get things done for business. yet I wanted more meaning than that track of life could offer. I was too young for that kind of professional burnout. The idea of Buddhist Economics as “an alternative to capitalism” seemed intriguing. I knew little about the religion and wanted to learn more. Through readings, curricular and extracurricular experiences, happenstance realizations, and more, I gained far more than I could have hoped. This all points toward my broadest takeaway from the course: capitalism is a modern religion upending traditional religions.

Early in the course, I was delighted to read Keown’s explanation of Buddhist cosmology. I needed reminding that divisions between people were arbitrary, and that everything in life is inconstant. Particularly shocking and novel was the rejection of any “soul or Self.” (Keown 47) Having grown up steeped in Abrahamic religious traditions, that approach was liberating for me. I found similarities between Abrahamic and Theravada dialectics: the former reconcile free will and determinism, while the latter accord free will with karmic history. In fact, this Buddhist notion finds its capitalist cognate in credit scores and credit history. Other parallels help give rhyme and reason to the notion of “Buddhist economics,” and indicate dogmatic suitability for late-stage capitalism. It’s no wonder that hedge-fund tycoons now evangelize the Dhamma. (Tanz)

Essays by Berlant, Ash, and many others helped me to understand how capitalism exploits human biochemistry for its self-perpetuation. (Mujica) It is rare for capitalist consumption to lead to happiness; more commonly, it leads away. (Berlant 93–117, Ash) Such texts began developing my ideas about capitalism as a religion. Its believers’ postures and effusions contributed, too. One Wall Street executive, ignoring inequality researchers’ findings, asserted that capitalism was working exactly as it should. (Piketty) His claim relied on his ethos—a blue-collar upbringing and deep knowledge of Adam Smith’s published works—and on the “it’ll-get-worse-before-it-gets-better” fallacy. (Dobelli) Clearly, he was a disciple of capitalism and its scriptures.

One of capitalism’s great strengths comes from its ability to integrate many people and to expulse or “silo” skeptics; it’s like excommunication and proselytizing. (Sassen) Perhaps more impressively, new converts don’t have to relinquish all their former beliefs. Indeed, capitalism can interface with traditional religions without fully erasing them. Buddhist IPOs may be the most extraordinary example; more common is for states to legislate religion. (Cheung) Doing so shapes people’s beliefs and extends state control over their lives and possessions. 

Further, when religion also legitimizes the state, the resulting feedback loops often give way to oppression. Yet when states oppose religion, religion can be a platform for resistance. Whether the religion in question is capitalism or some traditional religion, those scenarios yield the same result: capitalism and traditional religions both engage and counteract each other. When we lose any kind of religion, we lose a means to resist and combat hegemonic domination.

References

Keown, Damien. 2013. Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction, New Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Tanz, Jason. “Zen and the Art of Hedge Fund Management,” in Wired, accessed 3 August 2024: https://www.wired.com/story/ray-dalio-principles/

Mujica, Alejandro L., et al. “ADDICTION BY DESIGN: Some Dimensions and Challenges of Excessive Social Media Use,” Medical Research Archives 10, no. 2 (24 February 2022): https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v10i2.2677

Berlant, Lauren. 2010. “4 Cruel Optimism,” in 4 Cruel Optimism Duke University Press: https://doi.org/10.1515/9780822393047-006

Ash, Colin. “Do Our Economic Choices Make Us Happy?,” in Ethical Principles and Economic Transformation – A Buddhist Approach, ed. Laszlo Zsolnai, vol. 33, Issues in Business Ethics (Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2011), 111–31: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9310-3_6

Piketty, Thomas. 2013. Le capital au XXIe siècle, Les livres du nouveau monde. Paris: Éd. du Seuil.

“The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli – Summary & Note,” accessed 4 August 2024: https://www.grahammann.net/book-notes/the-art-of-thinking-clearly-rolf-dobelli

Sassen, Saskia. 2014. Expulsions: Brutality and Complexity in the Global Economy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

Cheung, Kin. “Merit, Karma, and Exchange: Chinese Buddhist Mountain Tourism Company Listings on the Stock Market,” in Journal of the American Academy of Religion 89, no. 3 (29 September 2021): 931–55: https://academic.oup.com/jaar/article/89/3/931/6377686

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