What Religion Has to Say About Money as a Religion

It’s not entirely clear if this quote actually comes from the Dalai Lama or not, but it’s a good one:

People exist to be loved; objects exist to be used. The world is in chaos because these things are the other way round.

The acquisition of money — and the things it buys — has been a crazy-making influence on mankind from as far back as we can tell. It’s served as a means of controlling others and as the reason for obsessive, injurious behaviors throughout history. An unquenchable thirst for wealth has been so continually destructive that every faith — no matter what else they may not see eye to eye on — has something similar to say about it. Author and music producer Kabir Sehgal explains.

Since money is the vehicle through which a culture expresses value and serves as the engine that gets society’s work done, it’s not something one can really do without. But that a belief in wealth as something of value all by itself leads to nothing but emptiness is something upon which every sacred text seems to agree.