Cattāri Brahmavihārā

Covetousness doesn’t seem to get much attention in the sub-set of Theravada that I practice in but, perhaps due to my Christian roots, I have always been surreptitiously on guard for it lest it rise up and catch me unawares.

And so, in the midst of successive days of financial insecurity I have discovered this familiar Biblical sin arising time and again in my mind. Why do some people have more and others less? I honestly believe it’s the work of kamma but when my mindfulness is strong I forgrt to dwell on the rise and fall of beings due to their kamma. Instead, I find myself asking: What makes them so different from me that they should enjoy all of these things? Why are they so special?

Naturally, the mind can chase its tale with this kind of thinking forever cultivating more aversion for others and an inflamed sense of injustice and self-pity but only if we allow it. In terms of antidotes my first impulse was to reach for gratitude but a quick experiment in the heart showed that, this time at least, it wasn’t the right anti-venom. So, what is? I’m inclined to think it has something to with self-compassion but since I am loathe to hypothesize about matters of the heart I’ll just try to hold the question in mind until covetousness returns.

May all beings not be separated from their good fortune!