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Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

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turf for the foundations is foolishness indeed. Such are<br />

the actions of these "experts" in Chan <strong>and</strong> Tantra.<br />

2. The Contemporary Need for Hinayana<br />

Hinayana is very good for the present day when many<br />

pursue the illness of desires. Because of the<br />

development of science, it is easy today for people to<br />

fulfill their desires <strong>and</strong> to be lured on to desire more <strong>and</strong><br />

more. In general, most people are overly influenced by<br />

their surroundings, which these days are often designed<br />

to stimulate desire. Because not everyone can get what<br />

he wants, evil actions are committed <strong>and</strong> merit is lost to<br />

gain a desired end. From day to day merit decreases <strong>and</strong><br />

misconduct increases as desires multiply.<br />

Hinayana, which insistently emphasizes renunciation of<br />

desires, is an excellent medicine for this disease of<br />

desire. There are many good people in this world who<br />

think that the medicine lies in other bottles. They<br />

propose to dose the world with tonics labeled<br />

"Democracy," "Communism," "Coexistence,"<br />

"Cooperation," etc. None of these are worth the name of<br />

medicine <strong>and</strong> none can achieve the cures they advertise.<br />

Each power-group proposes its own cure, but all put<br />

forward economic policies as cure-alls. They all aim at<br />

materialism; they all work for mammonism. The titles<br />

of the principal works of Adams <strong>and</strong> Marx are surely<br />

significant: The Wealth of Nations <strong>and</strong> Das Capital.<br />

They both propose economies based on a similar<br />

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