On May 12 I will be traveling with my good friend Stephanie to see the
Dalai Lama teach from the Heart Sutra in Bloomington, Indiana. With tickets for each session running $30 apiece, plus service and transaction fees totaling another ~$25, the cost by no means
breaks the bank but is certainly more than mere
chump change. At any rate, I imagine the majority in attendance will be affluent, upper/middle class (or so has been the case at any such seminar, conference, or teaching I have been to over the years). Which has always led me to wonder: what does a teacher/presenter, especially one so devoted to
inner development, think of such costs?
The Dalia Lama, for example, has said, "With money you can't buy wisdom, you can't buy inner peace. Wisdom and inner peace must be created by yourself." But at the same time, it always seems that those with money have more access to learning from those with wisdom. Is there not a way to change this? Is there not a way to exchange the value of one's teachings for a non-monetary unit of value that all can offer/afford?
Enter
Local Exchange Trading Systems (LETS). I have been reading a lot about the financial world recently, and I have to admit, its workings are something I have known very little about. And in fact, I still know very little about it. But I have learned enough to agree with
Bernard Lietaer of Berkeley, who said, "Money is like an iron ring we've put through our noses. We've forgotten that we designed it, and it's now leading us around. I think it's time to figure out where we want to go--in my opinion toward sustainability and community--and then design a money system that gets us there."
The current international monetary system is rooted in fiat currency (money whose value is not derived from any intrinsic value or guarantee that it can be converted into a valuable commodity (such as gold)), meaning that every unit in existence is based on a unit of debt. The money does not really exist (and not in a philosophical way; I mean in a very real and financial way). Starting in 1971 (when
Nixon canceled the direct convertibility of the US dollar to gold in order to counter domestic spending and the costs of the Vietnam War), the value of the dollar, which had become the sole backing of many nations' currencies after WWII, was no longer based on real value but rather projected future value. In effect, the system was changed to allow over-spending in the present with hopes of things being better in the future. So now it's become a race to the future. Rather than reining in spending, nations are using whatever means necessary to increase controlling power and speculative value of their currency, thereby effectively lowering their account deficit. The results thus far? Financial crises worldwide have been more intense and have increased in frequency by about 300%.
No wonder people have trouble with personal debt. Our global system runs on debt, encouraging constituents to follow the same pattern of borrowing without actual credit to keep spending afloat. While
solutions for a better international monetary system are being examined, it must be asked, "What can be done to put power and value back in the present? Back in people's hands rather than governments seeking power or financial institutions looking to profit from the flow of money?" Well, that's exactly what LETS are all about.
LETS are non-profit exchange networks in which goods and services can be traded without the use of national currencies. A directory of members' offers and requests—goods, services or items for hire, priced in local LETS units—is compiled and circulated, and members use the directory to contact one another and keep track of credits/debits. There is no interest involved, and earned credits can be spent with anyone in the network. Though such networks are not meant to replace national currencies, they have been promoted by the UN in its
Millennium Declaration (Section C, Bulletin 6 to Governments) as a practical means to help restructure the global financial architecture because LETS are all about taking us in a direction where we are trading things we all have in the present: time and skills.
Which brings me back to my $30 question raised above: is there a way to exchange one's teachings for a value affordable by all? My answer is yes. Let's say, for example, you are a teacher coming to a community. Rather than establishing money as the only acceptable means of entry, thereby limiting who would hear your message, why not have a network organized whereby people in the community could earn credit to buy a ticket by offering a service of theirs to a linked NGO, non-profit, school, temple, small business, etc.? It'd be like a wedding registry for the community. Money could still be given, but there would be other options.
Along with benefiting the community, such an opportunity not only opens up one's teachings for all, but it helps everyone interact outside a monetary system that often counters the very wisdom we seek to live by. And while it would not bring an end to poverty and debt, it would certainly not contribute to it. I mean, just imagine if you were a Christian, and you had the return of Jesus, speaking in your community. What would Jesus do/cost? :)
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