GAS and Buddhism

T

Tuolumne

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After looking at Nick De Marco's photos of "The Novices of Luang Prebang", I searched around the Web for more information on Buddhist monks and Buddhism. I found this on Buddhanet on the Realm of the Ego, which I thought was the best description of GAS I had ever read. Can you be a Buddhist and a member of RFF at the same time? I wonder...

"[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]If ego decides it likes the situation, it begins to churn up all sorts of ways to possess it. A craving to consume the situation arises and we long to satisfy that craving. Once we do, a ghost of that craving carries over and we look around for something else to consume. We get into the habitual pattern of becoming consumer oriented. Perhaps we order a piece of software for our computer. We play with it for awhile, until the novelty wears out, and then we look around for the next piece of software that has the magic glow of not being possessed yet. Soon we haven't even got the shrink wrap off the current package when we start looking for the next one. Owning the software and using it doesn't seem to be as important as wanting it, looking forward to its arrival. This is known as the hungry ghost realm where we have made an occupation out of craving. We can never find satisfaction, it is like drinking salt water to quench our thirst."

/T
[/FONT]
 
I am......

was a monk for 2 weeks last december, standard procedure for Thai men at age 20.

Since being a monk, i've realized that I don't need nearly as much as I had. I've simplified everything to one body, 3 focal lengths.....wide, fast normal, short tele. That's it. I feel much better about myself and enjoy actually taking pictures again instead of worrying about what it might be like to use that body with this lens or this and that and such and such........
 
Khun Shimo, one advantage to having tons of gear is that you can take what you feel are the best tools for a particular assignment.
 
Tuolumne said:
Can you be a Buddhist and a member of RFF at the same time?
Click to expand...

2418676126_65d911d831.jpg

one corner of my home altar...
 
Since we know that craving for something is actually more important than actually being in possession of it, we just need a way to maintain the crave without actually consuming anything.

So how can this be achieved?
 
GAS is some people here buying and selling cameras instead of using them.

They say GAS is 'Gear Acquisition Syndrome'.

Some of us just let them them play with themselves.
 
Anyone who has been divorced knows how simple life can get very quickly in a sort of monk like way. You learn to enjoy what you got left and can have GAS without it costing you a thing.

Bob
 
Pitxu said:
Too materialist, let it go.
My altar.
Click to expand...

Your altar is very nice!

I like that picture of the clouds very much, because in Tibetan Buddhism we have a practice called "sky practice". But to tell you the truth, the first reaction I had to that picture was to laugh at the humorous way it implicitly connects GAS to gaseous white clouds (in Japanese, for instance, white mist or fog in the mountains is called "gas").

On a more serious note: As many respected teachers would remind us, Buddhism ought not to be understood simply as a call to ascetic anti-materialism. Even in the refusal of materialism we still find subtle forms of materialism--what has been called "spiritual materialism".

I had assumed this thread was asking about a relation to Buddhism, but I now see that it is really about the anxiety some people feel in the face of consumerism and possessive individualism.

Surely it is necessary to come to terms with the problems of consumerism on a personal level. But the problem cannot be fully dealt with simply as an individual moral issue. It is also a social, economic, and political issue. We need critical knowledge and social cooperation.
 
I think that it is a danger to use GAS as a path to happiness. As the quote indicates, attachment and possessiveness provide only fleeting results. That said, I often go through GAS, and I have several camera kits. Yes, the intitial rush I get with a new camera or lens does fade, but the knowledge I gain from using these cameras will not. I came late to photography and a large part of my GAS is the experience of using classic cameras.
 
GAS is simply sugar-rush satisfaction. Quick burn, short high, followed by pangs of regret. A bit like eating tiramisu. Where many go wrong is to mistake material wealth for personal happiness. Making yourself feel better through "retail therapy" does not address the root cause of your dissatisfaction. Until you can face up to your own shortcomings, and be happy in yourself, you will waste time, money and effort in meaningless, self-gratifying retail gestures.

Regards,

Bill
 
Camera equipment does not give me the sense of satisfaction
and well-being that creating a good image with it does.
 
bmattock said:
My money, my time, my effort, and I decide if if my 'self gratifying retail gestures' are 'meaningless' or not.

So many people want to tell me how to properly run my life. So few will ever get that opportunity.
Click to expand...

Bill, I have no desire whatsoever to tell you how to run your life. Whatever floats your boat. But I find happiness in more sustainable ways.

Regards,

Bill
 
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