Self-made millionaires and mystics
George G Clark, 2012-11-09
self-made - having achieved success or recognition by your own efforts;
"a self-made millionaire; a self-made mystic"
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It is estimated that there are 1210 billionaires in the world as of 2011. 412 (34%) of these are in the US. In second place comes China with 95 (10.6%). The UK is in 9
th place with 33 (2.7%)
.
Biography.com lists 146 millionaires with celebrity status in the US. They are in 36 categories that include Computer Programmers, Engineers, Fashion Designers, Inventors, Legal Professionals, Military Leaders, Musicians, Philanthropists, and Politicians.
The Biography web site notes that “The American Dream is the notion that, with hard work, any individual can emerge from poor circumstances to a life of wealth and security. Despite the economic ups and downs of modern times, the notion of lifting one's self up is still ingrained in our mindset.
Some of our most famous celebrities are, in fact, people who came from nothing. Talent, hard work, and good fortune aligned to make these individuals successful business leaders, actors, athletes and more.”
In China, it is estimated that there are close to a million millionaires and six hundred billionaires. And those numbers are rising: half the world's billionaires will come from China within the decade
.
And the key elements of talent, hard work and good fortune are not restricted to the US. They are also well appreciated in China as can be seen in often reproduced rags to riches stories such as that by Wu Changjiang the present day chairman of NVC Lighting
rags to riches
lifting one's self up
people who came from nothing
any individual can emerge from poor circumstances
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The millionaire work ethic has religious (mystical) roots – Presbyterian in the west (after Christ, Luther and Calvin) and Confucian in the east (After Lao Tzu, Mencius and Confucius).
The Buddha consulted many of the spiritual teachers of his day but none of them offered the answers that he sought. So he found them for himself. The system that he developed and promoted was a psychology of perception rather than a religion. Blind faith had no place is his system which was based on ‘suck it and see’. The ‘truth’ is self evident to those who are prepared to embrace it. There is no magic. All that is required is an attitude of being awake to what goes on in your mind and willing to lift oneself up
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So the Buddha was a self-made mystic. Bureaucrats followed. Dharma lineages record the “family tree” of the Buddhist tradition. Genealogical charts show how the Buddhist Dharma or true teachings have been passed down through the ages
. Dharma lineages usually begin with Sakyamuni Buddha and extend down through a line of Buddhist Masters up to the present day. By investigating the Dharma Lineages of the Great Buddhist Masters, we catch a glimpse of how Buddhist schools have evolved through the ages
.
But the potential for awakening is ever present and it need not involve the lineages. Mystical entrepreneurs can blossom forth from the humblest of circumstances and at any time (see the following box for some recent examples)
Three recent self-made mystics
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Master Xu-yun (1829 – 1959) was very much a ‘self-made man’ who, in China, re-established Zen buildings and teachings on the strength of his own insight - without teachers
Ramana Maharsi (1879-1950) did not claim to be anything special but he became the centre of a spiritual cottage industry with international outreach. He was largely self-taught.
Eckhart Tolle (1948 – present) is a German-born Canadian resident, best known as the author of The Power of Now and A New Earth. In 2011, he was listed by the Watkins Review as the most spiritually influential person in the world. After his epiphany he slept rough for a couple of years before becoming an influential author and teacher. Largely self-made.
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So there are self made people in both financial and spiritual spheres. Extra-ordinary people who have humble beginnings but who, in time, stand out from the crowd. The millionaires accumulate wealth and power for themselves (although some become philanthropists later in life). The mystics know the non-egoic peace and, often despite themselves, radiate calm, walk the talk of renunciation, and thus make the world a better place.
Those who are self-made are by definition not other-made whether the other be natural (social) or supernatural (religious). We could hypothesise a gene for entrepreneurship, for standing out from the crowd, for thinking, feeling and acting different, for being a nutter. (He thinks too much, such men are dangerous.
) Such weirdos help maintain the variety that natural selection can act upon to make evolution possible. More creative thinkers would be useful during times of crisis but they would have to be kept well in their place during stable times. The immediate context is crucial as it derives from the geo-historical happenstances of a particular time and space.
Live and let live
