Mindfulness and Money: The Buddhist Path to Abundance [Hardcover]

Dominic J. Houlder (Author), Kulananda Houlder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 24, 2002

From two leading instructors in business and Buddhism comes a fresh approach to making peace with your finances and creating true abundance.

It may seem contradictory that Buddhist teachers Kulananda and Dominic Houlder have also been highly successful in the business arena, but they have learned that Buddhist teachings do not require a life of poverty, and can indeed go hand-in-hand with wealth and prosperity. Mindfulness and Money brings to light the teachings of Buddha as they apply to the money part of life, and shares the stories of others who have found the Buddhist path to freedom, creativity, and abundance.

Using the Buddhist Wheel of Life as a starting point, the authors explore the mechanism by which desire for money and material things is confining, and how mastery of desire can free us to live peacefully with our finances. Kulananda and Houlder offer five precepts for living on the Path of Abundance, including kindness, generosity, contentment, honesty, and awareness. Through prescriptive meditations, reflections, and exercises, we can begin to earn and spend more purposefully–the key to finding financial peace, whatever one’s income. An enlightening combination of practical wisdom and spirituality, Mindfulness and Money is a valuable asset for all seekers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ignore the consumerist connotation that the "abundance" of the book's subtitle unfortunately carries, and enjoy this basic text on how to live happily and mindfully as a householder Buddhist. This is a book for Buddhists with jobs to keep and bills to pay-people who are always mindlessly getting and spending, yet never attaining satisfaction. Kulananda and Houlder, entrepreneurs and teachers of both Buddhism and business, skillfully interpret the traditional Buddhist image of the Wheel of Life to analyze work, consumption and other real-life contemporary economic behaviors. Throughout, they suggest ways to live as mindful, generous, contented financial beings. Both authors live and work in the U.K., which gives them functional distance from the tentacles of American consumerism; members of the Western Buddhist Order, they are also familiar with the economic exigencies faced by their order's Asian Buddhist members. Their ethic elaborates on the traditional five Buddhist precepts used by monastics and householders alike: don't kill, steal, lie, become intoxicated, or engage in sexual misconduct. Kulananda and Houlder persuasively argue that these precepts are liberating when applied to the world of economic choice, and can lead to greater mindfulness and equanimity. They include exercises to help raise awareness and numerous examples to illustrate. A fresh antidote to consumerism and guilt and a sharply realistic tool, this provocative and practical book belongs not just on Buddhist nightstands, but on office desks as an essential reminder to emulate the Buddha in the workplace.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Money is the lifeblood of commerce, giving us the ability to exchange goods and services freely; it is this very convenience that makes civilization possible. But our relationship with money is also at the core of the desires that bring dissatisfaction and suffering to our lives. The authors are both practicing Buddhists who have also been highly successful in the business world, and they have gained insight through the teachings of Buddhism on how to use money in a skillful and ethical way to bring joy and abundance. Using the Buddhist Wheel of Life as a starting point, they explore how our craving for wealth and material things keeps us trapped in a vicious cycle, and they outline a simple prescription for living using loving-kindness, generosity, and honesty. David Siegfried
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Broadway; 1 edition (December 24, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767909143
• ISBN-13: 978-0767909143
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,328,530 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kulananda and Houlder have a winner here!, February 8, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Mindfulness and Money: The Buddhist Path to Abundance (Hardcover)

This book is surprisingly easy reading,and lots of fun to read.
It flows like a river gently to it's final conclusion: "The Path of Abundance-can be easily achieved without money or joining in the rat-race of to=days commercial world."
Kulananda and Houlder are both people who have been highly succesful in their fields,both as entrepeneurs,and teachers and students of Buddhism
They observe that in the West,no matter how much we have,it is never enough.
That the pursuit of wealth for it's own sake,causes much tension and anxiety.
Instead they offer us "The path of Abundance",to counter to-days stress and anxiety.
The path is based on five Buddhist precepts.
Kindness,Generosity,Contentment,Honesty,and Awareness.
These teach us to earn and spend creatively,and to live peacefully with or without money.
The easy to follow path,described with the aid of actual and concrete examples from people interviewed in all walks of life,show how,with the aid of Meditation,and simplicity,we can all lead a hapy stress free life,leaving behind:
"Things,possessions,harmful anxieties,and un-necessities".
The Authors show us how we can set ourselves free to live with our life's true purpose.
Like Kulanandas previously 5 starred book,"Principles of Buddhism",it is a wondrfully accessible book,and highly recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice average book, July 19, 2006

By 

Steve Burns (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mindfulness and Money : The Buddhist Path to Abundance (Hardcover)

This book discussed how we seek to be complete ourselves through purchases, and how to overcome compulsive spending. It also talks about using the 5 basic Buddhist moral precepts to succeed in business, cultivate loving-kindness, develop generosity, cultivate contentment, be honest, and be more aware. This book was a nice read for a beginner like me but I think they dealt to much with the delusion of the ego that we Buddhists must over come. If you are a beginner this book will help you bring the basics of Buddhism into your personal finances and career. If you have travelled farther out of delusion than the begginer you will have little need for this book, your practice will already have you following these precepts.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Perspective, June 17, 2004

By 

Ping Lim (Christchurch) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mindfulness and Money: The Buddhist Path to Abundance (Hardcover)

This book captivated my attention starting from page one when it commended money being the greatest invention ever! I find it intriguing as a Buddhist nature book would perhaps, tell us that we need to stay away from money as it would imbue in us a sense of craving which is covered in this book anyway. So, the book dragged me further into its content. Before I knew it, I'm finished with it! It's such a friendly book & I find it very useful in terms of using real life examples (case studies if you may) to illustrate their points. This book also made it clear that by upholding the five percepts of Buddhism, we don't need to live like a pauper. Despite that Buddhists endeavours to uphold those values, all of them are still living very different lives. Some would live a contented but simple lives, but some still live in considerable comforts. It all depends upon the choice that we are making. The further information appendix at the end is very helpful to allow us enthusiasts to be in touch with Buddhist Centres around the world. The homepages do help a lot. A book that inspires, a book that answers some of my doubts & misunderstandings, a book that reminds me what I should be doing with my life to lead an abundant life, not in the sense of having the richest & wealthiest life but a life that cherishes the so called "good" life. Highly recommended.