“Buy Your Way to Enlightenment” by Annys Shin

I’m not suggesting that you read this article but I want to highlight something from it. The piece takes a look at a credit card, sponsored by the Conscious Enlightenment LLC and Visa (What a combination!), that one can use to purchase all those material “things” that we Americans think that we so desperately need. With consistent use one can accumulate points that enable the “enlightened consumer” to become one with a yoga class (If you are taking a yoga class I am not talking about you) or two. You might even be able to earn a “yoga retreat” to Tibet and golf with the Dalai Lama.

The author makes a point concerning the option of getting a card imprinted with “the face of Buddha, a.k.a. the man who gave up his worldly possessions in pursuit of spiritual salvation.” According to Buddhism the main reason for suffering is attachment to anything and everything. According to this worldview if you give up everything you will be a "non-suffering enlightened one." That’s what Mr. Buddha did- he left his family and everything he had for a slow and futile road to spiritual enlightenment and the legacy he leaves are millions of statues, most with big bellies, and a worldview that leaves millions of human beings lost without salvation.