Daniel Chan, secretary of the Australian Chinese Buddhist Society, thinks so, and he’s planning to do just that, for this week’s record $90 million Oz Lotto draw.
“Well, why not?” he’s told Australia’s The Age. “It’s a truckload of cash.”
He’s got a point, but then, so does the thorn of a rose. Because while the money raised from such a lottery can be helpful to a state, local, or (in this case) national government—and goodness knows a Buddhist society could do wondrous things with even a fraction of the money that came with the winning numbers—it’s maybe not quite the kind of activity that the Buddha would have supported.
As Bhikkhu Rahula Basnagoda writes in his 2008 book The Buddha’s Teachings on Prosperity: At Home, At Work, In the World:
The Buddha did not encourage his lay community to wait for a sudden fortune, a windfall such as a modern lottery win; and neither did he tolerate quick and easy money through whatever means. Instead, he helped his disciples to strive methodically and to establish themselves in life ‘just as ants build up their anthill.’
And yet, as Bhikkhu Basnagoda also recounts in the book, the Buddha preached upaya vimamsa:
Upaya means ‘strategic approach,’ or, functionally, ‘thinking out of the box,’ as opposed to the commonly accepted way of trying something. Vimamsa has several meanings, such as ‘examination’ and ‘testing. Together as a technique for succeeding in lay life, upaya vimamsa means ‘strategic investigation of new means of improvement in professional and business fields—a technique that may well be called ‘innovation.’
Guess it depends. Somewhere in my dog-eared copy of the Lam RIm, I believe Pabongka RInpoche discouraged followers from using what they learned from Lord Buddha (which might include omniscience) for wordly gain. He likened doing so to "forcing a king off his throne and making him sweep the floor."
So it would seem that someone who is enlightened enough to be able to predict the winning numbers should avoid the temptation. As to someone who's just guessing like the rest of us, well–play on!
Should Buddhists ask should?
Perhaps, perhaps not. I lay no claim to being the 'best Buddhist.' So what I'm really interested in is the reactions that the good people who visit SunSpace have here; it seems I learn something from them every time they comment! 😀
Why not? Buddhism may be relatively free of dogma but like any spiritual/ethical thought system, it necessary involves normative judgements. People choose Buddhism to begin with because they believe they should live a certain way…
Dude, give me break. Playing the lottery isn't upaya.
Even Trungpa Rinpoche hated card games. And his idea of upaya was having threesomes before his morning flight.
Obviously Mr Chan just needs to get his freak on. Bow chicka bow bow.
I think it's not the action of playing the lottery, but the potential results/reactions which matter most. if playing the lottery intensifies feelings of greed, craving, and delusion then it may not be a suitable activity to accompany someone's spiritual development. If you can play the lottery without these negative feelings than it may not be that bad. Responsible, occasional gambling such as buying a lottery ticket doesn't seem to have too blatant of a direct negative effect on others and may be a relatively benign activity on one's self.
As for me, playing the lottery in the past has seemed to intensify feelings of attachment and led to an unsettled mind while awaiting the results. I should probably forego purchasing any lottery tickets for now and focus on those things which are within my control.
Think of how much good you could do with a lottery win! You could support your spiritual group, take care of your family, and still be able to take a trip to Hawaii. A ticket now and then, no problem.
It's the one-armed bandits we Buddhists should watch out for.
This sounds a bit like dodging the issue. I don't think it's the frequency of an act that makes it right or wrong.
I'm not really comfortable with the concept of receiving something I didn't work for or earn. But more importantly, I think playing the lottery, like Tyler said, does create attachment. You're telling yourself, 'If I won the lottery, I would be happier because…'. It's hard to resist the temptation every time they do a lottery pool at work but I refuse to give in because if I really want financial freedom I should instead focus on what I need to do in practical terms, on a daily basis, to make that happen. And I need to learn to be happy with what I have, not chase after things that are extremely unlikely to manifest in my life.
I love the idea of winning a lot of money so I can help my family get out of debt and help many others. I would establish various foundations to help promote peace and prosperity for all, not just the elite few that hold the power and money now. I don't count on winning the lottery, but I play and would be extremely grateful to have the opportunity to turn all those dollars into aid for the suffering masses.
This is only speculations and no one knows what Buddha or anyone other would say about this! This is only building of concepts and is not important, we should concentrate on our own practice which is t to simply stay in your own place, in your own condition just as it is. Forgetting self-conscious feelings or condemn others, we do not have to think "I am meditating." Our practice should be without effort, without strain, without attempts to control or force and without trying to become "peaceful."