Over recent years, world leaders, economists, and “big business” (with all its attendant media and advertising energies) have encouraged a “globalism” defined by greed and gluttony, as well as endless material consumption. In many ways, these forces have been furthering a widespread culture of limitless desire and addiction. From a Buddhist perspective, however, to desire anything passionately is a spiritual hindrance and poison, no matter whether one “deserves” the desired object or not. Certainly, modern Buddhism does not prohibit working for money; neither does it deny a common need for material possessions. The challenge is, rather, to manage one’s materialism thoughtfully in order to avoid becoming ensnared by it, no less governed by such forces to the point where they ultimately determine our individual or collective destinies.

This plate is part of the ‘Tango in the Big Mango’ collection of 160 works (published by Hatje Cantz, ISBN 978-3-7757-4824-7) – a Baudelaire-li