From The Jizo Chronicles:
There are all kinds of ways to deal with the upcoming holiday shopping season. One is to buy nothing on the day known as “Black Friday,” an action pioneered by Adbusters. Gary Gach gives a dharma perspective on “What Would Buddha Buy?” (the answer: not too much, not too little).
Another approach is to take part in the cycle of giving and receiving, but to do it in a way that may be of benefit to others. Generosity is, after all, one of the basic Buddhist virtues. (Find descriptions of each link at Jizo Chronicles)
• Adopt a Monk or Nun from Burma’s Saffron Revolution
• Sponsor a Tibetan Nun
• The Fifth Annual Shambhala Sun Auction
• Seva Foundation’s Gifts of Service
• Changing the Present
• Equal Exchange
If living beings knew the fruit and final reward of generosity and the distribution of gifts, as I know them, then they would not eat their food without giving to others and sharing with others, even if it were their last morsel and mouthful.
~ Avadana Jataka
Adbusters: What Would Buddha Buy?
Also, from the NYTimes last year, “The Gifts of Hope,” by Nicholas Kristof
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