How Buddhism Teaches us to Un-Learn the Mindset of Materialism

We live in a world that favours more over less, but is it possible to unlearn this mindset to live a clutter-free life?

From time to time, we all feel the pull of a good sale and that boost of dopamine experienced when buying something new and shiny. The annual onslaught of Black Friday and its lingering aftermath is ever too visible this time of year.

The pandemic has caused many of us to spend more time online. When scrolling on social media, we are continually influenced by advertisements and personalities trying to sell as the benefits of some unbeknown product we don’t need.

It’s not surprising that we, as consumers, are easily influenced and part ways with our cash without much convincing. Social media and online shopping have made it easier for companies to convince us to buy things — but this mindset of materialism has been engrained within Western culture for at least 100 years. At the heart of materialism is the idea that wealth, commodities and possessions are the routes of all happiness.

Buddhism is the world’s fourth-largest religion, but it also promotes a minimalist philosophy of how to live. Religious or non-religious, it has teachings on how living a life lead by materialism will never make us happy. But Buddhism is not against consuming altogether — as it recognises it when it is imperative — but encourages people to think before they buy.

“It is not life and wealth and power that enslave men, but the cleaving to life and wealth and power.” — Gautama Buddha

The Psychology Behind Wanting More and What We Gain

Materialism as a mindset is part of a long history that established its roots in the twentieth century. However — it has been propelled by the digital age. At this time of year, the pressure to buy gifts for family you haven’t seen in months, or possibly years, can be overwhelming. You may feel compelled to buy each person close to you something because it’s Christmas and that’s the cultural norm. But can buying loved one’s possessions, objects and things make you or them happier?

It’s undoubtedly more convenient. But research suggests that for some people, experiences make them happier than acquiring possessions; this is because experiences form more long-term memories. Often when gift-giving, or buying for ourselves, we are happy at the moment we receive the item, but soon, the novelty wears off. Memories and experiences, however, have more of a long term stay in our minds.

We should be learning to diverge from this materialist mindset to one that favours being more aware of what we buy and why we are buying it. In this way, we will not only accumulate less material possessions but perhaps, be able to acquire more long-term, sustainable forms of happiness through the provision of memories, moments and experiences.

On his death bed, the American multimillionaire and founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, summarised that the true route of happiness could never come from material possessions,

“I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes my life is an epitome of success. However, aside from work, I have little joy. In the end, wealth is only a fact of life that I am accustomed to.” — Steve Jobs

In this respect, here’s what we can learn about materialism and un-doing that mindset from the teachings of Buddhism.

Materialism is Unsustainable by Nature

Buying things can make us happy in the short term, but their effects are short-lived. After, we are always onto the next item on our wishlists, instead of fully appreciating what we have just bought. The cycle is never-ending, and we are always taught by social media and advertising, that we need more. But the thing is — chasing after it relentlessly — will never make us happy.

Buddhism states that following a pathway to materialism is a type of moral wrong. This is because — it will never be able to give us personal happiness or a lifestyle that is sustainable. Rather than condemning materialism altogether, Buddhism recognises when it is essential but distinguishes between excess and mindfully consuming.

As individuals, therefore, we have to become more aware of what we consume and if it adds value to our lives. Buddhism, as a religion and philosophy, tends to focus on lessons for the individual, and a lot of it is geared towards issues to do with consumer culture and personal happiness. So it seems only natural to draw upon its teachings and views on materialism.

Religious or non-religious, it can provide us with valuable lessons about how pursuing a life geared towards materialism is unsustainable. Advertising isn’t designed to make us happy; it’s the opposite — it makes us doubt ourselves, the colour of our hair, the size of our car and if we’ve got enough appliances. It fills us with endless unanswered questions which force us into thinking we must need more rather than less.

The Motivations Behind Materialism are Flawed

Buying things — whatever they are — is usually centred around the individual and short-term gain. Although it always feels like something will give you endless benefits, chances are, in a few months it will be forgotten about.

Materialism is engrained in our culture but motivated by an individualistic mindset that says purchasing power is the route of all success and happiness. It focuses on benefiting one person — you the consumer — rather than focusing on the greater good. It is naturally narrow-minded and flawed.

Embedded in Buddhist philosophy is expressing caution over the moral intent of buying and the motivations that lay behind it. The Dhamma (or teachings of the Buddha) places the “happiness problem” and consumerism as a cultural trend, behind the causes of mass suffering and unsatisfaction. The acquiring of money and possessions — are viewed as a status symbol and a short term solution that detracts from our development.

Acquiring possessions prevents us from realising what’s important, developing as a person and constructing a life that is fulfilling. It’s a form of burying our heads in the sand — but disguised by outwardly material possessions and short term happiness.

In Buddhist teaching, materialism is promoted as the antithesis to “spiritual development”, but this can also be incorporated into non-religious life and practices. Once we start to see the flaws in the materialism promise, maybe we’ll think more before parting ways with our money or chasing a life based on success defined by monetary terms.

Happiness and Peace Cannot Be Achieved via Materialism

Happiness and peace are never set in stone; they are both profoundly subjective emotions. However, objects and possessions are not, so it seems absurd how we have trained ourselves to believe that buying things will make us happy.

As consumers, we are taught through mindless advertising to find flaws in ourselves, and buy things to make our lives better, more comfortable and fulfilled. We are caught up in this cycle, where one purchase always leads to another — which perpetuates another cycle of disappointment. We believe that buying things can help ourselves, but this creates a “false persuasion” deliberately intended to make us spend more money.

As beings, we fluctuate and so do our emotions. Objects as concrete as possessions, therefore, are never the antidote to stability or personal development. The combination of money, wealth and possessions do not ultimately lead to a guaranteed life of happiness.

“…the Anatta Doctrine in Buddhism advocates that individual existence, as well as the whole world, is in reality nothing but a process of ever-changing phenomena. There is nothing absolute in this world; everything is in continuous flux and is relative, conditioned and impermanent.” — Wattanasuwan and Eliot (1999)

All materialism does, therefore, is trap us into a “more” mentality where we will never be satisfied, nor achieve the happiness we crave by buying possessions and having material wealth.

We Should Think Long and Hard Before We Buy

So what’s the solution to abandoning this mindset? It will be a long journey — but taking a moment to think before we buy — is a way of starting to combat this materialism cycle.

We should be asking ourselves, do we need this? Will it add benefits to our lives?

Buddhism promotes a mindful approach to buying, whereby encouraging the individual to make moral considerations whilst consuming — or merely thinking more before parting ways with our cash. And by consuming more mindfully, we are more likely to see our effects of consumption and if they add benefits to our happiness, development and the kind of life we want to lead.

Advertising and materialism are relentless — they’re everywhere, especially at this time of year. With Christmas, festivities and sales all around, it is tempting to get ourselves lost in what products promise us they will do. But in reality, these never live up to expectations; we need to start thinking long and hard before we buy to live a life with greater clarity and fulfilment.

Buddhism may be a religion, but even the non-religious can learn a great deal from its philosophy concerning materialistic excess. Even though the connection between money and happiness is now refuted in modern life, many of us fail to make the same connection when buying possessions. And it is no wonder that we feel this pull, due to our increasing dependence on the online world — the biggest and most convenient advertising tool of all.

To live life with greater happiness and fulfilment, we need to start to abandon this mindset of more and un-tangle our attachment to a materialist culture.

Mind Cafe’s Reset Your Mind: A Free 10-Day Email Course

We’re offering a free course to all of our new subscribers as a thank you for your continued support. When you sign up using this link, we’ll send you tips on how to boost mental clarity and focus every two days.