How Much Is Enough?: Buddhism, Consumerism, and the Human Environment

The massive outpouring of consumer products available to most people living in the West today might alone lead one to ask "How much is enough?" But at the same time, if we allow ourselves to see the social, political, economic, and environmental consequences of the system that produces such a mass of "goods," then the question is not simply a matter of one’s own personal choice, but points to the profound interconnectedness of our day-to-day decisions. The ease with which we can acquire massive quantities of food, clothing, and various electronic goods directly connects each of us with not only environmental degradation and with sweatshops and child labor in India or Africa, but also with the ongoing financial volatility of Western capitalist economies, and the increasing discrepancies of wealth in all countries. How Much is Enough? confronts these issues with brilliant critiques.

Richard K. Payne is Dean and Yehan Numata Professor of Japanese Buddhist Studies at the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley, California. A member of the doctoral faculty of the Graduate Theological Union, he is also a collaborating researcher with the Open Research Center for the Humanities, Science, and Religion at Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan. He is an ordained Shingon Buddhist priest.
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