GAS and Buddhism

[Tuolumne]

After looking at Nick De Marco's photos of "The Novices of Luang Prebang", I searched around the Web for more information on Buddhist monks and Buddhism. I found this on Buddhanet on the Realm of the Ego, which I thought was the best description of GAS I had ever read. Can you be a Buddhist and a member of RFF at the same time? I wonder...

"If ego decides it likes the situation, it begins to churn up all sorts of ways to possess it. A craving to consume the situation arises and we long to satisfy that craving. Once we do, a ghost of that craving carries over and we look around for something else to consume. We get into the habitual pattern of becoming consumer oriented. Perhaps we order a piece of software for our computer. We play with it for awhile, until the novelty wears out, and then we look around for the next piece of software that has the magic glow of not being possessed yet. Soon we haven't even got the shrink wrap off the current package when we start looking for the next one. Owning the software and using it doesn't seem to be as important as wanting it, looking forward to its arrival. This is known as the hungry ghost realm where we have made an occupation out of craving. We can never find satisfaction, it is like drinking salt water to quench our thirst."

/T

[shimo-kitasnap]

I am......

was a monk for 2 weeks last december, standard procedure for Thai men at age 20.

Since being a monk, i've realized that I don't need nearly as much as I had. I've simplified everything to one body, 3 focal lengths.....wide, fast normal, short tele. That's it. I feel much better about myself and enjoy actually taking pictures again instead of worrying about what it might be like to use that body with this lens or this and that and such and such........

[Kevin]

Khun Shimo, one advantage to having tons of gear is that you can take what you feel are the best tools for a particular assignment.

[noimmunity]

Originally Posted by Tuolumne

Can you be a Buddhist and a member of RFF at the same time?

one corner of my home altar...

[chikne]

Since we know that craving for something is actually more important than actually being in possession of it, we just need a way to maintain the crave without actually consuming anything.

So how can this be achieved?

[xayraa33]

I say it all does not matter.

[Arvay]

Silly question maybe, but what's GAS??

[chikne]

Originally Posted by Arvay

Silly question maybe, but what's GAS??

It's an acronym for Gear Acquisition Syndrome =)

[ClaremontPhoto]

GAS is some people here buying and selling cameras instead of using them.

They say GAS is 'Gear Acquisition Syndrome'.

Some of us just let them them play with themselves.

[Nikon Bob]

Anyone who has been divorced knows how simple life can get very quickly in a sort of monk like way. You learn to enjoy what you got left and can have GAS without it costing you a thing.

Bob

[Arvay]

chikne, ClaremontPhoto

Thanks! Had no idea reading and was too shy to ask

[noimmunity]

Originally Posted by Pitxu

Too materialist, let it go.
My altar.

Your altar is very nice!

I like that picture of the clouds very much, because in Tibetan Buddhism we have a practice called "sky practice". But to tell you the truth, the first reaction I had to that picture was to laugh at the humorous way it implicitly connects GAS to gaseous white clouds (in Japanese, for instance, white mist or fog in the mountains is called "gas").

On a more serious note: As many respected teachers would remind us, Buddhism ought not to be understood simply as a call to ascetic anti-materialism. Even in the refusal of materialism we still find subtle forms of materialism--what has been called "spiritual materialism".

I had assumed this thread was asking about a relation to Buddhism, but I now see that it is really about the anxiety some people feel in the face of consumerism and possessive individualism.

Surely it is necessary to come to terms with the problems of consumerism on a personal level. But the problem cannot be fully dealt with simply as an individual moral issue. It is also a social, economic, and political issue. We need critical knowledge and social cooperation.

[Rey]

I think that it is a danger to use GAS as a path to happiness. As the quote indicates, attachment and possessiveness provide only fleeting results. That said, I often go through GAS, and I have several camera kits. Yes, the intitial rush I get with a new camera or lens does fade, but the knowledge I gain from using these cameras will not. I came late to photography and a large part of my GAS is the experience of using classic cameras.

[BillP]

GAS is simply sugar-rush satisfaction. Quick burn, short high, followed by pangs of regret. A bit like eating tiramisu. Where many go wrong is to mistake material wealth for personal happiness. Making yourself feel better through "retail therapy" does not address the root cause of your dissatisfaction. Until you can face up to your own shortcomings, and be happy in yourself, you will waste time, money and effort in meaningless, self-gratifying retail gestures.

Regards,

Bill

[chikne]

So what's on ebay.....

[Martini]

Camera equipment does not give me the sense of satisfaction
and well-being that creating a good image with it does.

[tripod]

Bill, I think you need to find religion. You seem lost and directionless.

[BillP]

Originally Posted by bmattock

My money, my time, my effort, and I decide if if my 'self gratifying retail gestures' are 'meaningless' or not.

So many people want to tell me how to properly run my life. So few will ever get that opportunity.

Bill, I have no desire whatsoever to tell you how to run your life. Whatever floats your boat. But I find happiness in more sustainable ways.

Regards,

Bill

[back alley]

ok, everyone sing along...

just give me that old time religion!

no, huh?

[MikeL]

Originally Posted by back alley

just give me that old time religion!

You mean moonshine?

[Tuolumne]

Since I am the OP, I will say that I intended this post entirely in a philosophical vein, not targeting even practicing Buddhists. I thought the quote I found while learning more about Buddhism was a remarkable phenomenological description of how lust for things ("just waiting for the mail" thread, for example) feels and works. What you want to make do with it in your lives is entirely up to you.

My personal experience is that every time I have lusted for and acquired a new camera, it hasn't exactly satisfied what I was looking for. My first real camera was a Minolta X-700 in the early '80s. I really loved that camera and took some wonderful photos with it. I thought, if this camera is good and helps me take great pictures, just imagine how good/what fun I'll have with the much better "Camera X from Manufacturer Y". In my case that was a Nikon FE, followed by an FE2, followed many years later by an FM3a, followed shortly later by a host of rangefinder cameras.

You know what. Those are great cameras but they never captured the joy I felt in using that X-700. I try to remember that every time I want a new photo goodie.

"The more possessions, the more worry." - Pirke Avot

/T

[shimo-kitasnap]

happiness is a warm.....camera

[xayraa33]

Originally Posted by Tuolumne

Since I am the OP, I will say that I intended this post entirely in a philosophical vein, not targeting even practicing Buddhists. I thought the quote I found while learning more about Buddhism was a remarkable phenomenological description of how lust for things ("just waiting for the mail" thread, for example) feels and works. What you want to make do with it in your lives is entirely up to you.

My personal experience is that every time I have lusted for and acquired a new camera, it hasn't exactly satisfied what I was looking for. My first real camera was a Minolta X-700 in the early '80s. I really loved that camera and took some wonderful photos with it. I thought, if this camera is good and helps me take great pictures, just imagine how good/what fun I'll have with the much better "Camera X from Manufacturer Y". In my case that was a Nikon FE, followed by an FE2, followed many years later by an FM3a, followed shortly later by a host of rangefinder cameras.

You know what. Those are great cameras but they never captured the joy I felt in using that X-700. I try to remember that every time I want a new photo goodie.

"The more possessions, the more worry." - Pirke Avot

/T

I know the feeling, my first good camera was a Praktica with a 50mm Zeiss Tessar lens.
I always got the impression that my later cameras were no better than that Praktica.

[georgef]

Originally Posted by bmattock

My money, my time, my effort, and I decide if if my 'self gratifying retail gestures' are 'meaningless' or not.

With four "my's" in that sentence, your point is clearly received


Interesting post Tuolumme by the way...I got the chance to read extensively His Holiness' teachings this past year which has turned my outlook (and in-look if thats a word) to a very clear understanding of my life in general. I cant say I am a practicing budhist, but it does reflect my core ideology quite well; maybe one day.

My personal point here (and I am NOT telling anyone how to live theirs) is that in the past year I have gotten rid probably about 20 pieces of camera equipment between DSLRs, glass etc. and am now "down" to my RD1 and four lenses....and I have taken more pics this year than many in a long time!

[williams473]

I think this was a really good original post - the fact that so many of us can directly relate to this "GAS" syndrome (which I too have!) shows me that it is a real problem, and I agree with the OP, that it probably reflects a lack of meaningfulness in life for many of us.

I mean, come on, if we're honest, how many times have you been having some beers with your best friend and gone down the "what's the point of all this" discussion? Me - lots of times.

I find I indulge my GAS on Ebay at work mostly, which points to the fact that I feel that what I do (computers) is in the end, pretty pointless. When I'm at home with my kids and wife, or hiking or fishing, I don't feel I need anything. That's because those activities put me in touch with those I love, and God/Nature - both of which don't breed unhealthy, unnatural habits. you show me someone truly close to God, whether it's a Buddhist or a Baptist, and I'll show you someone who is fairly satisfied and at peace.