http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C4%81na

Scott Kiloby: It seems to be that your most basic question is “should teachers charge money?” whether it’s by donation or simply charging. My question back to you is this: from what perspective or culture is the question being asked and what perspective or culture is supposed to answer it?

I find great difficultly answering questions that are looking for some objective response, as if I can tap into the morally righteous, proper and ultimate answer to the question, as if I am sitting on a mountain top holding in my hand the ultimate laws of the universe. Although some teachings would like to purport to be sitting in this position with all the answers, a quick perusal of history shows that the answer to these questions depends almost entirely on context. Simply put, ask the question and you will get many, many different responses. As you can see from your interviews already, this is the case. We don’t live in one vacuum where the answer to these questions is neatly tucked away in a book somewhere. No one governs these matters exclusively.

No one that you have interviewed can speak on behalf of all teachers, or all humans or even on behalf of truth, because these issues are molded and created and look differently within different teachings, cultures and perspectives. What is true in one tradition might be false or even blasphemous in another tradition. Charging or donating for these services might be considered proper in one culture yet completely unacceptable in another culture. And these teachings, Buddhism and Advaita, from which you speak have now grown and morphed into not only different schools but also western refinements that no longer even look like Buddhist or Advaita teachings of the past (even if they were in part influenced by them). Plus western culture looks very differently at these things than eastern cultures. And you have different perspectives and frameworks even within western culture or eastern culture. I’m not trying to be dismissive of your question but the way it is posed, seemingly asking for an objective answer, doesn’t really fit with how I see these things. It is not one size answer that fits all. I find nothing objective, literally nothing (not even that statement).

Now, if you are asking me, personally, do you think I should charge money? Most of the content on my sites is free. But yes, I do charge for sessions. And I think its a good idea obviously since I do it. But I say all that with a caveat (which I will explain below). Many teachers, including myself, live in the West where money is a part of the system, the way the wheel turns, for better or worse. Even giving a talk or having a website or having someone maintain the website or traveling to a talk takes money. If a teacher is independently wealthy, I can see how charging wouldn’t be necessary. I am not independently wealthy. Far from it. So I pass the cost onto those attending. This is what allows me to continue doing this work.

The particular work I do involves facilitators who make themselves available online, all day for people. And for those facilitators to make themselves available, they cannot also be working another job. So they charge for their services too.

But here’s the caveat: the key is to look at the proper attitude around money, for me.

Am I charging just for personal gain or is the money being filtered back into ways to make this work more available. To date, it’s definitely been the latter.

I’ve looked long and hard at the issue of money, looking with my own living inquiries to see if I can find an ultimate command to make money, a threat in making money or not making money, whether there is a self here that is financially secure or insecure, whether there is a self here that doesn’t deserve money, all of it. After all that looking, I feel very clear about the issue. And my behavior in charging reflects my own clarity around this issue. Money, itself, is not the issue. It’s how one looks at it, from what angle, and what one’s motivation is (all depending upon context, of course). This is what is true for me in my path, to live with the utmost integrity based on my own deep looking at what motivates me or doesn’t motivate me. And that’s an ongoing looking, where my view is subject to change at any time.

Also, each month for years, I have given to certain charities involved with helping end hunger and helping children and animals. I work with many people for free who cannot pay. At any given point, I have very little money in the bank. So, if it is my desire to do this for personal gain only, which it isn’t, I’m doing a really bad job of it.

Having said all that, I hope that you can see that my answer is not intended as an objective statement about what teachers should or should not do. I’m only answering from my perspective, which is certainly molded by things like culture, tradition (or lack thereof), perspective, etc – just as yours would be if you answered the question.

Here’s also an article by Ken Wilber which is quite interesting about how cultures are different and trying to translate this question into modern life has some difficulties with it.

www.kenwilber.com/Writings/PDF/RightBucks_GENERAL_b42000.pdf

Yes I asked Ken Wilber for an interview on that article but he didn't respond. What about trade marking the teachings as some have done with "Big mind", or "Bikram yoga" and so on?

Scott Kiloby: The answer goes back to the same context question. In the states for example, trademarking is very common with all sorts of services. I realize that some believe that trademarking for a spiritual teaching can seem blasphemous. But it seems that way only from one's viewpoint, not from another's. I suppose for those that trademark something, they are hoping that people will recognize a certain name and know that there is quality work there that can be trusted or quality teaching. That's normally what trademarks are for. For example, I don't go to Joe Smith down the road to learn how to play golf if Joe Smith doesn't know how to teach golf well. But if Tommy down the road does teach it well and he needs to trademark so that I can find him, that's not an issue for me.

In a sense, it's like asking "what about meat, should people eat meat?" My answer is yes, some people eat meat in various parts of the world and it's not a problem for them, even if it is a problem through the eyes of some other perspective. We can always try to influence each other with our perspectives. For example, if someone were to convince me that trademarking a teaching is really a bad idea, I could be convinced. Who knows.... I don't see it as an issue, but respect those who do. Some of this goes back to unexamined notions of right and wrong, which are virtually always context driven and not absolute.
 

 END OF INTERVIEW