My mind was clear, alright.
Of course it would be wonderful that Dharma could be taught free of charge and people could go on long retreats without worrying about money to pay for them or to reintegrate in society once they are over. It would be marvelous that Dharma books could be offered, and so on.
But these things cost money. There's no way around it. Who pays? A rich sponsor or the students themselves, who else? What other option do we have? Dharma in the West can't survive if the money income is limited to sporadic offerings.
Are there people making Dharma a business, perhaps without good intentions? Sure. But it's a minority. Most organizations and authors charge because they have no other option.
We, as practitioners, perhaps should worry more about what we can offer for the benefit of Dharma's survival in the West than about having it all free while spending our money in trivialities. It would be great, but unfortunately it's not possible. There may come the day when such becomes a reality, but it won't be in the near future, I guess.
Goal: having "free Dharma".
Actuality: someone needs to pay so that we can have Dharma in the West.
I'm not seeing an abundance of rich sponsors interested in supporting the Dharma, so it's up to us students, I guess.
