fame-profit

Interests in the proper sense means fame and profit. It is synonymous with ‘fame and profit.’ Because fame and fortune aim to satisfy people’s vanity and desires rather than the community in general, as greed is part of one’s desire to achieve their personal goal as social position, power and resultant material reward, or profit, advantage. When the pursuit of these goals gradually condition the mentality of the grown up, they may keep building up and never satisfy their own desires, thus easily falling into a vicious circle without being able to extricate oneself. Thus, the heart is filled with selfishness, desire, and anxiety, causing constant sorrow and suffering. Therefore, all Buddhist schools emphasize that cultivators should deeply abstain from fame and fortune, so as not to lose pure bodhicitta and block the path to Buddhahood. [Preface to the Lotus Sutra, Volume of the Benevolent King Sutra, Lower Volume of the Renwang Sutra, Translation of the Lesser Emptiness, Mahayana Awakening of Faith]