After last week, we have a little more experience with the problem of wanting. That prepares us for the final restraint (yama): non-hoarding (aparigraha).

It doesn’t sound very profound. Not hoarding or not being greedy is a well-known (if neglected virtue). It’s easy to imagine that if we all practiced that, we would live in a world with more evenly distributed resources. And if some people lack the excess they enjoy now, at least others would be less impoverished. That’s all true, but that isn’t the great reward the sutras promise.

What the sutras say about aparigraha is almost magical. They promise that the person established in not taking more than they need will develop full knowledge of past and future lives. Some translations steer clear of reincarnation and translate the sutra as promising a full understanding of the individual’s spiritual path.

How does that work? Experimentation is the only way to understand.

Homework

This week, whenever you are going to do something that requires resources of time, energy, and/or stuff, ask yourself: how much is enough? Don’t worry; just because you’ve identified sufficiency doesn’t mean you can’t exceed it. Feel guilt-free taking more than enough if you want. But do identify the minimum that would satisfy your needs. Ask yourself in every situation. In each asana practice, how much time and effort? In each meal, how much food and time/effort? In walking your dog and cleaning your house. In baking holiday treats. All situations small and large, important or not, simply ask yourself how much would be enough? See what you discover.

Practice at least one back arch every day (e.g. salabhasana, urdhva mukha svanasana, chatush padasana, dhanurasana, etc.)