One of the major teachings of the
Buddha is that
desire is suffering. The point of
advertising is to create a
desire for a product or service. So how do good
Buddhists deal with that inherent
contradiction? Do they avoid the profession? In predominantly
Buddhist countries is advertising farmed out to non-Buddhists (like
money lending was the province of
Jews in the
Middle Ages because it was forbidden to
Christians)? Is Buddhism so
secularized (like
Christianity in the
United States) that its simply not an issue? Do Buddhists
rationalize the contradiction like good Christian
businessmen who
pollute and
exploit their workers? Or are Buddhists just not
hung up about rules and
prohibitions like
Christians and
Jews?
Just something I was wondering while I was
daydreaming this afternoon.