it's tough to achieve any form of worthwhile philanthropy without some deep coffers. All of these things cost money. Money has to be earned. The extra focus, energy, and clarity practicing Zen provides is a huge asset to my personal ability. I know it's an impure practice, but I'm always aware of that fact. And it's when you stay vigilant in your awareness that the realities of life and the ideals of the practice balance out. I think it's clear that an inflated sense of pride, among other things, was Jobs' weakness. And it's easy to see how exorbitant wealth can exacerbate that weakness. edit: 5am grammar. time to go to bed. I should also note I'm not very familiar with Jobs' personal life. He probably was the huge asshole he's made out to be. I'm just commenting on the use of zen buddhism in a non-traditional manner. When i face the same questions as you, i look back to King Ashoka. He managed to find his own way of being buddhist and a great king (wo couldn't afford to not having power, material posessions or wars) I did find it odd that he's glorified for having a design sense inspired by Buddhist teachings, yet used that design sense to promote capitalism and the need to possess material possessions; something that goes against Buddhist teachings. To be fair, most people 'need' a cell phone. I mean, we don't 'need' them, but the absence of a cell phone in my life