Below is a faithful presentation—without additions—of Geshe Michael Roach’s short talk on “planting money,” drawn entirely from the official video description and verbatim transcript.
From Hunter-Gatherers to Seed Planters
“I often think of the person who invented farming. Before that, people wandered the forest looking for wild berries or rice. If they didn’t find food for enough days, the family died. That was the old way.”
“Today we just take seeds, dig the ground, fertilize properly, water correctly, and we have rice next year. Because of farming, civilizations can rise—people have time to read, write music, and build cities.”
The Modern Hunter-Gatherer
“In our stage of evolution almost everybody is still a hunter-gatherer. They wander around Phoenix looking for money, hoping to find some—or a partner, or a yoga class that can make them young. According to a Diamond Cutter state of mind, these people are like cavemen.”
“Someone says, ‘What did you do today?’ ‘I went looking for a job.’ ‘Why?’ ‘I need money.’ ‘Why didn’t you just plant some?’ ‘I don’t know how.’”
Learning to Plant Money
“Suppose I know how to plant money—imagine how frustrating it is to watch people suffer their whole life looking for money. Just learn to plant it. I truly believe this will change the future of our world; it’s another step in civilization. In fifty years, if our work succeeds, people will just plant what they need.”
The Echo Principle
“Where do you plant? In other people. This system is like an echo or a basketball: you can’t make an echo without a wall, and you can’t bounce a basketball without a floor. You cannot plant a mental seed without another person who is in need—it’s not possible.”
“So the first job in this system is: I have to find someone who wants money. It sounds crazy, right? I want to make money—of course I have to find someone who wants money and help them make money.”
The Knowledge Base Project
The Knowledge Base is an ongoing project to preserve and publish the life work of Geshe Michael Roach. It already hosts more than 10,000 hours of his teachings and over 12,000 pages of translations, books, and course materials.
Geshe Michael—the first American to earn the geshe (Master of Buddhism) degree after 20 years of study in Tibetan monasteries—continues to teach this “seed-planting” method worldwide as a businessman, philanthropist, author, and scholar.
“Just learn how to plant it.”
