Finally, we have to work for freedom from possessing or hoarding. People are in the habit of acquiring things, clothes, shoes, hats etc. Someone even has 36 pairs of shoes! Nature has given us resources, but the resources are limited and they are meant for all creatures, not just for me. Therefore, I may take only what I require, and must leave the rest for others. Animals take only what they require and leave the rest of the resources for other creatures. They do not have a freezer to stock their food! They don’t have closets or warehouses either! They have trust in the scheme of things and therefore, take only what they need. We don’t have that trust and wind up collecting and storing lots of things. In the process, we deprive others who may be needier than we are. My eating more food than I require, may deprive others who may be needier. Consuming anything more than I require is depriving others who may need it. This requires us to be alert and conscious about our consumption. We are a consumer society and there seems to be a value for consuming more and more. But there are people in this world who are needier than us. Taking from nature only what we need and no more, is a discipline to be cultivated.
We have to make the effort to espouse these principles. The first principle is nonviolence, the second is truthfulness, the third is non-stealing, the fourth is non-indulgence, and the fifth principle is non-hoarding or non-stocking. Because we have the propensity to go against these values, we have to deliberately begin to deal with them.