Absolute deprivation, that is insufficient food and water, clothing, shelter, and access to basic medical care, needs to be addressed wherever and whenever it occurs. The author's presentation of Buddhist perspectives on poverty highlights what Buddhism has to contribute. Buddhism's implicit critique of consumerism, in particular, challenges the values that often accompany a higher standard of living. The popular understanding of karma as merit making tends to make Buddhism into a kind of "spiritual materialism". The author demonstrates that this distorts the Buddha's own emphasis on transforming the quality of our lives by transforming our motivations. Most important is the correlation Buddhism emphasizes between one's sense of being a discrete self, an individual whose ultimate well-being can be pursued separately from the well-being of others, and dukkha, one's basic dissatisfaction or disease. The author also mentions the success of socially engaged Buddhism movements in Vietnam, Thailand and Sri Lanka.