archive: Buddhist concept of wealth
Buddhist concept of wealth
Sita Arunthavanathan
Daily News, Sri Lanka.
August 27, 1999
Title: Buddhist concept of wealth
Author: Sita Arunthavanathan
Publication: Daily News, Sri Lanka.
Date: August 27, 1999
Writers of western orientation have levelled accusations against
Buddhism as a religion responsible for Asian poverty. Except for
Japan, the other Buddhist counties including Sri Lanka are categorized
under the term 'suffering from poverty'. They attribute this to the
teachings of impermanence (anitya) which according to them discourage
people to engage themselves in lucrative economic pursuits and are
inclined to take a lackadaisical attitude towards life, become
unproductive and finally don a yellow robe with the hope of attaining
Nirvana. Scholars such as Max Weber criticised Buddhism as a religion
that is supra-mundane, concerned only with the 'blowing out' and
nothing distinctive for here and now. But Buddhism which starts with
'dukkha' (suffering) ends with supreme bliss uttaritaram panitataram
sukham) in this very existence (dittha dhamma sukha).
A study of Buddhism shows that the alluring, beautiful aspect of
samsaric wanderings is impermanence. If thinking is permanent and
frozen, then new thought systems would not arise and the psychological
dynamism in thinking would come to a halt. Buddhism uses impermanence
as a psychological basis for development - the impossible is made
possible by impermanence. For example poverty and prosperity are both
impermanent and hence the sufferings of poverty could be overcome by
dint of effort (uthana sampada). In the texts we have the story of a
monk (cullapanthaka who could not learn even one stanza for six
months, condemned by his own brother Maha Panthaka Thera and advised
to give up robes. But the Buddha instructed Cullapanthaka to go on
rubbing his fingers on a piece of clean, white cloth repeating,
"rajoharanam" - which means 'I am removing the dirt'. After some time
he observed the cloth becoming dirtier and dirtier with his sweat; he
reflected on the impurity of the body and impermanence and attained
Arhathood.
There is ample evidence to prove that from its very inception Buddhism
was not concerned only with the discipline of the mind but also with
the material welfare of the laity, who have to shoulder the
responsibilities of developing the earthly resources for their own
well-being and also for the sustenance of the monks who are mendicants
dependent on the laity for their four-fold requisites of robs, arms,
shelter and medicine. Buddha being a practical leader realized the
necessity of economic activity and accumulation of wealth.
There are also instances to show that the Buddha had taken a matter of
fact attitude towards wealth - there is an occasion where he compared
a bundle of gold coins stolen by the thieves to a serpent. He has also
remarked that even with a shower of gold coins, those who enjoy
worldly pleasures will not be satisfied - "Na kahapa vassesu - titti
kamesu vijjati" Again, it is said in Samyutta Niakaya that even if
there is a mountain of gold or even double of that, one single man
will not be contented.
Nevertheless, the Buddha has declared that poverty is a suffering for
a householder - 'datiddiyam bhikkhave dukkham'. He once told Brahmin
Janussoni that wealth is the aim of the householder. The discourses
reflect the distinctive advice that the Buddha had given on earning
righteously, spending judiciously and living virtuously with one's
wealth. The sheet anchor of Buddhist wealth is the acquiring of it by
righteous means without exploitation of man, material and environment.
In the Sigalovada Sutta, which is aptly called the Layman's Code of
Discipline, the Buddha has explained in detail how wealth has to be
earned. "He who acquires wealth in harmless ways like a bee that
gathers honey (without harming the flower, its colour or scent),
riches mount up for him like the rapid growth of the ant-hill. The
Buddha has shown how wealth has to be spent - that is, one portion for
his needs, which includes offerings to monks, charity etc. two
portions on investment and the fourth in case of an emergency. In the
Vyaggha-pajja Sutta the Buddha says that wealth has to be obtained by
dint of effort (utthanaviriya gatehi), toiled by strength of arms
(bahabalapari-citehi), by the sweat of the brow (sedarakkhitehi) and
righteously acquired by right means (dhammikehi dhammaladdehi). The
Sutta further explains what a balanced livelihood is - knowing one's
income and expenses, lead a balanced life of being neither extravagant
or miserly, always being conscious of the fact that his income will
stand in excess of his
expenses and never vice versa.
The Buddha explained the righteous means of earning money buy
recommending five occupations in keeping with right living
(Sammajiva). They are agriculture (kasi), dairy farming (gorakkha),
trade (vanijja), serving the king (rajapurisa) and the army
(issattha). It should be stressed here that the army in the Buddhist
context is for defence and not for offence. Buddha condemned violence
of every sort but realized that wars have to be fought in the event of
invasions and people killed in defence of one's country. Hence the
terms 'issattha' and 'yodhajeeva' mean living by fighting. If Buddhism
does not accept this, then it becomes a defeatism.
As much as five kinds of occupations are recommended, the Buddha has
prohibited five types of trading. They are: 1. 'selling or connected
with the selling of liquor, 2. flesh, 3. poison (inclusive of drugs),
4. living beings (for slavery or other purposes) and 5. weapons.' It
is opportune to mention that the Buddha has banned business activity -
buying (kraya) and selling (vikraya), for the monks with the comment
"different is the path of profit-making, from the path of "Nibbana"
(annahi abhupanissiya anna nibbanagamini). These words were uttered by
the Buddha when a young monk ran away from all the gifts showered on
him. The underlying idea is that if too many gifts are offered to
monks there will be a tendency towards business.
There are discourses (Cakkavatti sihanada sutta) for example which
show that mal-distribution of wealth is a social evil that paves the
way to crime and revolution. Buddhism has very healthy attitude
towards money and money-making but does not approve hoarding; spending
one's entire time on earning and not enjoying what one earns is not
the Buddhist ideal. The term 'agahito' occurring in the texts means
that when handling money one should not be trapped by it or tied down
to it. In other words one can possess money but not be possessed by
it. The term 'anuchito' means not to lose one's senses in handling
money and let it blunt your Right Mindfulness (Samma sati).The other
term 'adinavadassani ' warns one to realize the dangers linked with
money; in short that money is a good servant but a bad master. The
Buddha once preached to a village headman that different people earn
money in different ways and he hailed as ideal the one who "seeks
riches through just means but not through violence....he makes himself
comfortable and satisfies himself, he divides the riches and gathers
merit; he enjoys the riches without clinging to them, without being
stupefied by them, without any guilty feelings being conscious of the
danger lurking in them and their consequences."
To illustrate further how to earn and spend righteously, how to
control wealth and eradicate craving (tanha), the Buddha has explained
four kinds of happiness. First is Atthi Sukha the happiness one gets
by the genuine feeling that the wealth he has is earned without
corruption, exploitation, robbing or harming anyone. Second, Bhhoga
sukha is the happiness derived from the feeling that money is utilized
meaningfully, sharing and enjoying according to the Buddhist ideal.
Overcome with wealth one should not cultivate unhealthy habits or
indulge in more and more sensual pleasures, consuming all kinds of
food (batta mada) and drinks. He has to perform five kinds of duties
or 'bali' ttowardss relatiions (nati bali) visitors (atithi bali)
departed ones (pubbapet bali) gods (devata bali) and the king (raja
bali). The last mentioned is income tax in modern parlance. Anana
Sukha, the third happiness is the feeling that one owes no money to
anyone and the last, Anarajja Sukha is the happiness derived by
reflecting that the wealth one possesses is flawless and blameless so
that no one could point a finger and say that the wealth and luxuries
enjoyed by him, his wife and children are ill-gotten.
Buddhism is totally opposed to industrialism with its unremitting,
avaricious and unscrupulous struggle for wealth. Unrestrained greed
for the pursuit of wealth has generated a perfect callousness for
human feelings. Herbert Spencer describes in his book Social Statics,
how wealth and property are acquired by, "violence, fraud, the
prerogatives of force, the claims of superior cunning..." which
according to Buddhist concept of wealth is thieving (adinnadana). The
Buddhist ideal is corporate labour by which noble human qualities such
as compassion (metta), loving kindness (karuna) magnanimity and
selflessness would help to undermine the overwhelming greed for
relentless accumulation and amassing of wealth and promote
satisfaction with a few wants. (alpecchata). According to Buddhism the
greatest wealth is contentment (santutthi paramam dhanam);; then,
reaping of wealth by raping natural resources, non-renewable resources
and exploitation of man, material and environment will be minimised.
Those who amass wealth should realize that wealth like everything else
- not to mention life - is impermanent and we do not carry it to the
other side. This episode from Samyutta Nikaya sums up the Buddhist
concept of wealth and its lofty ideals of righteous earning and
virtuous living. Sakra, the King of Gods, was being driven about in
Tusita Heaven by his charioteer Matali when the latter observed that
Sakra got up from his seat and with clasped hands bent his head to
certain spots on earth. When Matali questioned the Sakra as to what he
was doing the reply
was:
Ye gahattha punnakara - silavanta upasaka
Dhammena dharam posenti - tam namassami Matali
'O Matali, I salute with my clasped hands those merit-loving virtuous
householders who maintain and nourish their wives and children with
wealth gotten righteously.'
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