Discourse on Wealth of a Lay Buddhist (AN.8.170):

Wong Weng Hon

Purport:

During the time of Gotama Buddha, complex economic theories and practices of micro-economics and macro-economics were unknown as economic structures and business transactions were not as complex and sophisticated as our current modern Economic icons.  However, in the ancient Indian cities along both sides of the Ganges River in the 6th century B.C.E, primary urbanized commerce had already occurred. The diversified  economies of the ancient Indian cities comprised  trade, civil service, archery, farming,  cattle raising, farming and other crafts.

Gotama Buddha did deliver a number of discourses pertaining to the righteous acquisition of wealth, its wise protection, its prudent growth and its proper utility so that his lay Buddhist  householders or devotees would  not be derailed from the Dhamma in their economic endeavours and enterprises. Gotama Buddha’s early discourses on Buddhist economics are still pertinent and relevant to our modern economic practices.

One of the early discourses of Gotama Buddha dealing with early Buddhist Economics is Byagghapajja Sutta (AN.8.170) (1). This early discourse on early Buddhist Economics is still not only pertinent and applicable to modern Buddhists in our modern society  but also for the non-Buddhists. As Buddhism is one of the universal religions, its economic tenet is expected to be universal and non-sectarian.

Gotama Buddha preached the  Byagghapajja Sutta to the householder, Byagghhapajja who entreated the Lord thus:

 “ Lord, we are lay people who enjoy sensual pleasures, dwelling at home in a house  crowded with children, enjoying Kāsian sandalwood, wearing garlands, scents and unguents, accepting gold and silver. Let the Blessed One  teach the Dhamma  to us in a way  that will lead  to our welfare and happiness both in the present life as well as in the future life as well.”

(2)

Gotama Buddha consented and preached that there are four attributes of Man that  lead to the welfare and happiness of a family man in this very life. The Exalted One enumerated  them thus:

1. The accomplishment in persistent effort of wealth acquisition
2. The accomplishment in protection of wealth gained
3. Good friendship to prevent depletion of wealth
4. Balanced living of income and expenditure  (3)

 Persistent Effort

Gotama Buddha explained that the accomplishment in persistent effort encompasses skill, diligence, right livelihood and professionalism. He is skillful and  diligent in his or her work or occupation. He has acquired the necessary knowledge to perform his job adeptly and professionally. In other words, economic productivity is contigent upon  accomplishment in persistent effort in earning wealth righteously (4). Such golden economic advice of Gotama Buddha  is obviously of a universal application even in our modern economic society.

Protection

Gotama Buddha admonished the householder that  wealth earned diligently and righteously must be protected from being stolen, robbed or destroyed (5). During the time of the Gotama Buddha in ancient India, a citizen must develop a way to protect and guard his hard earned wealth from being taken away by the tyrant kings or being stolen or robbed by the thieves or robbers. The wealth must also be protected and guarded against natural disasters or catastrophes, such as extreme weather conditions, fires, floods and others. Care must also be exercised so that wealth is not being taken by the unloved and dishonest heirs. Such an economic advice is still of universal application in our modern economic society. Modernists are blessed because we have the modern banking, financial and security institutions to safeguard our economic wealth.

Good Friendship

Gotama Buddha admonished that good friendship prevents the depletion of wealth due to extravagant tastes or cravings or other anti-social activities. The Exalted One encourages us to associate with the wise and ethical friends who are accomplished in faith, virtue, generosity and wisdom. The Blessed One always highlights the great worth of a good friend, associate or comrade in one’s development, self-cultivation and protection of personal wealth. The wise Chinese Ancient says, “ If you mix with the red, you become red; if you mix with the black, you become black.”

 Faith is taking refuge in Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha. Buddhist faith is not blind faith. It is a strong conviction or belief in the teaching of Gotama Buddha. It is developed from the development and cultivation of the Noble Eight Fold Path. Virtue refers to Buddhist ethics. The Buddhist fundamental ethics are the Five Precepts of refraining from killing, theft, sexual misconduct, untruthfulness and intoxication.

Generosity is free gift of charity. The free  gift may be ether economic wealth and non-economic wealth, knowledge, skills and fearlessness. The economic wealth  may be either cash or kind. The non-economic wealth may be the donation of human blood or organs. Knowledge may be Dhammic (spiritual knowledge) or non-Dhammic (secular knowledge). Skills may also  be secular or spiritual skills. Being altruistic or benevolent to others is the giving of fearlessness. Fearlessness is the attitude of friendliness and peacefulness towards others. Good neigbourliness is also psychological giving of fearlessness or peacefulness or harmony.

Wisdom is the discernment of the ultimate Truth of dependently co-arisen Unity or Non-duality. Unity is Insubstantiality (Anattā). Non-duality is the Unity of Existence between the perceiver and the perceived. It is non-discriminative wisdom. Non-discriminative wisdom is the knowledge of Insubstantiality and Dependent Co-arising (Pațiccasamuppāda).

The wisdom of highest knowledge is the knowledge of the Middle Path of the bipolar reality of the conventional truth and ultimate Truth. The  knowledge of complete destruction of  cankers is the wisdom of insight into the correlation between the conventional truth and ultimate Truth. Destruction of cankers is the total annihilation of self-centric ego. Wisdom enables one to abandon the grasping upon the five aggregates (pañcakkhadhā)  as this is I; this is mine ; this belongs to me.

These four attributes of good friends, namely, faith, virtue, generosity and wisdom  are equally applicable even though they are developed and cultivated according to dissimilar religious faiths. Good friends should not include only good Buddhist  associates or comrades.  It can include good associates or comrades  from other faiths as well because all major world’s religions teach faith, virtue , generosity and wisdom to unite and harmonize human relationhsips.

Balanced Living

Balanced living is the prudent financial management so that one’s income always exceeds expenditure. One is neither extravagant nor miserly. Gotama Buddha depicts balanced living in income and  expenditure with  the metaphor of   goldsmith or his apprehentice. The goldsmith or apprehentice holds up a scale and knows, ’By  so much it is dipped down, by so much  it has tilted up.’ (6) Such a economic advice is also of universally application.

Sources of Dissipation

Gotama Buddha always preached the Dhamma beautifully  in the beginning, beautifully in the middle and beautifully in the end.  He concluded his discourse  by warning us that there are four  sources of dissipation of wealth earned and amassed diligently and righteously by us. They are womanizing, drunkenness , gambling and evil friendship if one socially associates with evil friends.

The Exalted One employed the metaphor of  a  water tank with four inlets and four outlets to drive home his golden advice. If one should open the four inlets and close  the four outlets,  and there would  be adequate rainfall, an increase of water rather than decrease of water is expected in the water tank. Hence, the aforementioned of four-fold aspect of accomplishment in persistent effort, protection, good friendship and balanced living  brings about an increase of acquisition of wealth. (7)

The four outlets of the water tank which must be closed all the times  are metaphorically compared to abstinence from  womanizing, drunkenness, gambling and evil friendship. It was indeed well expounded by the Exalted One. When the four inlets and four outlets are opened simultaneously, the financial management is not prudent. It was well said by the Exalted One.

Conclusion

Thus, it evidences  that Gotama Buddha does not prohibit the earning and amassing of wealth as long as it is righteous (dhammena). In fact, the Blessed One prohibits poverty. Gotama Buddha says, ”For householders in this world, poverty is suffering.(AIII.350).  Most importantly, the Tathāgata promotes and fosters morality (sīla), concentration (samādhli) and wisdom (paññā) even in the process of our acquisition of wealth, its protection and it utility. Right livelihood , selfless service and generous sharing of wealth consummate both secular and spiritual life simultaneously.

Dhammic economics of righteousness is Buddhist Economics.  The message of any supreme religious master is identical: Economic advancement must be accompanied with ascension of virtues and wisdom together with a consideration of the happiness in the present life as well as in the next life. When wisdom and virtue ascend, economic wealth correspondingly ascends if the four accomplishments in  persistent effort, protection, good friendship and balanced living are actualized. The wise Chinese Ancient  says: Be able to conquer and defend in the economic art of war. To conquer is to earn and amass wealth ; to defend is to protect the wealth.

With wealth righteously gained, it should be shared with parents, own family members, servants, workers, relatives, friends and spiritual institutions according to individual capacities. The generosity (dāna) of sharing wealth including charity is highly extolled by the Gotama Buddha  as it fulfills economic  needs of the needy and fosters and nurtures the discernment or practice of Insubstantiality (Anattā). The practice of Insubstantiality is not only the life of spiritual liberation but also it enhances human performance and actualizes accomplishment and satisfaction in one’s life  or career. Gotama Buddha extolls generosity or giving  thus :

If beings knew , as I now, the result of giving  and sharing,
they would not eat without having given nor would they allow the stain of meanness to obsess them and take root in their minds. Even if it were  their last morsel, they would not eat without having shared it, if there were someone to share with.

(7)

 The  practice of generosity or giving  is not mere sharing of wealth with others. It has a soteriological significance because the practice of Insubstantiality (Anattā) is actualized. Dāna is not genuine generosity or giving if it is not given or performed in the spirit of Insubstantiality. It is the surrender of individual self in the cosmic Self through the discernment of Insubstantiality in the giver, gift and receiver. The performance of Dāna is soteriologically significant as it requires the wise execution of the strategy of Non-self in the  right performance Dāna.