Issue

5th Issue (September, 2007)

Purport of Vyagghapajja-sutta (AN)

By Wong Weng Hon

In the Vyagghapajja-sutta (AN) of the Theravāda Tradition, Gotama Buddha  expounds four norms or standards  of excellent practices  which enable the laity to gain, accumulate economic wealth and to overcome the suffering of poverty. These four norms or standards of excellent practices  are promulgated by the Blessed One thus:

1. A career person ought to be resourceful, professional, skillful, diligent and persistent in the pursuit of economic wealth. (Uṭṭhāna samapadā)
2. Wealth earned with enormous sweats  ought to be protected from loss, destruction or depletion. (ārakkha sampadā)
3. One ought to be associated with only good friends or associates. (Kalyāna mittas)
4. One’s income and expenditure ought to be managed prudently. (Samajivitā)1                                                               

 Professionalism of Individuals

The first norm or standard of an ideal worker or employee ought to comprise the following qualities of one’s personality to be efficient, effective and productive: The worker or employee is a skillful, efficient, earnest or committed, energetic or diligent and expert or specialized. This is the individual professional, ethical ideal expected by the employer or superior in any work place. The work place is a social organization  comprising a group of the employer and the employees or a group of a superior and subordinates. Social ideal can only be successfully preserved when there exist individual ideals. Any deficiency, shortcoming,  flaw or low productivity of the individual worker would jeopardize the common  interests or attainment of the production or service organization. The potentiality, success or  accomplishment of a social group or community is the sum-total of the potentiality and performance capacity of all the members of the social group or community. In short, the qualities of all the labour force and the management team determine the productivity and wellbeing of  all the members of the group or community. The late modern Buddhist scholar, K.N.Jayatilleke affirmed that the personal ethical ideal of an individual will bring about the social ideal of the well-being or happiness of the multitude of mankind (bahujanahitāya bahujanasukkhāya).2

Gotama Buddha is adept in the Principle of Dependent Co-arising  (Paṭiccasamuppāda-dhamma) which states that any contigent phenomenon, such as economic achievement and welfare is dependently co-arisen from all parts which constitute  the phenomenon. Any weak or deficient member of a group would impair the efficiency, effectiveness and the productivity of the group.

Protection of Economic Wealth

As a spiritual perfect man, Gotama Buddha even displays his financial astuteness or wisdom when he admonished his lay followers or devotees to be vigilant in managing their economic wealth earned with great sweats. The wealth thus obtained ought to be safeguarded or protected from loss, destruction or depletion by leading a healthy lifestyle. He advised the householders to protect their economic wealth from dissipation due to vices or immoral activities. The immoral and destructive life style comprise the following morally degrading activities, such as:

1. Womanizing or prostitutions
2. Addiction to self-intoxications
3.Addiction to gambling
4. Association with evil friends3                                                             

Evil Habits

The first lifestyle of involving in improper sexual relationships transgresses the third item of the five moral injunctions of the Buddha or Five Precepts. Sexual lust is an intense craving for the sensual gratification. It is akin to putting combustible fuel into the hot burning fires. Combustible  fuel consumes financial expenses. The more it is burnt, the more wealth is dissipated. It is obvious self-intoxicants, such as liquors, drugs and so forth not impair health severely but also dissipate one’s economic wealth rapidly. The rapid dissipation of economic resource could lead the addicts to plunge himself or herself in the increasing stressful, woeful  world of crimes. Gambling is another evil habit or vice which depletes one’s economic wealth if luck is not always on the side of the gambler.

Evil Associations

Gotama Buddha like all other caring counselors and advisers was quick to point out the main cause of womanizing, addictions to  liquors or drugs and gambling is the constant association with evil companions or comrades. According to the recommendations of Gotama Buddha, good friends or associates are those who possess the qualities of being  faithful, being learned  or knowledgeable, being virtuous or morally upright, being liberal or generous, being intelligent or wise and morally helpful.

Financial Adviser

Gotama Buddha was adept as a financial consultant as a modern financial planners whom we may meet in the financial institutions of mutual trust funds in modern society today. He advised the Indian householders  to budget their income and expenditure prudently so that not only the income should  exceed expenditure but also the financial plan is oriented towards future growth and not gradual depletion. In the Sigālovāda Sutta (DN), Gotama Buddha formulated and recommended the implementation of a long-term financial plan thus:One’s income  earned  or wealth accumulated cumulatively  should be divided into four portions: The first portion of 25 % of the total wealth is to be utilized for personal, and family expenses. The second portion and third portion of 50%  should be  utilized for reinvestment to expand one’s wealth and the final forth portion of 25% is utilized for regular saving to meet any emergency needs or  contigent expenses.4

Conclusion

Frankly speaking, for any average person, the amount of wealth is not directly proportional to the amount of regular income; the amount of economic wealth is directly proportional to the amount of wealth saved regularly and prudently protected utilizing the service of modern financial institutions. Having read the Vyagghapajja-sutta and other discourses of Gotama Buddha, I gather that Gotama Buddha was not only adept managing the five aggregates and a penetrating discerner of the absolute truth of the cosmos, he was also adept  in financial planning. In close analysis, the adept capacity of Gotama Buddha is not amazing  at all. Gotama Buddha has developed the six supernormal knowledges (abhiññā-s)5 which include the supernormal knowledges of retrospection and divine eye. He had directly known and seen the perishing and arising of all sentient beings according to their kammas- the successes and failures  or downfalls of numberless  sentient beings in accordance with the wholesome and unwholesome kammas committed by themselves.  No one is to be blamed but oneself. Gotama Buddha promulgated that one becomes a certain being due to his or her own kammas; one is an inheritance or offspring  of one’s own kammas; one is the determiner of what one becomes. Succinctly put, each and everyone is morally accountable for whatever actions committed through the body, speech and mind. The Exalted Master therefore admonishes us to be heedful, vigilant and mindful all the times in all places. Out of great compassion, he prescribed and recommended the tool of Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipaṭṭhāna)6 to protect ourselves from downfall into the woeful states and to gain emancipation from suffering or anguish.

 

References and Recommended Readings:

1. The Books of Gradual Sayings (Anguttara-Nikāya). Trans. Woodward,F.L. Oxford: Pali Text Society, 1995.
2. Vyagghapajja-sutta – The Conditions of welfare. Four Discourses of the Buddha. buddhanet.net/e-llearning/ethics_v.htm
3. Devanoruwe, Bokanoruwe. Social aspects of Early Buddhism. Singapore: Sri Lankaramaya Buddhist temple, 2000.
4. The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Saṃyutta Nikāya. Trans. Bodhi,Bikkhu. Boston: Wisdom Publication, 2000.
5. Weng Hon, Wong. Thus I Share: Social Philosophy of Buddhism. Jitra: Wong Weng Hon, 2003.
6. Jayatilleke, K.N. The Message of the Buddha. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society,  2000.
7. The Long discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of Dīgha Nikāya. Trans. Walshe, Maurice. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society,  1996.