Issue

11th Issue (March, 2009)

Evidences in the Early Discourses of Gotama Buddha Supporting Righteous Acquisition and Utility of Economic Wealth

Wong Weng Hon

Introduction

I always conceive that half-knowledge of religion including Buddhism is playing with the devils. The general public including the vast majority of the Buddhists who do not comprehend the conventional-absolute truth relationship misconstrues Buddhism. They opine that  Buddhist beliefs are anti-desire, pessimistic, anti-social, anti-sensual, world-denial or renunciation, backwardly contented and anti-GNP. Such incorrigible mental misconstruction leads to unnecessary public criticism, unfriendliness, malevolence and  religious persecution exhibited  either tangibly or intangibly. E.F.Schumacher, the novel  developer and exponent of Buddhist Economics affirms thus :

It is not wealth that stands in the way of liberation but attachment to wealth (selfish utility of wealth), not theenjoyment of  pleasurable things but the craving  (selfishdesire) for them. (1)

Kammas and Vipākas

 Gotama Buddha categorically affirms  that generous and altruistic intentional or volitional actions (kammas) in the past lives condition one’s blessed rebirth in an economically affluent family of high social status. Such a highly blessed rebirth is encouraged by the Exalted One because economic wealth obliterates human   suffering due to economic impoverishment. Gotama Buddha’s attitude towards wealth is found in the Suttapițaka thus: Woeful in the world  are poverty and debt (A.N.III352). He also asserts thus : For householders in the world, poverty is suffering. (A.III.350).

Economic wealth stimulates and aids one’s personal development through education and training. Most significantly, the high economic capacity and abundant financial wealth reaped  facilitate the performance of generous giving or charity(dāna). Generosity benefits the needy. With economic wealth, one can help oneself develop and altruistically help others in need or help develop others. Wealth is therefore fundamental and very important for self-development (self-benefit) and charity  to help others (benefiting others).

The rebirth in an economically  high-status family is a  reward of kammic fruitfulness (puñña-kiriya-vatthu). In the present world. The Moral Law of  Accountability or Reciprocity (kamma-vipāka-dhamma) teaches that what one sows, so shall one reap. We are blessed by our wholesome actions and are retributed by our evil actions. Gotama Buddha expounds that economic  wealth earned righteously (dhammena)  from human will (purisachanda) and human efforts (purisaviriyas)  is extolled. Besides earning wealth diligently, one ought to commit wholesome actions (kusalakammas)  so that in  the near or remote future, one will gain more wealth as a result the ripening of one’s previous wholesome kammas. The fruits of wholesome kammas  are merits (puñña). Puñña is designation for happiness enjoyed from  merits rewarded  for wholesome kammas committed in the past. What is pleasant, charming, dear and delightful is puñña (It.14-15; A.IV.88-9).(2)

Vyagghapajja Sutta

In the early discourse of Vyagghapajja Sutta (AN.III.281-5), Gotama Buddha promulgates four ways by which economic wealth can be gained and accumulated  thus:

1. A career person ought to be resourceful, professional, skillful, diligent and persistent in the pursuit of economic wealth (uțțhāna sampadā)
2. Wealth diligently earned ought to be well protected  from loss or destruction (ārakkha sampadā)
3. One ought to be associated only with good friends (kalyāna mitta)
4. Income ought to be  balancedly budgeted  (samajivitā) (3)

A worker ought to be resourceful in the sense that he has all the necessary data and information to execute his work properly averting unneccessary pitfalls. He is professional in the sense that  he is occupationally qualified to perform his job competently. Being skillful, he is adept at his work. Diligence and persistency are required ingredients for task or mission accomplishment . They are essential and integral contigent conditions to actualize result or success.

Whatever wealth earned must be properly safeguarded from losses due to thefts or destruction by natural disasters, such as floods or fires. In a modern society, one’s economic valuables can easily be deposited in any registered   financial institution. During time of Gotama Buddha in India in the 6th century B.C.E, the wealth owners’ methods of protecting their material valuables must, expectedly, be very primitive as economic civilization was still at its infancy stage. It is certainly a golden advice on watchfulness (appamāda) on one’s hard earned assets. Wisdom of the Chinese Ancient affirms thus: As far as protection of wealth is concerned , one must be adept at conquering as well as  defending one’s wealth.

If one associates with evil friends who are either drinkers, drug users, womanizers or gamblers, one’s wealth would be depleted with the passage of time. Evil friends must be avoided in order to prevent rapid dissipation of personal wealth. This is a very sound admonition from the Exalted One.

Sigālovāda Sutta

The fourth economic advice of Gotama Buddha is expounded in detail  in the Sigālovāda-sutta (DN.31) thus: One’s income ought to be utilized according to the following personal budget strategy : One’s annual income should be divided into four portions. The first portion of about 25% should be utilized for only personal and family expenditure; the second plus third  portions of 50% should be utilized for reinvestment to expand one’s wealth, such as saving or investment in a financial institution, purchasing a real estate or any other profitable investment. The fourth portion of 25 % should be reserved and deposited in a financial institution for emergency purposes.(4) If this balanced budget strategy of Gotama Buddha is adopted by the modernists, the 2008 financial crisis could have  been  averted. The modernists are more vulnerable to financial crisis because they spend excessively on the money which they have not earned. The convenient device of credit cards has been abused.

Ambalațțhikā-Rā̄hulovāda Sutta

The central theme of Buddhism is neither harming oneself and others. It is the Buddhist teaching of heedfulness based on Right Efforts,  the 6th training aggregate of the Noble Eight Fold Path. Buddhist teaching of heedfulness is the training of the power of empathy.  In the Ambalațțhikā- Rāhulovāda Sutta (MN.61), Gotama Buddha exhorted his son Venerable Rāhula that before one acts with the body, speech  or mind , one must reflect repeatedly before one acts.(5)

The Exalted One admonishes that before one acts bodily, verbally or mentally, one ought to reflect repeatedly whether one’s bodily, verbal or mental action is harmful to oneself and others (that is the natural environment or the human society). If it is harmful, it should be abandoned. If it is beneficial, it should be acted. Beneficial action is altruistic and compassionate. It is to be encouraged. Therefore, Buddhist Economics expects an entrepreneur to consider whether his or her  economic project or activity is harmful or beneficial to himself or herself , and to others. Others include his employees or works, the sustainability of natural environment and the well-being of the human society. In our modern society, the reinforcement of the Environmental Impact assessment (EIA) by an environmentally friendly government is to protect the eco-systems.

For the Buddhists, EIA functions  to avert the non-compassion and unheedfulness of non-execution of right efforts (sammā vāyāma) and right livelihood. EIA is considered a measurement standard or metric  of Buddhist Economic performance indicator of GNH (Gross National Happiness). The idea of sustainable development was first mooted by the 4th King of Bhutan. It captured the attention of United Nations many years ago. Buddhist Economic concept of GNH merges with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and  the sacred duty to protect the mother earth through sustainable development.

Reciprocal Deontological Ethics

Most interestingly, the Sigālaovāda-sutta (DN31) expounds the metrics of Buddhist economic ideology of GNH on deontological ethics of duties or responsibilities. Duties and responsibilities sustain the unity of co-existence. Unity of existence is the ultimate Reality of the universe. Buddhistly put, unity of existence is Anattā (Insubstantiality) or ‘Sūnyatā (Emptiness). The Buddhist deontological ethics pertain to the harmonious reciprocal relationship between parents and children, between teacher and pupils, between husband and wife, between employer and employees, between friend and friend and between guru and disciple (6).

But Alas, the member countries of United Nations have   not seriously committed to the urgent requirement of sustainable development through the preservation of the quality of natural environment. The central emphasis of Buddhist Economics is that an entrepreneur should earn his or her Right Livelihood, the 5th training aggregate of the Noble Eight Fold Path like a bee collecting nectars from flower to flower without harming the flowers.

Owing to unfriendly destruction of the eco-systems  Consequently, the villagers of the global village have plunged into the pit of  the 2008-2009 financial crisis, and  ecocrises of global warming and climate change. The eco-crises have  led to the occurrence of epi and dire hurricanes, cyclones, storm surges, high waves, forest fires, rainstorms , snowstorms, heavy floods , heat waves , and other eco-problems. Mobile homes, trees, small buildings, homes and industrial buildings were extensively and severely devastated. German based Munich Re survey reports that 220,000 victims of natural catastrophes died in 2008. U.N. Climate scientists have corroborated that ecocrises of global warming and climate change are anthropogenic and anthropocentric. The root of antropogenicism and anthropocentrism is self-centric ego superimposed by human ignorance.