Lzh Dg Bi Pm Pc 169Supporting Oneself With Worldly Arts
Pāli / Sanskrit:Supporting oneself with worldly arts
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Sutra on “Supporting Oneself by Worldly Arts”
Background
This sutra appears in the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically in the Pātimokkha, the code of disciplinary rules that monks and nuns must observe. This is a text of the Theravāda Buddhist tradition, where the practice of discipline is regarded as the essential foundation for every practitioner. The background of the sutra concerns the process by which the Buddha and his disciples built the Sangha community, during which they had to resolve practical questions about a way of life in accord with the path for those who had gone forth.
The issue of “supporting oneself by worldly arts” arose when some monks or nuns attempted to maintain economic independence, or used worldly skills to make a living, something that could conflict with the spirit of renunciation: wholehearted dedication to practice and moral purity.
Main Content
According to the principles of the Vinaya Piṭaka, monks and nuns should not support themselves by practicing worldly occupations such as sewing, advertising, selling goods, fortune-telling, or other worldly labor activities in order to accumulate property. This is not because such work is evil in itself, but because it distracts the practitioner’s mind and obstructs dedication to the Dharma.
Instead, Theravāda Buddhism encourages monks and nuns to rely on devotion and diligent study and practice. Renunciants are supported by offerings from the lay Buddhist community, or by what is called the mendicant life of almsround when needed. This is a reciprocal relationship: the community offers material support, and the Sangha teaches the Dharma.
This sutra is also related to other rules in the Pātimokkha, which prohibit monks and nuns from engaging in economic transactions, possessing too much property, or keeping money. These restrictions are not intended to create extreme hardship, but to protect the spiritual life of monastics from disturbances caused by greed and desire.
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