Lzh Mg Bi Pm Pc 83Teaching Worldly Arts to Laity
Pāli / Sanskrit:Teaching worldly arts to laity
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Commentary on the Sutra Concerning the Teaching of Worldly Skills to the Faithful
Background
This rule is recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka, in the section on monastic discipline within the Pāṭimokkha. Its context arose from a specific event within the monastic community of Gotama, when disciples of the Buddha interacted with male lay followers (upāsaka) and female lay followers (upāsikā) in the affairs of worldly life.
During the time when the Buddha was residing at Sāvatthī and other regions, certain monastics attempted to teach lay followers worldly skills such as agriculture, commerce, craftsmanship, and various other arts, with the aim of helping them improve their material lives. Although their initial intentions appeared wholesome, the Buddha recognized that such activity diverted practitioners from the true purpose of the path of cultivation — namely, liberation (nissaraṇa) from suffering.
Main Content
This Vinaya rule stipulates that monastics should not actively teach or encourage lay followers to learn worldly skills such as farming, animal husbandry, trade, or other occupations belonging to the realm of the world. The profound reason underlying this injunction lies in the nature and purpose of the Buddha's Dharma.
According to the Theravāda tradition, the role of a monastic is to teach the true Dharma (Dhamma) — that is, the teachings that lead to awakening, to the relinquishment of craving (taṇhā), and to the attainment of Nirvāṇa. When monastics occupy themselves with teaching worldly skills, they not only depart from their principal duty, but also bring about harmful consequences: the lay followers' attachment to worldly life deepens further; and the defilements (kilesa) of greed, aversion, and delusion are nourished rather than eradicated.
The Vinaya rule also implicitly suggests that the teaching of worldly skills may give rise to legal entanglements, occupational concerns, and social difficulties for lay followers, whereby they become yet more deeply ensnared within the cycle of saṃsāra.
🌏 The Buddhist canon is vast — some sūtras (such as comparative Vinaya across schools, or untranslated Tibetan-canon texts) have to this day NEVER been translated into Vietnamese or English by anyone, scholars included. Rather than leave it blank, Inti AI offers a FAITHFUL summary grounded in the tradition — from the sūtra's title, origin and essence — so you can still reach this rare part of the treasury. Whenever an original translation exists, the app shows the original first.
Translations belong to the translator/source credited above. The bilingual compilation, presentation, and AI translations compiled by Inti are © Inti Foundation. Please attribute when quoting; do not bulk-copy or use commercially without permission.