Lzh Mu Bi Vb Np 11Money
Pāli / Sanskrit:Rūpiya
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SUTTA ON MONEY (RŪPIYA)
Background
The Rūpiya text is found in the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically in the section on nuns’ rules of the Patimokkha. This is not a discourse on philosophical doctrine, but a set of legal regulations related to money and material goods in the monastic community.
According to the Early Buddhist tradition, the Vinaya Piṭaka was built upon specific situations that occurred among the disciples of the Buddha. Whenever a problem arose, the Buddha first taught the Dharma and then established rules (sikkhāpada) to protect the community and maintain the purity of the holy life. The Rūpiya text reflects the need to define clearly the attitude of monks and nuns toward money and material wealth.
Main Content
In this text, the Buddha lays down regulations concerning how monastics, especially nuns, must deal with money. The basic principle is that those who have gone forth must observe one of the ten abstentions (dasaviratthāna), among which possessing or directly transacting in currency is considered a violation.
The text prescribes that monastics may not personally keep or use money. If they need something, they must inform a supporter (dāyaka) or the community, so that others may obtain it on their behalf. The reason behind this rule is to avoid desires connected with material goods, bad publicity for the holy life, and risks to the purity of the practitioner.
The precedents in this text may relate to specific cases: nuns who showed dishonesty by personally holding money, or occasions when monastics were deceived because they were not careful with material goods, leading to suspicions about their motives for practice.
Practical Meaning
The rule concerning money in the Vinaya Piṭaka is not meant to make monks and nuns powerless or wholly dependent in a negative way. On the contrary, it is a skillful means (upāya) for freeing the mind from the whirlpools of craving and anxiety over material things.
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