Lzh Sarv Bi Vb Np 9Money

Sutra on Money (Rūpiya) - Vinaya Piṭaka

Background

The Rūpiya Sutra is recorded in the Pātimokkha of the Theravāda Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically the Nisaggiya Pācittiya section (offenses requiring relinquishment of the offending object and confession). The Buddha formed these rules through the process of teaching his renunciant disciples, when he discovered conduct unsuitable to the pure life of practice.

This sutra arose from a specific event: bhikkhus began to receive money, gold, and silver directly from donors. This caused considerable disturbance, because when bhikkhus had money, they became greedy, contended with one another, and found it difficult to practice. At the same time, the image of renunciants as greedy for material things damaged the reputation of the Sangha in the eyes of the lay community.

Main Content

The Rūpiya Sutra stipulates that any bhikkhu or bhikkhunī who directly receives money, gold, silver, or other valuables from a donor commits a Nisaggiya Pācittiya offense. This is a serious offense requiring the relinquishment of the offending object and confession of the fault before the Sangha.

This principle is based on a very profound understanding: one who has gone forth has renounced the worldly life and no longer holds ownership of property. The requisites necessary for monastics, robes, bowl, lodging, and medicine, must be provided by donors through appropriate prescribed mechanisms, not by direct money. Money symbolizes the ambition of livelihood, dependence on the commercial system, and disputes over value in which the human world is always entangled.

This rule has one important exception: if three or more people together receive money for a communal purpose (such as building a facility to provide water for the Sangha), the rule does not apply. This shows that the Buddhadharma is not absolutely rigid, but places the common benefit of the Sangha first.

Practical Meaning

The Rūpiya Sutra teaches us about financial and spiritual purity.