Lzh Sarv Bu Vb Np 18Money

Explanation of the Rūpiya Sutta (Money)

Background

The Rūpiya Sutta belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka in the Theravāda tradition of the Buddha-Dharma. It is not a discourse of doctrinal preaching, but a set of training regulations (vinaya) for the spiritual discipline of bhikkhus. Money (rūpiya), in the context of the Vinaya Piṭaka, is not merely gold and silver, but represents all valuable property, things that can be bought and sold.

In the Buddha’s time, bhikkhus lived by almsround (bhikkhu-piṇḍapāta). Buddhism differed from other schools of practice in excluding bhikkhus from accepting, using, or accumulating money. This arose from a fundamental principle: the abandonment of all that agitates the mind, gives rise to attachment, or nourishes craving (taṇhā). Money is one of the greatest obstacles leading to greed, jealousy, and confusion.

Main Content

The Rūpiya Sutta prescribes one of the basic conditions (paccaya): a bhikkhu is not permitted to receive, keep, or use money in any form. If someone offers money to a bhikkhu, the bhikkhu must refuse it or allow someone else to receive it on his behalf. This is not because the Buddha wished to make bhikkhus suffer, but because money directly stirs up the mind of greed (lobha).

The disadvantages of using money are clearly stated: it leads to distinctions within the Sangha, causing some bhikkhus to become wealthier than others; it gives outsiders an opportunity to criticize; and, above all, it distracts the mind from the principal aim of practice, the ending of suffering. Money is an instrument of bhava-taṇhā, craving for existence and possession.

This rule applies to all bhikkhus, regardless of age or position in the Sangha. It expresses the principle of spiritual equality: in the Buddhist Sangha, differences in material possessions must not become a basis for discrimination or for forming separate cliques.

Practical Meaning

The Rūpiya Sutta teaches us that the renunciation of money is not a mental imprisonment, but a liberation.