San Lo Bu Pm Np 20Trading With Money
Pāli / Sanskrit:Rūpiyasaṁvohāra
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The Discourse on Transactions With Money (Rūpiyasaṁvohāra)
Background
The Rūpiyasaṁvohāra rule is recorded in the Pāli Vinaya tradition, specifically in the Pātimokkha, the basic rules of conduct for bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs. The background of this discourse concerns regulations on economic activity and monetary transactions within the monastic community. It is one of the detailed disciplinary sections meant to guide practicing disciples away from ethically improper conduct in the economic sphere.
The period of the composition of this rule belongs to the early years of the Sangha’s development, when issues of managing communal property and personal prohibitions for bhikkhus needed to be clearly defined. Theravāda Buddhism holds that monastics should not directly engage in financial transactions because doing so disturbs the mind and the spirit of renunciation.
Main Content
The Rūpiyasaṁvohāra rule strictly prohibits bhikkhus from participating in buying, selling, exchanging, or directly transacting with money (rūpiya). This conduct is regarded as pārājika, the first and gravest kind of offense, or at least dukkaṭa, a minor offense, depending on the degree and manner of the act.
Specifically, the discourse details forms of violation such as making special purchases and sales in the name of a monastic, asking others to buy or sell on one’s behalf, or becoming involved in transactions calculated in money. The reason for this prohibition is not that money is evil in itself, but that it draws along with it ambition, jealousy, deceit, states of mind contrary to the noble eightfold path.
The rule also states that if a bhikkhu needs to obtain necessities, this must be done through lay Buddhists or other monastics responsible for managing communal finances. The property of the Sangha is communal property; no one may own it privately or spend it arbitrarily.
Practical Meaning
The profound meaning of this discourse lies in protecting the purity of mind of one gone forth.
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