San Sarv Bu Pm Finot Np 19Trading With Money

Discourse on Transactions with Money (Rūpiyasaṁvohāra)

Background

The discourse “Transactions with Money” (Rūpiyasaṁvohāra) appears in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda Pāli Canon, specifically in the Bhikkhunī Pātimokkha, the code of ethics for female monastics. This discourse was recorded when the Buddha and the Sangha were residing at Sāvatthī, a prosperous city where legal matters, money, and business transactions often arose.

The historical background shows that in the Buddha’s time certain female monastics violated financial regulations by engaging directly in monetary transactions. This was considered inappropriate to the renunciant life, because it creates conditions for craving, deceit, and violation of monastic vows. This discourse was therefore established by the Buddha to clarify the rules of integrity concerning the use of money in the monastic community.

Main Content

The Rūpiyasaṁvohāra discourse stipulates that female monastics (bhikkhunīs) are not permitted to engage in money transactions (rūpiya) or direct exchange of goods. “Rūpiya” here means not only coins or currency, but also any form of monetary transaction, exchange of value, or trade. Participation in activities such as buying and selling, seeking profit, or bargaining over prices is forbidden.

This rule rests on the principle that money and economic transactions are factors that can stir up craving (lobha), aversion (dosa), and other impurities in the mind. If a renunciant participates in such activities, it may destroy the purity and spiritual independence that a monastic should have. Instead, monastics should rely on support from faithful people (upāsaka and upāsikā), who provide food, clothing, and other necessities.