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           Four Ariyan lineages; herein, brethren, a monk conten with whatever robes

(he may have ), commends contenment of this kind, and does not try to gain robes

in improper, unsuitable ways.  And he is not dismayed if he gain no robe, but when

he has gained one, he is not greedy, nor infatuated, nor overwhelmed.  Seeing the

danger therein and understanding its object he makes use of it.   Yet does he not

exalt himself because of his contenment with any robes, nor does he disparage

others.     Whoso, brethren, is skilled therein, not slothful, but mindful and helpful,

this monk is one who stands firm in the primeval, ancient Ariyan lineage.    Then,

again, the monk is content with whatever almsfood...with whatever lodging...Lastly,

brethren, the monk delights in abandoning (evil) and delights in developing (good)

(D.III.224; A.II27)

        Furthermore, brethren, he is conten with whatever necessaries, whether it be robes, alms, lodging, medicinces, and provision against sickness.   Furthren, he is

continually stirring up effort to eliminate bad qualities, making dogged and vigorous

progress in good things, never throwing off the burden. (D.III.266, 290;V. 23)

          The monk is conten with a robe sufficient to protect the body, with almsfood

enough for his belly,s need.     Wherever he may go he just takes these with him.  Just as, for instance, a bird upon the wing, wherever he may fly, just flies with the

load of his wings. (E.g, A.II.209)

         Monks, this holy life is not lived to cheat or cajole people.  It is not for getting gain, profit, or notoriety.  It is not concerned with a flood of gossip nor with the idea

of "let folk know me as so-and-so."   Nay, monks, this holy life is lived for the sake

of self-restraint, of abandoning (evil), of dispassionateness, of the cessation of suf-

fering. (A.II.47,84)

       Harsh, monks, is gain, honor, and fame, severe and rough, being a stumbling

block to the attainment of the supreme safety (of Nibbana).   Therefore, monks, let

you trainyourselves: we shall let go the arisen gain, honor, and fame, and the arisen gain,honor, and fame will not stand overwhelming our minds...

         For one whether being honored or not whose collected mind does not waver, him the wise call a worhy man. (S.II.232)

     One is the road that leads to wealth, another the road that leads to Nibbana.  If

the Bhikkhu, the disciple of the Buddha, has leant this, he will not yearn for honor, he will foster solitude. Dh. 75)  

    Waelth destroys the foolish, though not those who search for the Goal. Dh, 355)

             For the laity, as mentioned earlier, there is no instance in which poverty is

ncouraged.     On the contrary, many Pali passages exhort lay people to seek and

amass wealth in a rightful way.   Among the advantages or good results of good

karma, one is to be wealthy.   What is blamed as evil in connection with wealth is to

earn it in a dishonest and unlawful way.      Worthy of blame also is the one who, having earned wealth, becomes enslaved through clinging and attachment to it and incurs, suffering because of it.    No lessevil and blameworthy than the unlaw-

ful earning of wealth is to accumulate riches and, out of stinginess, not to spend them for the benefit and well-being of oneself, one,s dependents, and other people

Again, it is also evil if one squanders wealth foolishly or indulgently or uses it to

cause suffering to other people:

    And what, Ujjaya, is achievement of diligence?.

Herein, by whatsoever activity a clansman make his living, whether by the plough,

by trading or by cattle-herding, by archery or in royal service, or by any of the crafts

he is deft and trireless; gifted with an inquiring turn of mind into ways and means,

he is able to arrange and carry out hid job.  This is called achievement of diligence.

(a.IV. 285)

        And what is the bliss of wealth?.  Herein, housefather, a clansman by  means

        of wealth acquired by energetic striving, amassed by strength of arm, won by

        sweat, lawful and lawfully gotten, both enjoys his wealth and good deeds

        therewith. (A.II.68)

            Herein, housefather, with the wealth acquired by energetic striving...and

        lawfully gotten, the Ariyan disciple makes himself happy and cheerful, he

        rightly contrives happiness,and makes his mother and father, his children and

        wife, his servants and workmen, his friends and comrades cheerful and happy

        he rightly contrives happiness.   This, housefather, is the first opportinity

        seized by him, turned to merit and fittingly made use of. (A.II.67; A.III.45)

             Monks, if people knew, as I know, the ripening of sharing gifts, they would

         not enjoy their use without sharing them, nor would the taint of stinginess

         stand obsessing the heart.   Even if it were their last bit, their last morsel of

         food, they would not enjoy its use without sharing it, if there were anyone to

         receive it.  It.18)

               Like waters fresh lying in savage region.

               Where none can drink,  running  to  waste  and  barren,

               Such  is  the  wealth  gained  by  a  man  of  base  mind.

               On  self he  spends  nothing,  nor  aught  he  gives.

                The  wise,  the  strong-minded,  who  has  own  riches,

                 He  useth  them,  thereby  fulfills  his  duties.

                 His  troop  of  kin  fostering,  noble-hearted,  blameless, at death faring

                 to  heanly  mansion, (S.I. 90)

                  The  misers do not go to heaven; fools do not praise liberality. (Dh.177)

         Thus,good and praiseworthy wealthy people are those who seek wealth in a

 rightful way and use it for the good and happiness of both themselves and others.

Accordingly, the Buddha,s lay disciples, being wealthy, liberally devoted much or

most of their wealth to the support of the sangha and to the alleviation of the suf-

fering and poverty of others.   For example, the millionaire Anathapindika is said in

the Commentary on the Dhammapada to have spent a large amount of money everyday to feed hundreds of monks as well as hundreds of the poor.   Of course,

in an ideal society under an able and righteous ruler or under a righteous and effec

tive administration, there will be no poor people, as all people will be at least self-

sufficient, and monks will be the only community set apart by intention to be sus-

tained with the material surplus of the lay society.

   A true Buddhist lay person not only seeks wealth

lawfully and spends it for the good, but also enjoys spiritual freedom, not being at-

tached to it, infatuated with or enslaved by that wealth.   At this point the mundane

and the transmundane intersect.   The Buddha classifies lay people or the enjoyers

of sense-pleasure into various classes according to lawful and unlawful means of

seeking wealth, the spending or not spending of wealth for the good and happi-

ness of oneself or others and for the performing of good deeds, and the attitude of

greed and attachment or wisdom and spiritual freedom in dealing with wealth.  The

last, which the Buddha calls the best, the greatest, and the noblest. is praise-

worthy in four respects.   Such a person enjoys life on both the mundane and the

transmundane planes as follows:

Mundane

    1.  Seeking  wealth  lawfully  and  unarbitrarily,

    2.  Making  oneself  happy  and  cheerful,

    3.  Sharing  with  others  and  doing  meritoirous  deeds.

Transmundane

    4.  Making use of one,s wealth without greed and longing, without infatuation,

heedful of danger and possessed of the insight that sustains spiritual freedom.

        This person is indeed an Ariyan or Noble Disciple, that is, one who has made great progress toward individual perfection.  Of much significance, moreover, is the

compatibility between the mundane and the transmundane spheres of life which

combine to form the integral whole of Buddhist ethics in which the transmundane

acts as the completing part.

      In spite of its great ethical utility, however, too much importance should not be given to wealth.    The limitation of its utility in relation to the realization of the goal

of Nibbana, furthermore, should also be recognized.     Though on the mundane level poverty is something to be avoided, a poor person is not deprived of all means

to act for the good of himself or herself and for the good of socoety.  The ten ways

of doing good or making merit begin with giving, but they also include moral con-

duct, the development of mental qualities and wisdom, the rendering of services,

and the teaching of the Dhamma.    Because of peverty, people may be too preoc-

cupied with the mere struggle for survival and thus cannot do anything for their own perfection.  They may even cause trouble to society and difficulty for other peo

ple in their effort toward their own perfection.  But when basic living needs are satis

fied, if one is mentally qualified and makes the effort, nothing can hinder one from

realizing one,s individual perfection.   Wealth as a resource for achieving the social

good can help create favorable circumstances for realizing individual perfection, but ultimately it is mental materity and wisdom, not wealth, that bring about the

realization of this perfection.     Wealth mistreated and misused not only obstructs individual development, but can also be detrimental to the social good.  A wealthy

man can do much more either for the better or for the worse of the social good than

a poor man.      The wealth of a good man is also the wealth of the society.  It is,

therefore, conducive to the social good and thus becomes a resource for all the members of that society.      In other words, acquiring wealth is acceptble if, at the same time, it promotes the well-being of a community or society.       But if one,s wealth grows at the expense of the well-being of the community, that wealth is

harmful and becomes a problem to be overcome.      If personal wealth is not the wealth of society and is not condicive to the social good, the society may have to

seek other means of ownership and distribution of wealth to ensure the social good

and the resourcefulness of wealth for both individual development and perfection of all members of the society.

      In short, the Buddhist attitude toward wealth is the same as that toward power,

 fame, and honor. This is clearly expressed in the words of the great Buddhist king,

Asoka, in his Edict X, "King Piyadassi, the beloved of the gods, does not consider

presstige and glory as of any great meaning unless he desires prestige and glory

for this purpose, that people may attend to the teaching of the Dhamma and that

they may abide by the practices of the Dhamma."