Let's Talk About Money and Monks

This entry came about when one of fellow dhamma forum user who posted some questions due to recent news that she read about a monk. She wanted to clarify on her thinking that Buddhist monks are never paid a salary since their needs would be taken care of by the temple administrators who draw from temple donations. She also read up something that is confusing, it goes like this,

"The interpretation of the rules, however differs between the Mahayana and Theravada traditions. The Theravadins, especially those from Thailand, claim to observe these rules to the letter of the law, however, in many cases, the following is more in theory than in actual practice ......... Also, a rule prohibiting the handling of gold and silver, in other words - money, is considered by the Mahayana Sangha a handicap were it to be observed strictly in today's world. They interpret this rule as avoiding the accumulation of riches which leads to greed. Theravadin monks tend to split hairs on this rule as, although most will not touch coins, many carry credit cards and cheque books."

She liked to know if it wasn't Buddha's intention for those who joined the religious order to detach themselves from worldly pleasures, desires and material things and if so, how did the Mahayana teachings end up deviating?

For someone who is new to Buddhism, it may seem contradicting to have read such news and articles and it may even shake their faith and trust in the teachings of the Buddha. For that i would like to share some insights on this which i have shared earlier in the forum so each and one of us can reflect and clear the doubts on the Sangha that might have arose within us.

First of all, let's not lose heart at the Sangha just because there were some unfavourable news reported. We have to remind ourselves what Buddha taught before he passed into parinibbana. He said to the Sangha to be a light upon themselves, to use the Dhamma as a guide, as a teacher.

"Think not that you have no teacher after my death. Regard the Dhamma and Vinaya I have taught you as your teacher."

Let us use the Dhamma to reflect and contemplate for ourselves, to look for the meaning and purpose why certain precepts were introduced by the Buddha. That way i believe, is the best way to clear our minds of doubts, shedding light for each and everyone of us.

We must recall the intentions for these precepts and codes. They were setup to help the practitioner to develop spiritually, to rid themselves of suffering which has its roots in attachments and ignorance.

So is it all that truly important not to touch money at all? Let's contemplate on this scenario:

There is a sick person on the deathbed in the final moments. For the last time before passing away, he or she wishes to hear the preaching of the Dhamma from the abbot of a small local modest monastery of their rural town that he or she attends regularly.

Because the monastery is a small establishment with small followings, they do not own a vehicle as they are not able to afford one. Very much due to the fact the donations from the local followers were small although they have already been very generous in their givings.

Now, the family members of the sick person are extremely poor, there is no way that they could afford to hire a car to fetch the abbot. They even have to borrow the phone from their neighbours to call the abbot. Now, this abbot is currently alone in the monastery. Having received this call, he realised that he has to do something to fulfil the final wishes of this dying person.

He knows that there is enough money left from the donations in the monastery to allow him to hire a car to quickly travel to the home of the dying person. What should he do when the precepts indicate that he should not have contact with money?

1) Refuse the family saying that he cannot go as he needs to adhere to the precepts. If he breaks them, his spiritual development will be hindered. Not only that, he gets to retain the donations.

2) Request one of the family members to walk for the next 2 or 3 hours to his monastery so that the family member can take physically handle the money. With that, they can hire a car and he will not need to break his precepts.

3) Simply pick up the money, hire the car and reach the dying person in the shortest possible time to expound the Dhamma for the last time, generating merits for the person.

Of these 3 solutions, which one will generate the most merits? Which one will help the most number of people develop spiritually? I hope this little story helped to clear some doubts if the Mahayana had actually deviated from the Teachings.

Sometimes, things are not what they may appeared to be on the surface. When handling money, it does not mean that one is attached to wealth and when not handling money, it does not mean that one does not crave for wealth.

One classic story is about attachments and how deceiving appearances can be revolves around 2 monks, one elderly master and his disciple helping a woman cross a river.

In the story, these 2 monks were on a long journey and reached a river. There is a young lady who wishes to cross the river but did not wish for her dress to get wet as she has to be presentable in her match making session later, it could decide her life long happiness. Seeing the 2 monks approaching the river, and an idea came to her and she requested them for assistance, to bear her across the river.

The young monk was very hesitant and did not agree to the request as it was in violation of the precepts to be in contact with a member of the opposite sex. To his shock, his master acceded and carried the young lady across the river. Once they were across the river, the lady gave her thanks and left. The monks continue their way.

On their, the young monk kept thinking about the incident and was absolutely furious that his master had broken a precept. At first, he kept it to himself but the more he think of it, the more disgusted he was. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he burst out and shouted at his master, how could he be so shameless and hanker after physical contact with young lady.

The old master simply broke out with a smile and said, "I've left her at the riverside once we have crossed the river. If you did not mentioned it again, i would not have recalled the incident. But you instead, have carried her all the way till now, over such a long distance." In this story, we can now see who truly is attached and who is not.