an.8.54 Aṅguttara Nikāya (Numbered Discourses)

To Dighajanu

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling among the Koliyans. Now the Koliyans have a town named Kakkarapatta. There Dighajanu the Koliyan went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to the Blessed One, sat to one side. As he was sitting there he said to the Blessed One, “We are lay people enjoying sensuality; living crowded with spouses & children; using Kasi fabrics & sandalwood; wearing garlands, scents, & creams; handling gold & silver. May the Blessed One teach the Dhamma for those like us, for our happiness & well-being in this life, for our happiness & well-being in lives to come.”

[The Blessed One said:] “There are these four qualities, TigerPaw, that lead to a lay person’s happiness and well-being in this life. Which four? Being consummate in initiative, being consummate in vigilance, admirable friendship, and maintaining one’s livelihood in tune.

“And what does it mean to be consummate in initiative? There is the case where a lay person, by whatever occupation he makes his living—whether by farming or trading or cattle tending or archery or as a king’s man or by any other craft—is clever and untiring at it, endowed with discrimination in its techniques, enough to arrange and carry it out. This is called being consummate in initiative.

“And what does it mean to be consummate in vigilance? There is the case when a lay person has righteous wealth—righteously gained, coming from his initiative, his striving, his making an effort, gathered by the strength of his arm, earned by his sweat—he manages to protect it through vigilance [with the thought], ‘How shall neither kings nor thieves make off with this property of mine, nor fire burn it, nor water sweep it away, nor hateful heirs make off with it?’ This is called being consummate in vigilance.

“And what is meant by admirable friendship? There is the case where a lay person, in whatever town or village he may dwell, spends time with householders or householders’ sons, young or old, who are advanced in virtue. He talks with them, engages them in discussions. He emulates consummate conviction in those who are consummate in conviction, consummate virtue in those who are consummate in virtue, consummate generosity in those who are consummate in generosity, and consummate discernment in those who are consummate in discernment. This is called admirable friendship.

“And what does it mean to maintain one’s livelihood in tune? There is the case where a lay person, knowing the income and outflow of his wealth, maintains a livelihood in tune, neither a spendthrift nor a penny-pincher, [thinking], ‘Thus will my income exceed my outflow, and my outflow will not exceed my income.’ Just as when a weigher or his apprentice, when holding the scales, knows, ‘It has tipped down so much or has tipped up so much,’ in the same way, the lay person, knowing the income and outflow of his wealth, maintains a livelihood in tune, neither a spendthrift nor a penny-pincher, [thinking], ‘Thus will my income exceed my outflow, and my outflow will not exceed my income.’ If a lay person has a small income but maintains a grand livelihood, it will be rumored of him, ‘This clansman devours his wealth like a fruit-tree eater.’ If a lay person has a large income but maintains a miserable livelihood, it will be rumored of him, ‘This clansman will die of starvation.’ But when a lay person, knowing the income and outflow of his wealth, maintains a livelihood in tune, neither a spendthrift nor a penny-pincher, [thinking], ‘Thus will my income exceed my outflow, and my outflow will not exceed my income,’ this is called maintaining one’s livelihood in tune.

“These are the four drains on one’s store of wealth: debauchery in sex; debauchery in drink; debauchery in gambling; and evil friendship, evil companionship, evil camaraderie. Just as if there were a great reservoir with four inlets and four drains, and a man were to close the inlets and open the drains, and the sky were not to pour down proper showers, the depletion of that great reservoir could be expected, not its increase. In the same way, these are the four drains on one’s store of wealth: debauchery in sex; debauchery in drink; debauchery in gambling; and evil friendship, evil companionship, evil camaraderie.

These are the four inlets to one’s store of wealth: no debauchery in sex; no debauchery in drink; no debauchery in gambling; and admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie. Just as if there were a great reservoir with four inlets and four drains, and a man were to open the inlets and close the drains, and the sky were to pour down proper showers, the increase of that great reservoir could be expected, not its depletion. In the same way, these are the four inlets to one’s store of wealth: no debauchery in sex; no debauchery in drink; no debauchery in gambling; and admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie.

“These, TigerPaw, are the four qualities that lead to a lay person’s happiness and well-being in this life.

“There are these four qualities that lead to a lay person’s happiness and well-being in lives to come. Which four? Being consummate in conviction, being consummate in virtue, being consummate in generosity, being consummate in discernment.

“And what does it mean to be consummate in conviction? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones has conviction, is convinced of the Tathagata’s Awakening: ‘Indeed, the Blessed One is worthy and rightly self-awakened, consummate in knowledge and conduct, well-gone, an expert with regard to the world, unexcelled as a trainer for those people fit to be tamed, the Teacher of divine and human beings, awakened, blessed.’ This is called being consummate in conviction.

“And what does it mean to be consummate in virtue? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones abstains from taking life, abstains from stealing, abstains from illicit sexual conduct, abstains from lying, abstains from taking intoxicants that cause heedlessness. This is called being consummate in virtue.

“And what does it mean to be consummate in generosity? There is the case of a disciple of the noble ones, his awareness cleansed of the stain of miserliness, living at home, freely generous, openhanded, delighting in being magnanimous, responsive to requests, delighting in the distribution of alms. This is called being consummate in generosity.

“And what does it mean to be consummate in discernment? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones is discerning, endowed with discernment of arising and passing away—noble, penetrating, leading to the right ending of stress. This is called being consummate in discernment.

“These, TigerPaw, are the four qualities that lead to a lay person’s happiness and well-being in lives to come.”

Heedful at administering
or working at one’s occupation,
maintaining one’s life in tune,
one protects one’s store of wealth.
A person of conviction,
consummate in virtue,
magnanimous, free of selfishness,
constantly clears the path
to security in the lives to come.
Thus for one who seeks the household life,
these eight qualities, leading to welfare & happiness
both in this life & in lives to come,
have been declared by the one
whose name
is truth.
And this is how, for householders,
generosity & merit increase.

- Translator: Thanissaro Bhikkhu

- Editor: Gabriel Laera

With Dīghajāṇu

There are four drains on wealth that has been gathered in this way.
At one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Koliyans, where they have a town named Kakkarapatta.
Then Dīghajāṇu the Koliyan went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to the Buddha:
“Sir, we are laypeople who enjoy sensual pleasures and living at home with our children. We use sandalwood imported from Kāsi, we wear garlands, perfumes, and makeup, and we accept gold and money.
May the Buddha please teach us the Dhamma in a way that leads to our welfare and happiness in this life and in future lives.”
“Byagghapajja, these four things lead to the welfare and happiness of a gentleman in this life.
What four?
Accomplishment in initiative, protection, good friendship, and balanced finances.
And what is accomplishment in initiative?
It’s when a gentleman earns a living by means such as
farming, trade, raising cattle, archery, government service, or one of the professions.
He understands how to go about these things in order to complete and organize the work.
This is called accomplishment in initiative.
And what is accomplishment in protection?
It’s when a gentleman owns legitimate wealth that he has earned by his own efforts and initiative, built up with his own hands, gathered by the sweat of the brow.
He ensures it is guarded and protected, thinking:
‘How can I prevent my wealth from being taken by rulers or bandits, consumed by fire, swept away by flood, or taken by unloved heirs?’
This is called accomplishment in protection.
And what is accomplishment in good friendship?
It’s when a gentleman resides in a town or village. And in that place there are householders or their children who may be young or old, but are mature in conduct, accomplished in faith, ethics, generosity, and wisdom. He associates with them, converses and engages in discussion. And he emulates the same kind of accomplishment in faith, ethics, generosity, and wisdom.
This is called accomplishment in good friendship.
And what is accomplishment in balanced finances?
It’s when a gentleman, knowing his income and expenditure, balances his finances, being neither too extravagant nor too frugal. He thinks, ‘In this way my income will exceed my expenditure, not the reverse.’
It’s like an appraiser or their apprentice who, holding up the scales, knows that it’s low by this much or high by this much.
In the same way, a gentleman, knowing his income and expenditure, balances his finances, being neither too extravagant nor too frugal. He thinks, ‘In this way my income will exceed my expenditure, not the reverse.’
If a gentleman has little income but an opulent life, people will say: ‘This gentleman eats their wealth like a fig-eater!’
If a gentleman has a large income but a spartan life, people will say: ‘This gentleman is starving themselves to death!’
But a gentleman, knowing his income and expenditure, leads a balanced life, neither too extravagant nor too frugal, thinking, ‘In this way my income will exceed my expenditure, not the reverse.’
This is called accomplishment in balanced finances.
Womanizing, drinking, gambling, and having bad friends, companions, and associates.
Suppose there was a large reservoir with four inlets and four drains.
And someone was to open up the drains and close off the inlets,
and the heavens don’t provide enough rain.
You’d expect that large reservoir to dwindle, not expand.
In the same way, there are four drains on wealth that has been gathered in this way.
Womanizing, drinking, gambling, and having bad friends, companions, and associates.
There are four inlets for wealth that has been gathered in this way.
Not womanizing, drinking, or gambling, and having good friends, companions, and associates.
Suppose there was a large reservoir with four inlets and four drains.
And someone was to open up the inlets and close off the drains,
and the heavens provide plenty of rain.
You’d expect that large reservoir to expand, not dwindle.
In the same way, there are four inlets for wealth that has been gathered in this way.
Not womanizing, drinking, or gambling, and having good friends, companions, and associates.
These are the four things that lead to the welfare and happiness of a gentleman in this life.
These four things lead to the welfare and happiness of a gentleman in future lives.
What four?
Accomplishment in faith, ethics, generosity, and wisdom.
And what is accomplishment in faith?
It’s when a gentleman has faith in the Realized One’s awakening:
‘That Blessed One is perfected, a fully awakened Buddha, accomplished in knowledge and conduct, holy, knower of the world, supreme guide for those who wish to train, teacher of gods and humans, awakened, blessed.’
This is called accomplishment in faith.
And what is accomplishment in ethics?
It’s when a gentleman doesn’t kill living creatures, steal, commit sexual misconduct, lie, or consume alcoholic drinks that cause negligence.
This is called accomplishment in ethics.
And what is accomplishment in generosity?
It’s when a gentleman lives at home rid of the stain of stinginess, freely generous, open-handed, loving to let go, committed to charity, loving to give and to share.
This is called accomplishment in generosity.
And what is accomplishment in wisdom?
It’s when a gentleman is wise. He has the wisdom of arising and passing away which is noble, penetrative, and leads to the complete ending of suffering.
This is called accomplishment in wisdom.
These are the four things that lead to the welfare and happiness of a gentleman in future lives.
They’re enterprising in the workplace,
diligent in managing things,
they balance their finances,
and preserve their wealth.
Faithful, accomplished in ethics,
bountiful, rid of stinginess,
they always purify the path
to well-being in lives to come.
And so these eight qualities
of a faithful householder
are declared by the one who is truly named
to lead to happiness in both spheres,
welfare and benefit in this life,
and happiness in the future lives.
This is how, for a householder,
merit grows by generosity.”