In short: the Buddha did not reject wealth for lay people. He taught earning it honestly and with effort, protecting it, keeping good friends and living within your means (AN 8.54), enjoying four kinds of happiness: having, using, being debt-free and being blameless (AN 4.62), and avoiding five harmful trades (AN 5.177).
The Buddha did not ask lay people to give up work or wealth. He taught how to earn honestly, protect and share it, and avoid what drains it. Here are those teachings together.
Start here
- The Buddha's Advice on Money and Success (AN 8.54)
The Buddha's practical advice for lay people on work, money and success (AN 8.54, Dīghajāṇu Sutta): initiative, protection, good friends, ba… - Four Kinds of Happiness for Lay People (AN 4.62)
The four kinds of happiness the Buddha named for householders (AN 4.62): the happiness of ownership, of using wealth, of being debt-free, an… - Wrong Livelihood: The Five Trades a Buddhist Avoids (AN 5.177)
The five trades a lay Buddhist should not engage in (AN 5.177): weapons, living creatures, meat, intoxicants and poisons. What right livelih…
In the Buddha's words
- Sigālovāda Sutta in Pāli and English: The Buddha's Advice for Lay Life
The complete Sigālovāda Sutta (DN 31), the Buddha's advice for lay life, line by line in Pāli and English: the six directions, true friends,… - The Five Benefits of Giving (AN 5.35)
The Buddha's five benefits of giving (AN 5.35): a generous person is loved, keeps good company, has a good name, lives up to their duties an… - The Eight Worldly Conditions (AN 8.6): Gain, Loss, Praise, Blame
The eight worldly conditions (AN 8.6): gain and loss, fame and disgrace, blame and praise, pleasure and pain. How the wise meet them without… - Diligence: The One Thing for This Life and the Next (SN 3.17)
King Pasenadi asked: is there one thing that secures benefits for this life and the next? 'Diligence', said the Buddha, like the elephant's …
Practices
- Right Speech: Five Marks of Well-Spoken Words (AN 5.198)
The Buddha's five marks of well-spoken words (AN 5.198): timely, true, gentle, beneficial and loving. A simple checklist for right speech, a… - Buddhist Prayer Before Meals: The Pāli Meal Reflection in English
The Buddhist meal reflection monks say before eating, in Pāli and English, what it means line by line, and a short version anyone can say at…
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