Five Kinds of Wealth

Monks, there are these five kinds of wealth.

What five?

The wealth of confidence, the wealth of virtuous behavior (moral conduct), the wealth of learning, the wealth of generosity, and the wealth of wisdom.

(1) And what, Monks, is the wealth of confidence?

Here, a Noble Disciple is endowed with confidence. He places confidence in the Enlightenment of The Tathāgata thus:

The Perfectly Enlightened One is an Arahant, Perfectly Enlightened, accomplished in true wisdom and conduct, fortunate, knower of the world, unsurpassed trainer of persons to be tamed, Teacher of heavenly beings and humans, The Fortunate One, The Perfectly Enlightened One.

This is called the wealth of confidence.

(2) And what is the wealth of virtuous behavior (moral conduct)?

Here, a Noble Disciple abstains from the destruction of life, abstains from taking what is not given, abstains from sexual misconduct, abstains from false speech, abstains from liquor, wine, and intoxicants (substances that cause heedlessness), the basis for heedlessness.

This is called the wealth of virtuous behavior (moral conduct).

(3) And what is the wealth of learning?

Here, a Noble Disciple has learned much, remembers what he has learned, and accumulates what he has learned. Those Teachings that are good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, with the right meaning and phrasing, which proclaim the perfectly complete and pure spiritual life such Teachings as these he has learned much of, retained in mind, recited verbally, mentally investigated, and penetrated well by view.

This is called the wealth of learning.

(4) And what is the wealth of generosity?

Here, a Noble Disciple dwells at home with a mind free of the stain of selfishness, freely generous, openhanded, joyful in letting go, devoted to charity, joyful in giving and sharing.

This is called the wealth of generosity.

(5) And what is the wealth of wisdom?

Here, a Noble Disciple is wise; he possesses the wisdom that discerns arising and passing away, which is noble and penetrative and leads to the complete destruction of discontentedness.

This is called the wealth of wisdom.

These, Monks, are the five kinds of wealth.

When one has confidence in The Tathāgata,

unshakable and well established,

and virtuous behavior (moral conduct) that is wholesome,

admired and praised by The Noble Ones;

when one has confidence in The Community

and one’s view has been straightened out,

they say that one is not poor,

that one’s life is not lived in uselessness.

Therefore a wise person,

remembering The Buddhas’ Teaching,

should be intent on confidence and virtuous behavior,

confidence and vision of The Teachings.

(Reference: AN 5.47)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares Teachings that guide Practitioners to accomplish “wealth of confidence, virtuous behavior (moral conduct), generosity, and wisdom”. Rather than describing these as “accomplishments” for the benefit of future lives as in Chapter 18 of this book, The Buddha is explaining these as wealth of this current life.

This Chapter explains exactly what The Buddha taught regarding what is “wealth of confidence, virtuous behavior, generosity, and wisdom” so that we can develop these for our own life practice.

Through developing your own life practice to have “wealth of confidence, virtuous behavior, generosity, and wisdom”, then, you will be better able to make wise decisions within your life. Without a Practitioner understanding these Teachings and then practicing them closely, they would be lost and struggle to make wise decisions in their life.

(1) First, “wealth of confidence” is described in this Teaching as having confidence in The Buddha as the Fully Perfectly Enlightened One. In multiple other places within his Teachings, he describes having confirmed confidence in The Buddha, The Teachings, and The Community. Doing so, a Practitioner will then be able to eliminate the fetter/taint/pollution of “doubt” helping them to move the mind into the first Stage of Enlightenment.

Confidence in The Buddha, The Teachings, and The Community and elimination of the fetter of doubt is developed through learning, reflecting, and practicing these Teachings to observe the results as the condition of the mind improves. There is no blind faith nor belief in these Teachings.

Instead, a wise Practitioner will seek guidance with a Teacher to investigate The Teachings and then implement them in daily life to experience the results of the condition of the mind gradually improving. The gradual improvement in the condition of the mind is observable by the Practitioner as they once experienced discontent feelings such as anger which then moves to slight annoyance and then eventually no discontent feelings are experienced whatsoever based on the same situation occurring in one’s life. Observing this gradual decrease in strong feelings to the complete elimination of discontentedness, a Practitioner’s confidence in The Buddha, The Teachings, and The Community increases and all doubts are eliminated.

The fetter/taint/pollution of mind described as “doubt” in The Ten Fetters is then completely eliminated and will no longer arise helping to further liberate the mind.

(2) Second, “wealth of virtuous behavior (moral conduct)” is described through The Five Precepts. Household Practitioners will typically learn and practice The Five Precepts as basic moral conduct along with developing The Eight Fold Path in its entirety.

The Eight Fold Path is a central and core Teaching on The Path to Enlightenment as shared by Gotama Buddha. The Five Precepts are integrated into The Eight Fold Path providing expanded content to describe Right Speech and Right Action.

Detailed explanation of The Eight Fold Path and The Five Precepts is available in this same book series found in the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).

(3) Third, “wealth of learning” is for a determined, dedicated, and diligent Student to remember what they have learned and accumulate wisdom while investigating The Teachings with deep reflection to independently verify The Teachings.

Through investigating The Teachings, and not believing them, one can independently verify The Teachings establishing Right View and eradicate ignorance (unknowing of true reality) to acquire wisdom. The mind is liberated to experience Enlightenment through wisdom.

(4) Fourth, “wealth of generosity” is an important Teaching on The Path to Enlightenment and a remedy to the unEnlightened mind to eliminate craving/desire/attachment.

The problem that is causing the discontent mind is craving/desire/attachment. This is the cause of all discontent feelings. To eliminate this, The Buddha shares exact remedies to transform the unwholesome qualities of craving/desire/attachment using Breathing Mindfulness Meditation and developing a practice of generosity.

A mind that is unable to give and share time, effort, energy, and resources with others would be unable to attain Enlightenment as the mind is selfish. A Practitioner would instead need to train the mind to “reside at home with a mind free of the stain of selfishness, freely generous, open-handed, joyful in letting go, one devoted to charity, joyful in giving and sharing” so that it can let go of any accumulated selfishness recognizing the interconnectivity of all beings.

A Practitioner can accomplish this through daily sharing in some of the most simple or profound ways based on your own personal choices. Sharing of food, water, clothing, shelter, or medical care with others can help improve the ability of others to sustain their life while giving them the opportunity to learn and practice these Teachings. A Practitioner can share their time, effort, energy, and resources to help others in the community supporting the development of wholesome relationships with those around you. One might even consider sharing a smile or a wave, with those who you come into contact with, as a way of “letting go” and practicing loving-kindness and compassion.

Loving-kindness (Pāli: mettā) is active goodwill towards all beings without judgment. A genuine interest in seeing all beings be well.

Compassion (Pāli: karuṇā) is concern for the misfortunes of others.

(5) Fifth, “wealth of wisdom” is the ultimate antidote or remedy to the unEnlightened mind. Through learning, reflecting and practicing these Teachings, a Practitioner gains more clarity and insight into the wisdom of these life changing Teachings.

A Practitioner will need to focus on establishing a well developed practice to include the core and central Teachings shared by The Buddha on The Path to Enlightenment.

Those Teachings are:

A.) The Three Universal Truths

B.) The Four Noble Truths

C.) The Eight Fold Path

D.) The Five Precepts

E.) The Brahma-viharas

F.) The Ten Fetters

G.) The Seven Factors of Enlightenment

H.) Extensive Meditation Training

The Buddha specifically speaks of “the wisdom that discerns arising and passing away” which is The Universal Truth of Impermanence found in The Three Universal Truths. He then goes on to explain that “wealth in wisdom” is the wisdom that “leads to the complete destruction of discontentedness”. This requires deep and penetrative understanding through a determined, dedicated, and diligent practice of these Teachings.

(A - H) mentioned in the above are the core and central Teachings that a Practitioner would need to focus on to develop “penetrative wisdom” while seeking guidance from a Teacher. Then, once well established in these Teachings, a Practitioner can gradually move into deepening and expanding their life practice into the full spectrum of Teachings shared by The Buddha. These core and central Teachings will guide a Practitioner in establishing a foundation in these Teachings on The Path to Enlightenment to have “wealth of wisdom”.