..續本文上一頁ever profession he is engaged, and he should know it well (utthāna-sampadā); second: he should protect his income, which he has thus earned righteously, with the sweat of his brow (ārakkha-sampadā); (This refers to protecting wealth from thieves, etc. All these ideas should be considered against the background of the period.) third: he should have good friends (kalyāna-mitta) who are faithful, learned, virtuous, liberal and intelligent, who will help him along the right path away from evil; fourth: he should spend reasonably, in proportion to his income, neither too much nor too little, i.e., he should not hoard wealth avariciously, nor should he be extravagant- in other words he should live within his means (samajikatā).

　　佛即告訴他有四件事可使他現生得到快樂。第一：不論他從事那種職業，必須求精求效，誠懇努力，並熟谙其業務。第二：對于以其本身血汗換來的收益，必須善加守護(此處所指的是要將財物妥爲收藏，以免爲宵小所觊觎等。這些觀念必須與當時的時代背景一起考慮。)第叁：須親近忠實、博學、有德、寬大、有智而能協助他遠離邪途、走入正道的善知識。第四：用錢必須合理而與收入成比例，不可靡費，亦不可悭吝。意即不可貪心積聚財富，亦不可奢侈揮霍。換言之，應當量入爲出。

　　Then the Buddha expounds the four virtues conducive to a layman”s happiness hereafter: (I) Saddhā: he should have faith and confidence in moral, spiritual and intellectual values; (2) Sila: he should abstain from destroying and harming life, from stealing and cheating, from adultery, from falsehood, and from intoxicating drinks; (3) Cāga: he should practice charity, generosity, without attachment and craving for wealth; (4) Paňňā: he should develop wisdom which leads to the complete destruction of suffering, to the realization of Nirvāna. [7]

　　接著，佛又解說四種可以導致在家衆身後快樂的德行。(一)信：他應當堅信道德精神與理性的各種價值。(二)戒：他應當克製自己，不毀傷、殺害生物，不偷盜、欺詐，不邪淫，不妄語，不飲酒。(叁)施：他應當奉行慈惠，對于財富無所貪著。(四)慧：他應當發展能夠導致徹底滅苦、證入涅槃的智慧。［注六］

　　Sometimes the Buddha even went into details about saving money and spending it, as, for instance, when he told the young man Sigāla that he should spend one fourth of his income on his daily expenses, invest half in his business and put aside one fourth for any emergency. [8]

　　有時候，佛甚至于談到如何用錢、如何儲蓄的細則。比方說，他告訴善生童子，應當以他收入的四分之一作爲日常費用，把一半投資在事業上，再把四分之一存起來以備急需。［注七］

　　Once the Buddha told Ānāthapindika, the great banker, one of his most devoted lay disciples who founded for him the celebrated Jetavana monastery at Sāvatthi, that a layman, who leads an ordinary family life, has four kinds of happiness. The first happiness is to enjoy economic security or sufficient wealth acquired by just and righteous means (atthi-sukha); the second is spending that wealth liberally on himself, his family, his friends and relatives, and on meritorious deeds (bhoga-sukha); the third to be free from debts (anana-sukha); the fourth happiness is to love a faultless, and a pure life without committing evil in thought, word or deed (anavajja-sukha). It must be noted here that three of these kinds are economic, and that the Buddha finally reminded the banker that economic and material happiness is ”not worth one sixteenth part” of the happiness arising out of a faultless and good life. [9]

　　有一次佛告訴他的一位最忠誠的在家弟子，也就是爲佛在舍衛國興建有名的只園精舍的大富長者給孤獨說：過著普通家庭生活的居士，有四種樂趣。第一：能享受以正當方法獲得足夠的財富與經濟上的安全感。第二：能以此財富慷慨的用于自己、家人及親友身上，並以之作種種善行。第叁：無負債之苦。第四：可度清淨無過而不造身口意叁惡業的生活。此中可注意的是：四項中倒有叁項是經濟的。可是，最後佛還是提醒那位富翁，物質與經濟方面的樂趣，比起由善良無過失的生活所生起的精神樂趣來，尚不及後者的十六分之一。［注八］

　　From the few examples given above, one could see that the Buddha considered economic welfare as requisite for human happiness, but that he did not recognize progress as real and true if it was only material, devoid of a spiritual and moral foundation. While encouraging material progress Buddhism always lays great stress on the development of the moral and spiritual character for a happy, peaceful and contented society.

　　從以上所舉幾個例子看來，可見佛認爲，經濟的福利對人生的樂趣是有其必要的。可是，他不承認僅是物質而沒有精神與道德基礎的進步是真正的進步。佛教雖然鼓勵物質方面的進步，但其重心永遠是放在精神與道德的開展方面，以謀求快樂、和平而知足的社會。

　　The Buddha was just as clear on politics, on war and peace. It is too well known to be r…

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