Shundo David Haye – Zen Priest

‘The Buddha offered us a wholesome definition of wealth comprised of four aspects. The first two are positive aspects of the friendliness and nourishment that is possible through this wholesome kind of wealth. The second two are the renunciatory aspects of non-greed:

Atthisukha. The happiness of ownership, a kind of wholesome sense of “mine-ness.”
Bhogasukha. The happiness of sharing one’s wealth, connected to dana paramita, generosity.
Anavajjasukha. The happiness derived from wealth which is earned by means of right livelihood.
Ananasukha. The happiness derived from not being in debt.

It’s interesting to consider how the Buddha set up his original monastic sangha. His disciples did not have personal property. Instead, early every morning the monks would head out to the village streets and receive alms from the community, which usually took the form of food. This is not viewed as charity but rather as a mutual generosity. 

In return for the alms, the monks and nuns would offer teachings and dedicate the merit of their practice to the well-being of the community. This was a true local economy. You can still see this beautiful ritual unfold most mornings in cities and villages throughout Thailand and Laos.

When the monks returned to the temple or monastery after their alms round, they would place all the alms that had been collected into the same common bowl. The term that the Buddha gave to his closest followers was bhikku and bhikkuni in Pali. “Bhik” is derived from the Sanskrit word “bhaj” which means something close to “the wish to share.” Bhaj was the portion of food that a person shared from a common pot. The term for the alms bowl, often translated incorrectly as a begging bowl, literally means “the bowl of sharing.”

The alms bowl is much more than a vessel or utensil. It becomes a statement of our “wish to share.” This is the origin of practices of communal feeding and eating within Buddhist communities, including the Zen practice of oryoki. All of these practices are living manifestations of our profound intention to share with others, to serve others, and to go against the stream of selfish consumption.

Perhaps the Buddha noticed that money could be used as a way to stake out an identity and reinforce the delusion that people are separate and independent beings. These practices of sharing in the monastic community became an everyday way to realize the truth of interdependence.’ (from Buddhist Door Global)