Trading and Commercial Activities

Vannnijja is a broader term for commercial or trading activities and is mentioned together with agriculture and cattle-keeping.^[1] It was very natural to earn money through trading. Even the Buddha felt the impact of these activities in the society. Criticising certain religious mendicants on their mode of thinking, the Buddha says that these maintain that they will be such and such in the next world. In an instance, the monk sariputta sets befoe the Buddha the four probable outcomes for persons engaged in trade (vajijja payutta). For some persons either it turns out to be a failure (chedagamini hoti), or does not turn out as intended (na yathadhippaya), or turns out as he intended (yathadhippaya) or there is prosperity beyond his expectation (paradhippaya hotiti). The Buddha explains this phenomena by resorting to the principles of kamma, the act and its retribution. He says that a person’s prosperity or failure in trade in present life dependents on a proportionate ratio as to how much more or less a person offers in his previous life to religious mendicants.^[2] In yet another instance, the Buddha compares agriculture to trading. “Agriculture”, he says, “is an occupation where there is a great deal to do, many duties, large administration, great problems, which, if succeeded in, yields great profit.” On the other hand trading involves far less duties, administration and problems and yet a successful venture brings in a great profit.^[3]

The occupation of trading along with agriculture and cattle-keeping is considered high (ukkattha kammam).^[4] However, the Buddhist ethics do not permit an upasaka to undertake certain trades, namely, trade in weapon (sattavanjja), trade in human beings (sattavanijja) and trade in poisons (visavanijja).