Usury in the sutras

Discuss and learn about the traditional Mahayana scriptures, without assuming that any one school ‘owns’ the only correct interpretation.
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Fortyeightvows
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Usury in the sutras

Post by Fortyeightvows »

Does anyone know if usury is disscussed in the sutras?
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Aemilius
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Re: Usury in the sutras

Post by Aemilius »

Sravasti Dhammika has written about usury in his Dhamma musings. Related articles about economics in the Tripitaka exist in the Buddhism a2z, e.g.:
http://www.buddhisma2z.com/content.php?id=192
http://www.buddhisma2z.com/content.php?id=272
http://www.buddhisma2z.com/content.php?id=231
svaha
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They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
Sentient Light
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Re: Usury in the sutras

Post by Sentient Light »

The first few articles in Gregory Schopen's Buddhist Nuns, Monks, and Other Worldly Matters has some very detailed discussions of usury laws as explicated in the Mulasarvastivadin Vinaya. It's really fascinating and I hadn't known before this that Tibetan monasteries had effectively operated as banks in days yonder. I don't recall if he mentions whether these laws exist in the other vinayas, but I also never got around to finishing the book.
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