[Buddha-l] what wld buddha buy

[Dan Lusthaus]

> Doesn't Buddhism attack greed and attachment, not wealth?

Nicely put, Joanna. That is exactly the case.

There are a few indications in the earlier Pali sources that Buddha himself
considered being a householder -- who would be concerned with wealth and
support of his family -- as opening oneself up to all sorts of corrupting
temptations that could distract from the Path, including concerns about
power, etc. As Buddhism increasingly coddled up to the merchant and ruling
classes (starting at the time of Asoka), these trepidations increasingly
fell into the background. But the philosophical and edifying rhetoric of
virtually all later Buddhists follow exactly the rubric you capture so
nicely.

Dan Lusthaus