The Buddha describes the five drawbacks of riches.

AN 5.227 Riches

“Pañcime, bhikkhave, ādīnavā bhogesu. Katame pañca? Aggisādhāraṇā bhogā, udakasādhāraṇā bhogā, rājasādhāraṇā bhogā, corasādhāraṇā bhogā, appiyehi dāyādehi sādhāraṇā bhogā. Ime kho, bhikkhave, pañca ādīnavā bhogesu.

Pañcime, bhikkhave, ānisaṁsā bhogesu. Katame pañca? Bhoge nissāya attānaṁ sukheti pīṇeti sammā sukhaṁ pariharati, mātāpitaro sukheti pīṇeti sammā sukhaṁ pariharati, puttadāradāsakammakaraporise sukheti pīṇeti sammā sukhaṁ pariharati, mittāmacce sukheti pīṇeti sammā sukhaṁ pariharati, samaṇabrāhmaṇesu uddhaggikaṁ dakkhiṇaṁ patiṭṭhāpeti sovaggikaṁ sukhavipākaṁ saggasaṁvattanikaṁ. Ime kho, bhikkhave, pañca ānisaṁsā bhogesū”ti.

Sattamaṁ.

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

“Pañcime, bhikkhave, ādīnavā bhogesu.

“Mendicants, there are these five drawbacks of riches.

Katame pañca?

What five?

Aggisādhāraṇā bhogā, udakasādhāraṇā bhogā, rājasādhāraṇā bhogā, corasādhāraṇā bhogā, appiyehi dāyādehi sādhāraṇā bhogā.

Fire, water, kings, thieves, and unloved heirs all take a share.

Ime kho, bhikkhave, pañca ādīnavā bhogesu.

These are the five drawbacks of riches.

Pañcime, bhikkhave, ānisaṁsā bhogesu.

There are these five benefits of riches.

Katame pañca?

What five?

Bhoge nissāya attānaṁ sukheti pīṇeti sammā sukhaṁ pariharati, mātāpitaro sukheti pīṇeti sammā sukhaṁ pariharati, puttadāradāsakammakaraporise sukheti pīṇeti sammā sukhaṁ pariharati, mittāmacce sukheti pīṇeti sammā sukhaṁ pariharati, samaṇabrāhmaṇesu uddhaggikaṁ dakkhiṇaṁ patiṭṭhāpeti sovaggikaṁ sukhavipākaṁ saggasaṁvattanikaṁ.

Riches enable you to make yourself happy and pleased, to make your mother and father; your children, partners, bondservants, workers, and staff, and your friends and colleagues happy and pleased, and to keep them all happy. And they enable you to establish an uplifting religious donation for ascetics and brahmins that’s conducive to heaven, ripens in happiness, and leads to heaven.

Ime kho, bhikkhave, pañca ānisaṁsā bhogesū”ti.

These are the five benefits of riches.”

Sattamaṁ.

Qualities:

Happiness

Happiness

Bodily ease and comfort; a pleasant feeling experienced with the body. In the third jhāna, one dwells experiencing this pleasure with the body. It is abandoned, along with bodily pain, for the fourth jhāna to arise.

Also known as: pleasant abiding, positive state of mind, sense of ease
Pāli: sukha
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Wisdom

Wisdom

Lived understanding and sound judgment that steers the mind away from suffering, distinct from mere accumulation of facts.

Also known as: (of a person) wise, astute, intelligent, learned, skilled, firm, stable, steadfast, an experiential understanding of the four noble truths
Pāli: paññā, medhā, dhīra, paṇḍita, asammūḷha
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Last updated on July 27, 2026