The Related Suttas Collection 1.49

5. On Fire

Stingy

“Those folk in the world who are stingy, miserly and abusive, setting up obstacles for others who give.

What kind of result do they reap? What kind of future life? We’ve come to ask the Buddha; how are we to understand this?”

“Those folk in the world who are stingy, miserly and abusive, setting up obstacles for others who give:

they’re reborn in hell, the animal realm, or Yama’s world. If they return to the human state, they’re born in a poor family,

where clothes, food, pleasure, and play are hard to find. They don’t even get what they expect from others. This is the result in the present life, and in the next, a bad destination.”

“We get what you’re saying, and ask another question, Gotama. What about those who’ve gained the human state, who are bountiful and rid of stinginess,

confident in the Buddha and the teaching, with keen respect for the Saṅgha? What kind of result do they reap? What kind of future life? We’ve come to ask the Buddha; how are we to understand this?”

“Those who’ve gained the human state who are bountiful and rid of stinginess, confident in the Buddha and the teaching, with keen respect for the Saṅgha: they illuminate the heavens wherever they’re reborn.

If they return to the human state, they’re reborn in a rich family, where clothes, food, pleasure, and play are easy to find.

They rejoice like those who control the possessions of others. This is the result in the present life, and in the next, a good destination.”