Volume 33, 2026<\/p>\n
Siong Lee Koh
\nIndependent Researcher<\/p>\n
This article reconstructs an early canonical account of Buddhist prosperity by examining the moral psychology in the early Buddhist texts and their Chinese \u0100gama<\/em> parallels. Contemporary discussions of \u201cBuddhist economics\u201d often invoke compassion, moderation, non-harming, and mindfulness without sustained attention to the canonical analysis of desire. Drawing on a comparative philological study, this article argues that early Buddhism articulates a distinct ethical logic of economic life through a triadic transformation of motivation: from craving (ta\u1e47h\u0101<\/em>) to wholesome aspiration (chanda<\/em>); sustained by rapturous diligence (p\u012bti<\/em> and appam\u0101da<\/em>); and culminating in contentment (santu\u1e6d\u1e6dhi<\/em>). This progression reorganizes the familiar economic sequence of desire, effort, and satisfaction into a moral continuum that culminates not in accumulation but in equilibrium. The resulting \u201ccanonical logic of prosperity\u201d reframes well-being as arising from certain ethical conditions rather than the maximization of consumption or preference satisfaction. By clarifying the doctrinal contours of aspiration, affect, and contentment, the article offers a constructive contribution to debates in economic ethics, well-being theory, and the moral psychology of desire. It argues that early Buddhism provides not merely an alternative set of values but a coherent conceptual architecture for understanding economic agency and the cultivation of sustainable prosperity.<\/p>\n Read article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Volume 33, 2026 The Canonical Logic of Prosperity: A Triadic Moral Psychology of Economic Ethics in Early Buddhism Siong Lee Koh Independent Researcher This article reconstructs an early canonical account of Buddhist prosperity by examining the moral psychology in the early Buddhist texts and their Chinese \u0100gama parallels. Contemporary discussions of \u201cBuddhist economics\u201d often invoke … Continue reading A Triadic Moral Psychology of Economic Ethics in Early Buddhism<\/span>