Greed and stinginess
greed stinginess
慳貪 (Jpn kendon )
An offense mentioned in Chinese translations of Buddhist scriptures. Greed and stinginess is described as the cause of falling into the realm of hungry spirits. The term is also applied to the fault of unwillingness to share one's knowledge of Buddhist truth. In the "Expedient Means" (second) chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha says: "The Buddha himself dwells in this great vehicle, and adorned with the power of meditation and wisdom that go with the Law he has attained, he uses it to save living beings. He himself testifies to the unsurpassed way, the great vehicle, the Law in which all things are equal. If I used a lesser vehicle to convert even one person, I would be guilty of stinginess and greed."
