The 'Heart of a Rich Man' (u ā ka sa): the Buddha's advice for a good life now

Diligence, protecting what you earn, good friends and balanced living

'Heart of a rich man', or u ā ka sa, is a memory aid for four points in the discourse With Dīghajāṇu (AN 8.54): accomplishment in initiative, accomplishment in protection, good friendship, and balanced living. Dīghajāṇu the Koliyan asked the Buddha to teach householders what leads to their welfare and happiness in this life and the next. These four are his answer for this life. The discourse promises no riches. It describes how to work, look after your life and spend with care, so that life now is secure and happy.

Cattārome, byagghapajja, dhammā kulaputtassa diṭṭhadhammahitāya saṁvattanti diṭṭhadhammasukhāya.
Katame cattāro?
Uṭṭhānasampadā, ārakkhasampadā, kalyāṇamittatā, samajīvitā.

Byagghapajja (Dīghajāṇu's clan name), these four things lead to a person's welfare and happiness in this life. What four? Accomplishment in initiative, accomplishment in protection, good friendship, and balanced living.

AN 8.54

The four points

1. U, initiative: being skilled and tireless in the work you live by, whether farming, trade, raising cattle, government service or another profession, finding good ways to go about it, and able to get it done.
2. Ā, protection: guarding what you have earned rightly by your own effort and sweat, so it is not lost to seizure, theft, fire, flood, or unworthy heirs.
3. Ka, good friendship: spending time and talking with people of faith, ethics, generosity and wisdom, and learning from their example.
4. Sa, balanced living: knowing your income and spending, living neither too lavishly nor too tightly, so that income exceeds spending. The Buddha compares this to someone who lifts a scale and knows how far it tips either way.

Four drains

The discourse also names four drains on what one has gathered: womanising, drinking, gambling, and keeping bad company. It is like a large reservoir with its inlets closed, its drains open and no rain falling: the water only goes down. Giving up the first three and keeping good friends is like opening the inlets and closing the drains.

In everyday life

• Do the work you have well, and keep learning the skills it needs.
• Write down income and spending for a month to see where money leaks.
• Look after what you have, don't be careless, and stay clear of what the discourse calls drains.
• Choose close friends by their conduct, not by fun. The people around you shape your life more than you think.

For the life to come the same discourse adds four more: faith, ethics, generosity and wisdom. Its closing verses say these eight bring happiness to a householder both here and hereafter.

Based on: Dīghajāṇu Sutta (AN 8.54)