Timeless rules of exchange. Buddhism. 📜🗺️

Buddhism, focusing on the inner development of man, overcoming suffering and achieving nirvana, does not focus on economics. However, its ethical principles and views on attachments and actions (karma) influence the perception of any form of economic activity, including barter transactions.

Buddhism attaches great importance to the intentions and consequences of actions. According to the Eightfold Path, one of the central doctrines of the teaching, right conduct includes "right livelihood" (samma-ajiva). This means that a person must earn his living in an honest way that does not harm others. A barter transaction, as a form of exchanging goods and services without the use of money, is assessed from the point of view of honesty, justice and the absence of greed.

Buddhism does not condemn material activity as it is but warns of the danger of attachment to things. According to the Four Noble Truths, suffering (dukkha) arises, among other things, from desire and thirst for possession. Therefore, in the context of Buddhism, barter is considered acceptable if it is free from greed, deception, and the desire for excessive gain.

Barter in the Buddhist understanding is not just an economic exchange, but an interaction between people that affects their karma. If barter occurs with good intentions, without deception, and mutually honestly, it complies with Buddhist norms of behavior. But if the transaction is accompanied by self-interest, manipulation, or violates the principles of non-violence and virtue, it is considered harmful from the standpoint of spiritual development.