Forum: buddhism.stackexchange.com
Tags: <dana>
Title: Is it OK for a Buddhist teacher to charge their students an hourly rate for their time?
Question: Charging money for teaching time seems like it goes against the spirit of the dharma. I’m asking because I was looking for a teacher and came across one that did charge money.

Answers:
sents: text: It's not OK.
text: “It’s not easy to teach the Dhamma to others, Ānanda.
text: The Dhamma should be taught to others only when five qualities are established within the person teaching.
text: Which five?
text: “The Dhamma should be taught with the thought, ‘I will speak step-by-step.’
text: “The Dhamma should be taught with the thought, ‘I will speak explaining the sequence (of cause & effect).’
text: “The Dhamma should be taught with the thought, ‘I will speak out of compassion.’
text: “The Dhamma should be taught with the thought, ‘ I will speak not for the purpose of material reward. ’
text: “The Dhamma should be taught with the thought, ‘I will speak without hurting myself or others.’
text: ( AN 5:159 ) . One should not make an effort everywhere, should not be another’s hireling, should not live dependent on another, should not go about as a trader in the Dhamma.
text: ( Ud 6:2 )
answer_details: author: buddhism.stackexchange.com/users/12753/Danilo
score: 6
sents: text: The Buddha taught the Dhamma is a "gift".
text: A "gift" is something given free of charge.
text: The best of gifts is the gift of the teaching.
text: Etadaggaṃ, bhikkhave, dānānaṃ yadidaṃ dhammadānaṃ.
text: The best sort of kindly speech is to teach the Dhamma again and again to someone who is engaged and who lends an ear.
text: Etadaggaṃ, bhikkhave, peyyavajjānaṃ yadidaṃ atthikassa ohitasotassa punappunaṃ dhammaṃ deseti.
text: AN 9.5
answer_details: author: buddhism.stackexchange.com/users/8157/Dhammadhatu
score: 3
sents: text: Hm.
text: What exactly will this person be teaching you?
text: Buddhist philosophy?
text: Proper sitting posture?
text: Some special 'technique'?
text: Most buddhist things you can learn for free from other teachers, so in what way are this person's teachings special or unique, so that you'd be willing to fork out an hourly rate?
text: Don't get me wrong, I'm not against the idea of charging money for certain kinds of training.
text: But it's a tricky issue.
text: It's one thing to attach a monetary value to your time as a teacher; that's almost a necessity in our debased commercial world, at least if you want to teach full-time.
text: But it's quite a different thing to attach a monetary value to Buddhism itself .
text: The practice is how we establish value in our lives, and so it can't really be reduced to other forms of value.
text: If someone is trying to sell h'er insights because s'he believes h'er insights are superior, well...
text: hm.
text: This reminds me of a joke I made up once: Olympic competitive meditation events.
text: Is that really where we want to go?
answer_details: author: buddhism.stackexchange.com/users/16635/Ted Wrigley
score: 3
sents: text: If you are teaching someone to pass an exam on Buddhism, it's ok to accept a payment.
text: Because the student is just trying to gain some qualification required for his or her career.
text: But if it is someone who is genuinely trying to attain enlightenment or someone seeking counselling for his or her misery, it's immoral to ask for a payment.
text: Donations can be accepted.
text: In simple terms, it's immoral to ask a payment from those who seek refuge in the Dhamma.
answer_details: author: buddhism.stackexchange.com/users/111/Sankha Kulathantille
score: 2
sents: text: In my opinion, it is OK for a layperson to charge money as a teacher if the student prepares to pay for it.
text: I can't recall Buddha saying that his Dhamma should be taught free of charge.
text: However, Buddhist monks are not allowed to handle money according to the Vinaya.
text: It is great to see some people are prepared to pay money to learn Dhamma!
answer_details: author: buddhism.stackexchange.com/users/11009/SarathW
score: 1
sents: text: In Mahayana, Dharma is considered precious, as precious as gold and diamonds, to put it very mildly.
text: Because of this, it's not unheard of in Mahayana for a student to offer something valuable, or indeed expensive, to one's prospective teacher as a gesture of respect for the value of the teaching as well as a sign of one's serious intentions.
answer_details: author: buddhism.stackexchange.com/users/43/Andrei Volkov
score: 1
sents: text: I myself teach Dhamma and never charge for that.
text: After class, students may leave a donation, which I share by half with the owner of the place where we sit.
text: That's a best solution, because I don't feel as selling something, but giving a gift.
text: And that makes me really happy.
text: On the other hand, students also practice generosity, which makes them happy.
text: That way, at the end of the class we all part happy.
text: If there would be some price set, maybe I would think the price is low for the effort invested and they would feel maybe the price is too high for what they got.
text: So we would all part unhappy.
text: Of course, this is all possible, since I am financially independent and teaching is not source of my income, but of my joy of sharing something really precious.
text: Other teachers are maybe in different situation
text: and I can understand that.
text: But, on the other hand, nobody force them to be teachers and they can find maybe some other, less morally conflicting source of income.
text: Besides, as mentioned, if it is about longer retreat, where place should be rented and food provided, of course some fee is a must.
text: But again, I think, only to cover the costs and not the paycheck for the teacher.
answer_details: author: buddhism.stackexchange.com/users/17298/mosud
score: 1
sents: text: It is not uncommon to see a donation box in a Sri Lankan temple, It is not uncommon for a senior monk to ask tourists for a donation for work on the temple.
text: It is not uncommon to make a donation after a meditation event, especially if food and lodging is provide.
text: In Sri Lanka it is standard practice for a tutor to charge a fixed price to a student studying for a religion exam, the same as with any other exam.
text: This person would prefer to learn dharma from a person teaching for merit rather than cash.
answer_details: author: buddhism.stackexchange.com/users/17384/C.S.Cameron
score: 0
sents: text: It depends on intention.
text: “The Dhamma should be taught with the thought, ‘I will speak not for the purpose of material reward.’
text: Payment could cover costs of hiring a space, of travel or materials.
text: Asking for these doesn't mean it is taught without thought, the teacher may well not actually profit, financially, from it at all.
answer_details: author: buddhism.stackexchange.com/users/13840/Lio Elbammalf
score: 0

Summary of the answers:
There is no consensus on accepting a fee to teach Buddhism. Some consider it OK if the student is studying to pass an exam. Others believe it is always immoral.
Some people claim that it is acceptable for a layperson to charge money as a teacher or for a fee to be charged for teaching services for a religious exam. Others believe that it is immoral to ask for a payment from those who seek refuge.