Grammatical Analysis
Macchariya: [nt.] stinginess; avarice; meanness; possessiveness. Traditionally derived from “macchiya,” meaning “let this be mine alone and not another’s.”
Orthodox Definition
Like its twin factor Envy (issā), Macchariya is an unwholesome mental factor (akusala-cetasika) strictly rooted in hatred/aversion (dosa), arising only in conjunction with mentally painful feeling (domanassa).
While greed (lobha) simply wants to acquire objects, stinginess (macchariya) is the sour, defensive, restrictive anxiety that prevents sharing what one already possesses. The commentaries list five distinct types of stinginess:
- Āvāsa-macchariya: Stinginess regarding one’s dwelling.
- Kula-macchariya: Stinginess regarding one’s supporting families/sponsors.
- Lābha-macchariya: Stinginess regarding gains and material wealth.
- Vaṇṇa-macchariya: Stinginess regarding praise or physical beauty.
- Dhamma-macchariya: Stinginess regarding knowledge of the Dhamma (hiding teachings from others).
Its characteristic is the hiding or hoarding of one’s success (attano sampattīnaṃ nigūhana-lakkhaṇaṃ). It is the direct psychological enemy of generosity (dāna), acts as a primary cause for rebirth in the hungry ghost realm (peta-loka), and is fully destroyed at Stream-entry.
Textual References
- Sutta: Macchariya Suttas (SN 1) – Dissecting the karmic weight of stinginess and how it leads directly to lower rebirths.
- Abhidhamma: Dhammasaṅgaṇī (Detailed definition within the dosa-rooted structures).
- Commentary: Atthasālinī – The brilliant analysis differentiating the possessive grasping of greed from the defensive, sour hoarding of stinginess.