Is it OK for a Buddhist teacher to charge their students an hourly rate for their time?

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.

It is not uncommon to make a donation after a meditation event, especially if food and lodging is provide.

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.

This person would prefer to learn dharma from a person teaching for merit rather than cash.

It depends on intention.

“The Dhamma should be taught with the thought, ‘I will speak not for the purpose of material reward.’

Payment could cover costs of hiring a space, of travel or materials. Asking for these doesn't mean it is taught without thought, the teacher may well not actually profit, financially, from it at all.

In my opinion, it is OK for a layperson to charge money as a teacher if the student prepares to pay for it. I can't recall Buddha saying that his Dhamma should be taught free of charge. However, Buddhist monks are not allowed to handle money according to the Vinaya. It is great to see some people are prepared to pay money to learn Dhamma!

In Mahayana, Dharma is considered precious, as precious as gold and diamonds, to put it very mildly.

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.

I myself teach Dhamma and never charge for that. After class, students may leave a donation, which I share by half with the owner of the place where we sit. That's a best solution, because I don't feel as selling something, but giving a gift. And that makes me really happy. On the other hand, students also practice generosity, which makes them happy. That way, at the end of the class we all part happy. 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. So we would all part unhappy.

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. Other teachers are maybe in different situation and I can understand that. But, on the other hand, nobody force them to be teachers and they can find maybe some other, less morally conflicting source of income. Besides, as mentioned, if it is about longer retreat, where place should be rented and food provided, of course some fee is a must. But again, I think, only to cover the costs and not the paycheck for the teacher.

As someone once remarked: The Dharma is free. The lights, the heat, and the rent, however, are not.

Moreover, why wouldn't you be willing to "pay" for something as precious as the Dharma?

If you are teaching someone to pass an exam on Buddhism, it's ok to accept a payment. Because the student is just trying to gain some qualification required for his or her career. 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. Donations can be accepted.

In simple terms, it's immoral to ask a payment from those who seek refuge in the Dhamma.

The Buddha taught the Dhamma is a "gift". A "gift" is something given free of charge.

The best of gifts is the gift of the teaching.

Etadaggaṃ, bhikkhave, dānānaṃ yadidaṃ dhammadānaṃ.

The best sort of kindly speech is to teach the Dhamma again and again to someone who is engaged and who lends an ear.

Etadaggaṃ, bhikkhave, peyyavajjānaṃ yadidaṃ atthikassa ohitasotassa punappunaṃ dhammaṃ deseti.

AN 9.5

Hm.

What exactly will this person be teaching you? Buddhist philosophy? Proper sitting posture? Some special 'technique'? 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?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against the idea of charging money for certain kinds of training. But it's a tricky issue. 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. But it's quite a different thing to attach a monetary value to Buddhism itself. The practice is how we establish value in our lives, and so it can't really be reduced to other forms of value. If someone is trying to sell h'er insights because s'he believes h'er insights are superior, well... hm.

This reminds me of a joke I made up once: Olympic competitive meditation events. Is that really where we want to go?