Question: Does Buddhism advocate materialistic pursuits? If not, why do some monastics collect angbaos (red packets with money offerings)? Do they give them to the temples they are from after taking them?
Answer: The Buddha was not against the moral accumulation of wealth for laypeople, especially if it is put to good and generous use to benefit others for wholesome purposes. However, he warned against feeding greed, which is a spiritual defilement. Often, much focus on making money leads to less focus on spiritual learning and practice.
The Buddha instructed that monastics should focus on spiritual cultivation; not material accumulation. That said, there are costs of living to meet for monastics not of the alms-seeking tradition. Unless already with ample support via other means, money is a very practical resource for clothing, food, lodging, transport, medicine and other necessities.
Proper monastics do not keep openly demanding for more and more money, while those who already have enough can reject or channel donations to appropriate causes and organisations, such as those they are supported by. As more cautious lay supporters who do not wish to accidentally ‘feed greed’, cash need not always be given, as what needed can be sponsored in kind instead, as a direct practice of thoughtful generosity.
What We Should Not Offer Monastics