DANA
The Practice of Giving
Selected Essays Edited by
Bhikkhu Bodhi
The Wheel Publication No. 367/369
ISBN 955-24-0077-5
Copyright 1990 Buddhist Publication Society
BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
KANDY SRI LANKA
* * *
DharmaNet Edition 1995
Transcription: George Fowler
Proofreading: Jane Yudelman
Formatting: John Bullitt
This electronic edition is offered for free distribution
via DharmaNet by arrangement with the publisher.
DharmaNet International
P.O. Box 4951, Berkeley CA 94704-4951
* * * * * * * *
INTRODUCTION
by Bhikkhu Bodhi
The practice of giving is universally recognized as one of the most
basic human virtues, a quality that testifies to the depth of one's
humanity and one's capacity for self-transcendence. In the teaching
of the Buddha, too, the practice of giving claims a place of special
eminence, one which singles it out as being in a sense the foundation
and seed of spiritual development. In the Pali suttas we read time
and again that "talk on giving" (//danakatha//) was invariably the
first topic to be discussed by the Buddha in his "graduated
exposition" of the Dhamma. Whenever the Buddha delivered a discourse
to an audience of people who had not yet come to regard him as their
teacher, he would start by emphasizing the value of giving. Only
after his audience had come to appreciate this virtue would he
introduce other aspects of his teaching, such as morality, the law of
kamma, and the benefits in renunciation, and only after all these
principles had made their impact on the minds of his listeners would
he expound to them that unique discovery of the Awakened Ones, the
Four Noble Truths.
Strictly speaking, giving does not appear in its own right among the
factors of the Noble Eightfold Path, nor does it enter among the other
requisites of enlightenment (//bodhipakkhiya dhamma//). Most probably
it has been excluded from these groupings because the practice of
giving does not by its own nature conduce directly and immediately to
the arising of insight and the realization of the Four Noble Truths.
Giving functions in the Buddhist discipline in a different capacity.
It does not come at the apex of the path, as a factor constituent of
the process of awakening, but rather it serves as a basis and
preparation which underlies and quietly supports the entire endeavour
to free the mind from the defilements.
Nevertheless, though giving is not counted directly among the
factors of the path, its contribution to progress along the road to
liberation should not be overlooked or underestimated. The
prominence of this contribution is underscored by the place which the
Buddha assigns to giving in various sets of practices he has laid down
for his followers. Besides appearing as the first topic in the
graduated exposition of the Dhamma, the practice of giving also
figures as the first of the three bases of meritorious deeds
(//punnakiriyavatthu//), as the first of the four means of benefiting
others (//sangahavatthu//), and as the first of the ten //paramis// or
"perfections." The latter are the sublime virtues to be cultivated by
all aspirants to enlightenment, and to the most exalted degree by
those who follow the way of the Bodhisatta aimed at the supreme
enlightenment of perfect Buddhahood.
Regarded from another angle, giving can also be identified with the
personal quality of generosity (//caga//). This angle highlights the
practice of giving, not as the outwardly manifest act by which an
object is transferred from oneself to others, but as the inward
disposition to give, a disposition which is strengthened by outward
acts of giving and which in turn makes possible still more demanding
acts of self-sacrifice. Generosity is included among the essential
attributes of the //sappurisa//, the good or superior person, along
with such other qualities as faith, morality, learning and wisdom.
Viewed as the quality of generosity, giving has a particularly
intimate connection to the entire movement of the Buddha's path. For
the goal of the path is the destruction of greed, hate and delusion,
and the cultivation of generosity directly debilitates greed and hate,
while facilitating that pliancy of mind that allows for the
eradication of delusion.
The present //Wheel// publication has been compiled in order to
explore in greater depth this cardinal Buddhist virtue, the practice
of giving, which in writings on applied Buddhism is so often taken for
granted that it is usually passed over without comment. In this issue
four practicing Buddhists of today, all of whom combine textual
knowledge of the Buddha's teachings with a personal commitment to the
path, set forth their understanding of the various aspects of giving
and examine it in relation to the wider body of Dhamma practice.
The collection concludes with a translation of an older document --
the description of the Bodhisatta's practice of giving by the medieval
commentator, Acariya Dhammapala. This has been extracted from his
Treatise on the Paramis, found in his commentary to the Cariyapitaka.
* * *
THE PRACTICE OF GIVING
by
Susan Elbaum Jootla
The inspiration and basic material for this essay come from //The
Perfection of Generosity (Dana Parami)//, by Saya U Chit Tin,
published as No. 3 in the Dhamma Series of the Sayagyi U Ba Khin
Memorial Trust, U.K., Splatts House, Heddington near Calne,
Wiltshire, England. I am deeply grateful to Saya U Chit Tin and
to all the other teachers associated with the International
Meditation Centres at Heddington, U.K. and Rangoon, Burma.
Giving (//dana//) is one of the essential preliminary steps of
Buddhist practice. When practiced in itself, it is a basis of merit
or wholesome kamma. When coupled with morality, concentration and
insight, it leads ultimately to liberation from //samsara//, the cycle
of repeated existence. Even those who are well-established on the
path to emancipation continue to practice giving as it is conducive to
wealth, beauty and pleasure in their remaining lifetimes. Bodhisattas
complete the //danaparami// or perfection of giving to the ultimate
degree by happily donating their limbs and their very lives to help
other beings.
Like all good deeds, an act of giving will bring us happiness in the
future, in accordance with the kammic law of cause and effect taught
by the Buddha. Giving yields benefits in the present life and in
lives to come whether or not we are aware of this fact, but when the
volition is accompanied by understanding, we can greatly increase the
merits earned by our gifts.
The amount of merit gained varies according to three factors: the
quality of the donor's motive, the spiritual purity of the recipient,
and the kind and size of the gift. Since we have to experience the
results of our actions, and good deeds lead to good results and bad
deeds to bad results, it is sensible to try to create as much good
kamma as possible. In the practice of giving, this would mean keeping
one's mind pure in the act of giving, selecting the worthiest
recipients available, and choosing the most appropriate and generous
gifts one can afford.
//The Factor of Volition//
The volition of the donor before, during and after the act of
generosity is the most important of the three factors involved in the
practice of giving: "If we have no control over our minds we will not
choose proper gifts, the best recipient..., we will be unable to
prepare them properly. And we may be foolish enough to regret having
made them afterwards." [*] Buddhist teaching devotes special
attention to the psychological basis of giving, distinguishing among
the different states of mind with which one may give. A fundamental
distinction is made between acts of giving that lack wisdom and those
that are accompanied by wisdom, the latter being superior to the
former. An example of a very elementary kind of giving would be the
case of a young girl who places a flower on the household shrine
simply because her mother tells her to do so, without having any idea
of the significance of her act.
[*] U Chit Tin, //The Perfection of Generosity//, Introduction
Generosity associated with wisdom before, during and after the act
is the highest type of giving. Three examples of wise giving are:
giving with the clear understanding that according to the kammic law
of cause and effect, the generous act will bring beneficial results in
the future; giving while aware that the gift, the recipient and the
giver are all impermanent; and giving with the aim of enhancing one's
efforts to become enlightened. As the giving of a gift takes a
certain amount of time, a single act of giving may be accompanied by
each of these three types of understanding at a different stage in the
process.
The most excellent motive for giving is the intention that it
strengthens ones efforts to attain Nibbana. Liberation is achieved by
eliminating all the mental defilements (//kilesa//), which are rooted
in the delusion of a controlling and lasting "I." Once this illusion
is eradicated, selfish thoughts can no longer arise. If we aspire to
ultimate peace and purity by practicing generosity, we will be
developing the //dana parami//, the perfection of giving, building up
a store of merit that will bear its full fruit with our attainment of
enlightenment. As we progress towards that goal, the volition
involved in acts of giving will assist us by contributing towards the
pliancy of the mind, an essential asset in developing concentration
and wisdom, the prime requisites of liberation.
Ariyas -- noble ones, those who have attained any of the four stages
of holiness -- always give with pure volition because their minds
function on the basis of wisdom. Those below this level sometimes
give carelessly or disrespectfully, with unwholesome states of mind.
The Buddha teaches that in the practice of giving, as in all bodily
and verbal conduct, it is the volition accompanying the act that
determines its moral quality. If one is offering something to a monk,
doing so without adopting a respectful manner would not be proper.
Throwing a coin to a beggar in order to get rid of him would also be
considered a defilement of giving. One should think carefully about
the relevance and the timing of a gift for it to bring the best
results. A gift given through an intermediary -- for example, having
a servant give food to a monk rather than giving it by one's own hand
-- also detracts from the value of the gift. When one gives without
realizing that one must experience the results of one's deeds, an act
of giving again diminishes in meritorious potency.
If one only plans on giving a donation but does not fulfill one's
plan, the merit earned will be very slight. Thus we should always
follow up our intentions of generosity expeditiously, unless something
intervenes to prevent our doing so. If, after having given a gift, we
should subsequently regret our action, much of the merit of the deed
will be lost.
A moral person gives politely and respectfully. Whether the gift is
spontaneous or planned, he or she will make sure that the timing and
contents of the gift are appropriate for the receiver. Many
housewives in Buddhist countries regularly invite a few monks to their
homes to receive almsfood early in the day. Before feeding the
family, these women always offer the food to the bhikkhus with their
own hands.
One might contribute to a certain cause from fear that friends would
disapprove if one did not give. Giving in response to such social
pressures will have weak, though still beneficial, results.
Charitable actions undertaken to gain a good reputation are also
selfish and hence not a very valuable kind of giving. Nor can it be
praiseworthy when one gives merely to return a favor or in
expectation of a reward. The former is like repaying a debt, the
latter analogous to offering a bribe.
//The Recipient of Gifts//
The purity of the recipient is another factor which helps determine
the kammic fruitfulness of a gift. The worthier the receiver, the
greater the benefits that will come to the donor; hence it is good to
give to the holiest people available. The Buddha teaches that the
worthiest recipients of gifts are the ariyas, the noble ones, such as
the Buddha himself and those of his disciples who have reached
supramundane paths and fruits; for it is their purity of mind,
attained by wisdom, that makes the act of giving capable of yielding
abundant benefits. Therefore, to earn the maximum merit, we should
give as much as we can, and as often as possible, to the noble ones.
Gifts to a bhikkhu who strives for the state of a noble one, or to a
Buddhist meditator who lives by the Five Precepts, will also yield
bountiful results.
When ariyas accept offerings, they do so to provide an opportunity
for the donor to earn merit. Non-returners and Arahats in particular,
who have attained the two highest stages of sanctity, have eliminated
desire for sense objects. Thus when they are given gifts their minds
remain detached from the objects presented and are filled with
compassion for the giver.
The story of Sivali in the Dhammapada Commentary [*] is an example
of the great merit which even a small gift can yield when presented to
the Sangha led by the Buddha. At the time of Vipassi Buddha, the
citizens of a country were competing with their king to see who could
make the greatest offering to the Buddha and Sangha. The citizens had
obtained everything for their offering except fresh honey, and they
sent out messengers, each with plenty of money, to buy the missing
ingredient.
[*] E.W. Burlingame, trans. //Buddhist Legends// (London: Pali
Text Society, 1969), 2:212-16
One of these men met a villager who happened to be bringing a newly
harvested honeycomb into the city for sale. The messenger was only
able to buy it from the peasant when he had offered his entire
allowance of a thousand pieces of money, which was far more than a
single honeycomb was worth. The villager said: "Are you crazy?...
This honey isn't worth a farthing but you offer me a thousand pieces
of money for it. What is the explanation for this?" The other man
told him that the honey was worth so much to him because it was the
final item on the menu for the citizens' offering to the Buddha. The
peasant spontaneously replied, "If that is the case, I will not sell
it to you for a price; if I may receive the merit of the offering, I
will give it to you." The citizens were impressed with the faith of
this man who so readily gave up a windfall and enthusiastically agreed
that he should receive the merit of the offering.
Because of this simple gift at the time of the Vipassi Buddha, the
villager was reborn numerous times in celestial planes and the became
the prince who inherited the throne of Benares. In his final
lifetime, he became the Elder Sivali and attained Arahatship as a
disciple of the present Buddha. Even after that, his gift of the
honeycomb continued to bear fruit. To honor the one who had made the
sweet gift aeons before, the gods provided lodging and food for the
Buddha and five hundred of his monks, including Sivali, when for
several days they had been walking along a deserted road.
The practice of giving is also beneficial when directed to someone
who is not spiritually advanced. If the donor's intention is good,
then even though the receiver is immoral, the donor will earn merit
and further, by his act of giving, he will strengthen within himself
his own disposition to renunciation. A gift mentally offered to the
noble Sangha but physically presented to a monk who is morally corrupt
will still bear great fruit. To be sure, we should not pretend that a
bad person is good, but we must be most careful of our own attitude
while giving, as our attitude is the factor over which we have most
control.
//The Objects to be Given//
The third factor involved in giving is the gift itself, which can be
either material or immaterial. //Dhamma-dana//, the gift of the noble
teachings, is said by the Buddha to excel all other gifts (Dhammapada,
354). Those who expound his teachings -- monks who preach sermons or
recite from the Tipitaka, teachers of meditation -- frequently share
the Truth, thus practicing the highest kind of generosity. Those of
us who are not qualified to teach the Dhamma can give the gift of the
Dhamma in other ways. We can donate Dhamma books or pay for the
translation or publication of a rare or new manuscript propagating the
Buddha-Word. We can discuss the Dhamma informally and encourage
others to keep precepts or to take up meditation. We might write an
explanation of some aspect of the Dhamma for the benefit of others.
Giving cash or labor to a meditation center or helping support a
meditation teacher can also be considered the gift of the Dhamma, as
the purpose of the center and the teacher is the transmission of the
Buddha's teaching.
The most common type of gift is material things. A material object
need not have a high monetary value for it to bring great results, as
the story of Sivali and the honeycomb illustrates. If a poor man
gives a monk the cup of rice that was to be his only food for the day,
the man is making a great donation which may bear abundant fruit,
while if a prosperous merchant, knowing in advance that the monk was
coming for alms, were to give the same small portion of rice, he would
reap meager fruits. We should try to give things whose quality is at
least as good as those we use ourselves, like the people of Burma, who
buy the best fruits on the market as gifts for the monks although
these fruits are much too expensive for them to consume themselves.
Gifts to the Sangha may consist of food, robes, medicine or
monasteries, each of which has a wide range. The limits are set by
the rules of the Vinaya to keep the Bhikkhu Sangha pure and strong.
Lay people who understand the monks' rules can earn vast merit by
donating the proper things at the proper time to the order of monks
and nuns.
A story about Visakha, the Buddha's chief woman lay disciple, offers
a delightful illustration of the results of large-scale charity. [*]
When Visakha was to be married, elaborate preparations and gifts were
arranged by her father. He gave her five hundred cartloads each of
money, of gold, silver and copper implements. Then he decided that
she must also take cattle with her. He gave orders to his men to
allow out of their pen just as many animals as would fill a particular
lane. When the cows has filed out and stood close together in that
road, he had the corral closed, saying, "These cattle are enough for
my daughter." However, after the gate had been latched securely,
powerful bulls and milk cows jumped over the barrier to join the
animals going with Visakha. Her father's servants could not keep them
inside no matter how hard they tried.
[*] //Buddhist Legends//, 2:67-68.
All these cattle came to Visakha because, in a former lifetime long
ago at the time of the Buddha Kassapa, she had given a generous gift
of five kinds of dairy products to a company of 20,000 monks and
novices. As the youngest of the seven daughters of King Kiki of
Benares, she continued to urge the monks to take more milk, curds,
ghee, etc., even when they said they had eaten enough. That gift
earned her the merit of having such a large number of cattle go along
with her at her marriage in the lifetime when she was Visakha, and no
one could prevent this merit from bearing its fruit.
Material gifts of a religious nature would include contributions
towards the erection of a new temple or shrine, gold leaf to help gild
the umbrella of a shrine, or the purchase of a Buddha statue for a
temple. The recipients of such gifts are the general public -- whoever
comes to the temple or worships before the Buddha image.
Mundane gifts to the citizens of one's town would include donations
to various welfare organizations, a contribution to a hospital or
public library, keeping a neighborhood park neat and clean. If one
does not merely contribute funds for such projects but provides
physical labor as well, the kammic results will be even greater.
Gifts of this sort can be quite meritorious if preceded, accompanied
and followed by pure mental volitions.
//The Perfection of Giving//
There is a mode of giving which completely disregards the qualities of
the recipient and even the mundane fruits of the merit acquired by
giving. Such generosity springs from the motive of renunciation, the
thought of eliminating one's attachment to one's possessions, and thus
aims at giving away the dearest and most difficult gifts. Bodhisattas
give in this manner whenever the opportunity presents itself, strictly
in order to fulfill the //danaparami//, the "perfection of giving,"
which is the first of the ten perfections they must cultivate to the
highest degree in order to attain Buddhahood. A Bodhisatta's work to
complete the perfection of giving demands much more of him than other
beings could emulate. Many Jataka tales relate how the Bodhisatta who
was to become the Buddha Gotama gave things away with absolutely no
thought of himself or of the mundane benefits that might follow. A
Bodhisatta's only concern in practicing generosity is to fulfill the
requirements for Buddhahood.
The //Basket of Conduct// [*] contains ten stories of the
Bodhisatta's former lives. In one of these lifetimes he was a brahmin
named Sankha who saw a Paccekabuddha, or non-teaching enlightened one,
walking barefoot on a desert path. Sankha thought to himself,
"Desiring merit, seeing one eminently worthy of a gift of faith, if I
do not give him a gift, I will dwindle in merit." So the brahmin, who
had a very delicate constitution, presented his sandals to the
Paccekabuddha even though his own need for them was greater (Division
I, Story 2).
[*] Cariyapitaka, translated by I.B. Horner, included in //Minor
Anthologies of the Pali Canon//, Part III (London: Pali Text
Society, 1975).
Another time the Bodhisatta was a great emperor named
Maha-Sudassana. He had criers proclaim several times every day, in
thousands of places throughout his empire, that anyone who wanted
anything would be given it if he just came there and asked. "If there
came a mendicant beggar, whether by day or by night, receiving
whatever goods he wanted, he went away with hands full."
Maha-Sudassana gave with completely openhanded generosity, "without
attachment, expecting nothing in return, for the attainment of
Self-Awakening" (I,4).
A Bodhisatta must give more difficult gifts than material goods to
fulfill the highest form of the perfection of generosity. He must
freely give the parts of his body, his children, his wife, and even
his own life. As King Sivi, our Bodhisatta plucked out both his eyes
with his bare hands and gave them to Sakka, the king of the gods.
Sakka had come to Sivi in the guise of a blind old man, just to
provide him with the opportunity to make this remarkable gift. Sivi
did this with no hesitation prior to the act, nor with any reluctance
during the act, nor with any hint of regret afterwards. He said that
this gift was made "for the sake of Awakening itself. The two eyes
were not disagreeable to me. Omniscience was dear to me, therefore I
gave my eyes" (I,8).
As Prince Vessantara, the Bodhisatta gave the auspicious, powerful
royal elephant to the people of a rival kingdom merely because they
had requested it. As a result of this liberality, he and his wife and
two small children were banished to a remote mountain. They lived
there in the forest, Vessantara tending his son and daughter in their
hut while his wife spent the days gathering the wild fruits on which
they lived. One day a traveler chanced by and asked the Bodhisatta to
give him the children. Vessantara gave them away without any
hesitation at all. Later he gave away his virtuous wife too. "Neither
child was disagreeable to me, the Lady Maddi was not disagreeable.
Omniscience was dear to me, therefore I gave away those who were dear"
(I, 9). It should be noted that at that time, a man's children and
wife were generally considered his property. Ages before, the Lady
Maddi had aspired to be the wife of the Bodhisatta and to share
whatever trials he had to undergo along the path to Buddhahood. The
result of her own kamma complemented Prince Vessanatara's volition and
led to her being given away. Their children must also have been
experiencing the results of their own past deeds when they had to
leave their parents.
Another time the Bodhisatta took birth as a wise hare. That
existence came to an end when, joyously, he jumped into a fire after
inviting a famished brahmin (again, Sakka in disguise) to eat him
roasted. Because of the purity of the Bodhisatta's mind while making
this highest gift of his entire body and life, the blazing fire did
not hurt him as it burned his flesh. In relating the story he said
that, in fact, the fire had calmed him and brought him peace as if it
had been cool water, because he had accomplished the complete
perfection of giving.
//The Ultimate Goal of Giving//
The goal of the Buddhist path is emancipation from the suffering of
repeated existence in samsara. The Buddha taught that uprooting
ignorance and the mental defilements it nurtures will bring us to
Nibbana, the utter cessation of suffering. Unwholesome mental
tendencies make us cling to what we mistakenly take to be our
"selves," they keep us struggling to satisfy our insatiable sense
desires with objects that are inherently transitory and thus
unsatisfying.
The Buddha said that the practice of giving will aid us in our
efforts to purify the mind. Generous gifts accompanied by wholesome
volition help to eradicate suffering in three ways. First, when we
decide to give something of our own to someone else, we simultaneously
reduce our attachment to the object; to make a habit of giving can
thus gradually weaken the mental factor of craving, one of the main
causes of unhappiness. Second, giving accompanied by wholesome
volition will lead to happy future births in circumstances favorable
to encountering and practicing the pure Buddha Dhamma. Third, and
most important, when giving is practiced with the intention that the
mind becomes pliant enough for the attainment of Nibbana, the act of
generosity will help us develop virtue, concentration and wisdom
(//sila//, //samadhi//, //panna//) right in the present. These three
stages make up the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, and perfecting the
path leads to the extinction of suffering.
If we give in the hope of winning luxury in future lives, we may
attain our aim providing that we adhere to the principles of virtuous
conduct. According to the Buddha, however, the motivation of working
for liberation is far superior to that of aiming at mundane happiness
in future births. This is because a gift made with the desire for
pleasure is accompanied in part by the unwholesome psychological root
craving (//tanha//). The merits earned by such gifts are exhausted in
transient pleasure, and such mundane happiness keeps us revolving in
the round of rebirth, which in the deepest sense is always //dukkha//,
subject to suffering. Giving associated with craving cannot
contribute to the one form of happiness that does not perish, release
from the round, which comes only with the full elimination of craving.
Gifts untainted by craving and attachment can only be made during a
Buddha Sasana, the period when the teachings of a Buddha are
available. So when we give now, during such a time, we should do so
with the aim of putting an end to craving. With the end of craving,
suffering ceases, and that is liberation.
May the merits of this gift
of the Dhamma
be shared by all beings!
* * *
GIVING IN THE PALI CANON
by
Lily de Silva
//Dana//, giving, is extolled in the Pali Canon as a great virtue. It
is, in fact, the beginning of the path to liberation. When the Buddha
preaches to a newcomer he starts his graduated sermon with an
exposition on the virtues of giving (//danakatha//, Vin.i,15,18). Of
the three bases for the performance of meritorious deeds
(//punnakiriyavatthu//), giving is the first, the other two being
virtue and mental culture (A.iv,241). It is also the first of the ten
//paramita// perfected by a Buddha. Therefore, on the march towards
liberation as an Arahant or a Buddha, one initially has to practice
//dana//.
//Function of Giving//
Giving is of prime importance in the Buddhist scheme of mental
purification because it is the best weapon against greed (//lobha//),
the first of the three unwholesome motivational roots
(//akusalamula//). Greed is wrapt up with egoism and selfishness,
since we hold our personalities and our possessions as "I" and "mine".
Giving helps make egoism thaw: it is the antidote to cure the illness
of egoism and greed. "Overcome the taint of greed and practice
giving," exhorts the Devatasamyutta (S.i,18). The Dhammapada
admonishes us to conquer miserliness with generosity (//jine kadariyam
danena//, Dhp. 223).
It is difficult to exercise this virtue of giving proportionate to
the intensity of one's greed and selfishness. As such the
Devatasamyutta equates giving to a battle (//danan ca yuddhan ca
samanam ahu//, S.i,20). One has to fight the evil forces of greed
before one can make up one's mind to give away something dear and
useful to oneself. The Latukikopama Sutta illustrates how a man
lacking in spiritual strength finds it hard to give up a thing he has
been used to (M.i, 449). A small quail can come to death when it gets
entangled even in a useless rotten creeper. Though weak, a rotten
creeper is a great bond for the small bird. But even an iron chain is
not too big a bond for a strong elephant. Similarly, a poor wretched
man of weak character would find it difficult to part with his shabby
meager belongings, while a strong-charactered king will even give up a
kingdom once convinced of the dangers of greed.
Miserliness is not the only hindrance to giving. Carelessness and
ignorance of the working of kamma and survival after death are equally
valid causes (//macchera ca pamada ca evam danam na diyati//, S.i,18).
If one knows the moral advantages of giving, one will be vigilant to
seize opportunities to practice this great virtue. Once the Buddha
said that if people only knew the value of giving as he does, they
would not take a single meal without sharing their food with others
(It.p,18).
//Qualities of the Donor//
The suttas (e.g. D.i,137) employ a number of terms to describe the
qualities of a donor. He is a man with faith (//saddha//), he has
faith in the nobility of a morally sound life, in the teachings of
kamma and survival after death. He believes in the possibility of the
moral and spiritual perfection of man. In short, he is not a
materialist, and he has faith in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the
Sangha. He is not merely a giver (//dayako//), he is a lordly giver
(//danapati//). The commentary explains the concept of "lordly giver"
in the following words: "He who himself enjoys delicious things but
gives to others what is not delicious is a donor who is a slave to the
gifts he gives. He who gives things of the same quality as he himself
enjoys is one who is like a friend of the gift. He who satisfies
himself with whatever he can get but gives delicacies to others is a
lordly giver, a senior and a master of the gifts given."
The donor is also described as one who keeps an open house for the
needy (//anavatadvaro//). He is like a wellspring (//opanabhuto//)
for recluses, brahmins, the destitute, wayfarers, wanderers and
beggars. Being such a one he does meritorious deeds. He is munificent
(//muttacago//) and is interested in sharing his blessings with others
(//danasamvibhagarato//). He is a philanthropist who understands the
difficulties of the poor (//vadannu//). He is open-handed and is
ready to comply with another's request (//payatapani//). He is one
fit to be asked from (//yacayogo//). He takes delight in distributing
gifts to the needy (//vossaggarato//), and has a heart bent on giving
(//cagaparibhavitacitto//). Such are the epithets used in the suttas
to describe the qualities of the liberal-minded.
A noble giver is one who is happy before, during and after giving
(A.iii,336). Before giving he is happy anticipating the opportunity
to exercise his generosity. While giving he is happy that he is
making another happy by fulfilling a need. After giving he is
satisfied that he has done a good deed. The suttas list generosity as
one of the important qualities that go to make a gentleman (A.iv,220).
The Buddha compares the man who righteously earns his wealth and gives
of it to the needy to a man who has both eyes, whereas the one who
only earns wealth but does no merit is like a one-eyed man
(A.i,129-30). The wealthy man who enjoys his riches by himself without
sharing is said to be digging his own grave (Sn. 102).
//The Donations//
Practically anything useful can be given as a gift. The Niddesa
(ND.2, 523) gives a list of fourteen items that are fit to be given
for charity. They are robes, almsfood, dwelling places, medicine and
other requisites for the sick, food, drink, cloths, vehicles,
garlands, perfume, unguent, beds, houses and lamps. It is not
necessary to have much to practice generosity, for one can give
according to one's means. Gifts given from one's meager resources are
considered very valuable (//appasma dakkhina dinna sahassena samam
mita//, S.i,18; //dajjappasmim pi yacito//, Dhp. 224). If a person
leads a righteous life even though he ekes out a bare existence on
gleanings, looks after his family according to his means, but makes it
a point to give from his limited stores, his generosity is worth more
than a thousand sacrifices (S.i, 19-20). Alms given from wealth
righteously earned is greatly praised by the Buddha (A.iii,354;
It.p.66; A.iii,45-46). A householder who does so is said to be one
who is lucky here and hereafter. In the Magha Sutta of the Sutta
Nipata (Sn.p.87) the Buddha highly appreciates Magha who says that he
earns through righteous means and liberally gives of it to the needy.
Even if one gives a small amount with a heart full of faith one can
gain happiness hereafter. The Vimanavattha supplies ample examples.
According to the Acamadayikavimanavatthu, the alms given consisted of
a little rice crust, but as it was given with great devotion to an
eminent Arahant, the reward was rebirth in a magnificent celestial
mansion. The Dakkhainavibhanga Sutta states that an offering is
purified on account of the giver when the giver is virtuous, on
account of the recipient when the recipient is virtuous, on account of
both the giver and the recipient if both are virtuous, by none if both
happen to be impious. //Dhammadana//, the dissemination of the
knowledge of the Dhamma, is said to excel all other forms of giving
(//sabbadanam dhammadanam jinati//, Dhp.354).
The Anguttara Nikaya mentions five great gifts which have been held
in high esteem by noble-minded men from ancient times (A.iv,246).
Their value was not doubted in ancient times, it is not doubted at
present, nor will it be doubted in the future. The wise recluses and
brahmins had the highest respect for them. These great givings
comprise the meticulous observance of the Five Precepts. By doing so
one gives fearlessness, love and benevolence to all beings. If one
human being can give security and freedom from fear to others by his
behavior, that is the highest form of //dana// one can give, not only
to mankind, but to all living beings.
//The Donee//
The suttas also describe the person to whom alms should be given
(A.iii, 41). Guests, travellers and the sick should be treated with
hospitality and due consideration. During famines the needy should
be liberally entertained. The virtuous should be first entertained
with the first fruits of fresh crops. There is a recurrent phrase in
the suttas (D.i, 137; ii,354; iii,76) describing those who are
particularly in need of public generosity. They are recluses
(//samana//), brahmins (//brahmana//), destitutes (//kapana//),
wayfarers (//addhika//), wanderers (//vanibbaka//) and beggars
(//yacaka//). The recluses and brahmins are religious persons who do
not earn wages. They give spiritual guidance to the laity and the
laity is expected to support them. The poor need the help of the rich
to survive and the rich become spiritually richer by helping the poor.
At a time when transport facilities were meager and amenities for
travellers were not adequately organized, the public had to step in to
help the wayfarer. Buddhism considers it a person's moral obligation
to give assistance to all these types of people.
In the Anguttara Nikaya the Buddha describes, with sacrificial
terminology, three types of fires that should be tended with care and
honor (A.iv,44). They are //ahuneyyaggi//, //gahapataggi// and
//dakkhineyyaggi//. The Buddha explained that //ahuneyyaggi// means
one's parents, and they should be honored and cared for.
//Gahapataggi// means one's wife and children, employees and
dependents. //Dakkineyyaggi// represents religious persons who have
either attained the goal of Arahantship or have embarked on a course
of training for the elimination of negative mental traits. All these
should be cared for and looked after as one would tend a sacrificial
fire. According to the Mahamangala Sutta, offering hospitality to
one's relatives is one of the great auspicious deeds a layperson can
perform (Sn. 262-63).
King Kosala once asked the Buddha to whom alms should be given
(S.i,98). The Buddha replied that alms should be given to those by
giving to whom one becomes happy. Then the king asked another
question: To whom should alms be offered to obtain great fruit? The
Buddha discriminated the two as different questions and replied that
alms offered to the virtuous bears great fruit. He further clarified
that offerings yield great fruit when made to virtuous recluses who
have eliminated the five mental hindrances (//nivarana//) and
culivated moral habits, concentration, wisdom, emancipation and
knowledge and vision of emancipation (//sila//, //samadhi//,
//panna//, //vimutti//, //vimuttinanadassana//).
In the Sakkasamyutta (S.i,233) Sakka asked the same question from
the Buddha: Gifts given to whom bring the greatest result? The Buddha
replied that what is given to the Sangha bears great results. Here
the Buddha specifies that what he means by "Sangha" is the community
of those upright noble individuals who have entered the path and who
have established themselves in the fruit of saintship, and who are
endowed with morality, concentration and wisdom. It is important to
note that "Sangha" according to the Vinaya means a sufficient group of
monks to represent the Order of monks for various ecclesiastical
purposes (Vin. i,319). But in the suttas "Sangha" means the four
pairs of noble individuals or the eight particular individuals
(//cattari purisayugani//, //attha purisapuggala//), i.e., those who
are on the path to stream-entry, once-returning, non-returning, and
Arahantship, and those who have obtained the fruits thereof.
The Magha Sutta (Sn.p.86) gives a detailed account of the virtues of
the Arahant to show to whom alms should be offered by one desiring
merit. The Brahmanasamyutta (S.i,175) maintains that offerings bear
greatest results when they are made to those who know their previous
lives, who have seen heavens and hells, who have put an end to birth
and who have realized ultimate knowledge. Thus the Sangha comprising
morally perfect, worthy personages as described in the suttas
constitutes the field of merit (//punnakkhetta//, M.i,447). Just as
seeds sown in fertile well-watered fields yields bountiful crops, alms
given to the virtuous established on the Noble Eightfold Path yield
great results (A.iv,238; i,162). The Dhammapada maintains that fields
have weeds as their blemish; lust, hatred, delusion and desire are the
blemishes of people and therefore what is given to those who have
eliminated those blemishes bears great fruit (Dhp. 356-59). The
results of generosity are measured more by the quality of the field of
merit represented by the recipient than by the quantity and value of
the gift given.
The Anguttara Nikaya (A.iv,392-95) records a fabulous alms-giving
conducted by the Bodhisatta when he was born as a brahmin named
Velama. Lavish gifts of silver, gold, elephants, cows, carriages,
etc., not to mention food, drink and clothing, were distributed among
everybody who came forward to receive them. But this open-handed
munificence was not very valuable as far as merit was concerned
because there were no worthy recipients. It is said to be more
meritorious to feed one person with right view, a stream-enterer
(//sotapanna//), than to give great alms such as that given by Velama.
It is more meritorious to feed one once-returner than a hundred
stream-enterers. Next in order come non-returners, Arahants,
Paccekabuddhas and Sammasambuddhas. Feeding the Buddha and the Sangha
is more meritorious than feeding the Buddha alone. It is even more
meritorious to construct a monastery for the general use of the Sangha
of the four quarters of all times. Taking refuge in the Buddha,
Dhamma and Sangha is better still. Abiding by the Five Precepts is
even more valuable. But better still is the cultivation of //metta//,
loving-kindness, and best of all, the insight into impermanence, which
leads to Nibbana.
//The Motivation for Giving//
The suttas record various motives for exercising generosity. The
Anguttara Nikaya (A.iv,236) enumerates the following eight motives:
1. //Asajja danam deti//: one gives with annoyance, or as a way of
offending the recipient, or with the idea of insulting him. [*]
2. //Bhaya danam deti//: fear also can motivate a person to make an
offering.
3. //Adasi me ti danam deti//: one gives in return for a favor
done to oneself in the past.
4. //Dassati me ti danam deti// one also may give with the hope of
getting a similar favor for oneself in the future.
5. //Sadhu danan ti danam deti//: one gives because giving is
considered good.
6. //Aham pacami, ime ne pacanti, na arahami pacanto apacantanam
adatun ti danam deti//: "I cook, they do not cook. It is not
proper for me who cooks not to give to those who do not cook."
Some give urged by such altruistic motives.
7. //Imam me danam dadato kalyano kittisaddo abbhuggacchati ti
danam deti//: some give alms to gain a good reputation.
8. //Cittalankara-cittaparikkarattham danam deti//: still others
give alms to adorn and beautify the mind.
[*] Though the PTS translation reads "one gives alms on one's
own accord," the accuracy of this translation is
questionable. The sutta seems to record motives for giving
in ascending order of refinement. If the PTS translation is
accepted, the order is disturbed. Moreover, //asajja// is
the gerund of //asadeti//, which means to strike, offend,
assail, insult.
Favoritism (//chanda//), ill will (//dosa//) and delusion (//moha//)
are also listed as motives for giving. Sometimes alms are given for
the sake of maintaining a long-standing family tradition. Desire to
be reborn in heaven after death is another dominant motive. Giving
pleases some and they give with the idea of winning a happy frame of
mind (A.iv, 236).
But it is maintained in the suttas (A.iv,62) that alms should be
given without any expectations (//na sapekho danam deti//). Nor
should alms be given with attachment to the recipient. If one gives
with the idea of accumulating things for later use, that is an
inferior act of giving. If one gives with the hope of enjoying the
result thereof after death, that is also an inferior act of giving.
The only valid motive for giving should be the motive of adorning the
mind, to rid the mind of the ugliness of greed and selfishness.
//The Manner of Giving//
The suttas (e.g. A.iii,172) lay much emphasis on the manner of giving.
The attitude of the donor in the act of giving makes a world of
difference for the goodwill between the donor and recipient
irrespective of whether the gift given is big or small. //Sakkaccam
danam deti//: alms should be given in such a way that the donee does
not feel humiliated, belittled or hurt. The needy ask for something
with a sense of embarrassment, and it is the duty of the donor not to
make him feel more embarrassed and make his already heavy burden still
heavier. //Cittikatva danam deti//: alms should be given with due
consideration and respect. The recipient should be make to feel
welcome. It is when a gift is given with such warmth that a cohesive
mutually enriching friendliness emerges between the donor and donee.
//Sahattha deti//: one should give with one's own hand. The personal
involvement in the act of giving is greatly beneficial. This promotes
rapport between the donor and donee and that is the social value of
giving. Society is welded in unity with care and concern for one
another when generosity is exercised with a warm sense of personal
involvement. //Na apaviddham deti//: one should not give as alms what
is only fit to be thrown away. One should be careful to give only
what is useful and appropriate. //Na anagamanaditthiko deti//: one
should not give in such a callous manner so as to make the donee not
feel like coming again.
Giving with faith (//saddhaya deti//) is much extolled in the suttas
(A.iii,172). Especially when offering alms to the clergy one should
do so with due deference and respect, taking delight in the
opportunity one has got to serve them. Once should also give at the
proper time to meet a dire need (//kalena deti//). Such timely gifts
are most valuable as they relieve the anxiety and stress of the
supplicant. One should give with altruistic concerns, with the sole
intention of helping another in difficulty (//anuggahacitto danam
deti//). In the act of giving one should take care not to hurt
oneself or another (//attanan ca paran ca anupahacca danam deti//).
Giving with understanding and discretion is praised by the Buddha
(//viceyyadanam sugatappasattham//). If a gift contributes to the
well-being of the donee it is wise to give. But if the gift is
detrimental to the welfare of the donee one should be careful to
exercise one's discretion. Giving as described above is highly
commended as noble giving (//sappurisadana//). More than what is
given, it is the manner of giving that makes a gift valuable. One may
not be able to afford a lavish gift, but one can always make the
recipient feel cared for by the manner of giving.
//The Value of Giving//
Many suttas enumerate the various benefits of giving. Giving promotes
social cohesion and solidarity. It is the best means of bridging the
psychological gap, much more than the material economic gap, that
exists between haves and have-nots. The Magha Sutta maintains that
hates gets eliminated when one is established in generosity (Sn. 506).
The one with a generous heart earns the love of others and many
associate with him (A.iii,40). Giving also cements friendships (Sn.
187).
It is maintained that if a person makes an aspiration to be born in
a particular place after giving alms, the aspiration will be fulfilled
only if he is virtuous, but not otherwise (A.iv,239). According to
one sutta (A.iv,241-43), if one practices giving and morality to a
very limited degree and has no idea about meditation, one obtains an
unfortunate birth in the human world. One who performs meritorious
deeds such as giving and morality to a considerable degree, but does
not understand anything about meditation, meets a fortunate human
birth. But those who practice giving and morality to a great extent
without any knowledge of meditation find rebirth in one of the
heavens. They excel other deities in the length of life, beauty,
pleasure, fame and the five strands of sense pleasure.
The Anguttara Nikaya (A.iv,79) enumerates a number of this-worldly
benefits of giving. The generous person, and not the miser, wins the
sympathy of others. Arahants approach him, accept alms and preach to
him first. A good reputation spreads about him. He can attend any
assembly with confidence and dignity. He is reborn in a state of
happiness after death. Another sutta (A.iii,41) adds that a generous
person wins popularity; people of noble character associate with him
and he has the satisfaction of having fulfilled a layperson's duties
(//gihidhamma anapeto hoti//).
It is said that an almsgiver bestows on others life, beauty,
happiness, strength and intelligence. Having bestowed them on others,
he becomes a beneficiary of them himself (A.iii,42). The same idea is
expressed by the succinct statement that one reaps what one sows
(//yadisam vapate bijam tadisam harate phalam//, S.i,227).
Giving with faith results in the attainment of riches and beauty
whenever the fruition of the gift occurs. By giving alms with due
deference one gains, in addition, children, wives, subordinates and
servants who are obedient, dutiful and understanding. By giving alms
at the proper time not only does one obtain great wealth but also
timely fulfillment of needs. By giving alms with the genuine desire to
help others, one gains great wealth and the inclination to enjoy the
best of sense pleasures. By giving alms without hurting oneself and
others, one gains security from dangers such as fire, floods, thieves,
kings and unloved heirs (A. iii,172).
Alms given to recluses and brahmins who follow the Noble Eightfold
Path yield wonderful results just as seeds sown on fertile,
well-prepared, well-watered fields produce abundant crops (A.iv,238).
Alms given without any expectations whatsoever can lead to birth in
the Brahma-world, at the end of which one may become a non-returner
(A.iv,62).
The Dakkhinavibhanga Sutta enumerates a list of persons to whom alms
can be offered and the merit accruing therefrom in ascending order. A
thing given to an animal brings a reward a hundredfold. A gift given
to an ordinary person of poor moral habit yields a reward a
thousandfold; a gift given to a virtuous person yields a reward a
hundred thousandfold. When a gift is given to a person outside the
dispensation of Buddhism who is without attachment to sense pleasures,
the yield is a hundred thousandfold of crores. When a gift is given
to one on the path to stream-entry the yield is incalculable and
immeasurable. So what can be said of a gift given to a
stream-enterer, a once-returner, a non-returner, an Arahant, a
Paccekabuddha, and a Fully Enlightened Buddha?
The same sutta emphasizes that a gift given to the Sangha as a group
is more valuable than a gift offered to a single monk in his
individual capacity. It is said that in the distant future there will
be Buddhist monks who wear only a yellow collar as a distinguishing
clerical mark, who are immoral and of evil character. If a gift is
offered even to such monks in the name of the Order, it yields much
more merit than a gift given to a monk in his individual capacity. But
it should be observed that this statement is contradictory to ideas
expressed elsewhere, that what is given to the virtuous is greatly
beneficial but not what is given to the immoral. It is evident here
that a later interpolation cannot be altogether ruled out.
The Buddha once explained that it is a meritorious act even to throw
away the water after washing one's plate with the generous thought:
"May the particles of food in the washing water be food to the
creatures on the ground." When that is so, how much more meritorious
it is to feed a human being! But the sutta hastens to add that it is
more meritorious to feed a virtuous person (A.i,161).
Another sutta (A.iii,336) maintains that it is not possible to
estimate the amount of merit that accrues when an offering is endowed
with six particular characteristics. Three of the characteristics
belong to the donor while three belong to the donee. The donor should
be happy at the thought of giving prior to making the offering. He
should be pleased at the time of making the offering, and he should be
satisfied after the offering is made. Thus the nobility of thought --
without a trace of greed before, during and after the offering --
makes a gift truly great. The recipients also should be free from
lust, hatred and delusion, or they should have embarked on a course of
training for the elimination of these mental depravities. When an
almsgiving is endowed with these qualities of the donor and donee, the
merit is said to be as immeasurable as the waters in the ocean.
Once Visakha gave a learned explanation of the benefits she expected
from her munificence when the Buddha questioned her as to what she saw
as the advantages of her great generosity (Vin.i,293-94). She said
that when she hears that a particular monk or nun has attained any of
the fruits of recluseship, and if that monk or nun has visited
Savatthi, she would be certain that he or she has partaken of the
offerings she constantly makes. When she reflects that she has
contributed in some measure to his or her spiritual distinction, great
delight (//pamujja/) arises in her. Joy (//piti//) arises in the mind
that is delighted. When the mind is joyful the body relaxes (//kayo
passambhissati//). When the body relaxes a sense of ease (//sukha//)
is experienced which helps the mind to be concentrated (//cittam
samadhiyissati//). That will help the development of the spiritual
faculties (//indriyabhavana//), spiritual powers (//balahbavana//),
and factors of enlightenment (//bojjhangabhavana//). These are the
advantages she hopes for by her munificence. The Buddha was so
pleased with her erudite reply that he exclaimed, "Sadhu sadhu sadhu"
in approbation.
It is evident that giving alone is not sufficient for one to make an
end of suffering. Anathapindika, who was pronounced by the Buddha as
the foremost among almsgivers, became only a stream-enterer. It is
specifically said that //dana// has to be fortified by //sila//,
morality, if it is to produce good results. Though Anathapindika
practiced unblemished virtue, it is nowhere stated that he practiced
mental culture or meditation (//bhavana//). Therefore, in spite of
all his magnanimous munificence, he had to remain a stream-enterer.
The //Ghatikara Sutta// (M.ii,52) records a unique almsgiving where
even the donor was not present. Chatikara the potter was the chief
benefactor of the Buddha Kassapa. He was a non-returner who did not
want to enter the Order as he was looking after his blind, aged
parents. He had greatly won the trust of the Buddha by the nobility
of his conduct and devotion. One day the Buddha Kassapa went to his
house on his alms round but Ghatikara was out. He asked the blind
parents where the potter had gone. They replied that he had gone out,
but invited the Buddha to serve himself from the pots and pans and
partake of a meal. The Buddha did so. When Ghatikara returned and
inquired who had taken from the food, the parents informed him that
the Buddha had come and they had requested him to help himself to a
meal. Ghatikara was overjoyed to hear this as he felt that the Buddha
had so much trust in him. It is said that the joy and happiness
(//pitisukha//) he experienced did not leave him for two weeks, and
the parents' joy and happiness did not wane for a whole week.
The same sutta reports that on another occasion the roof of the
Buddha Kassapa's monastery started leaking. He sent the monks to
Ghatikara's house to fetch some straw, but Ghatikara was out at the
time. Monks came back and said that there was no straw available
there except what was on the roof. The Buddha asked the monks to get
the straw from the roof there. Monks started stripping the straw from
the roof and the aged parents of Ghatikara asked who was removing the
straw. The monks explained the matter and the parents said, "Please
do take all the straw." When Ghatikara heard about this he was deeply
moved by the trust the Buddha reposed in him. The joy and happiness
that arose in him did not leave him for a full fortnight and that of
his parents did not subside for a week. For three months Ghatikara's
house remained without a roof with only the sky above, but it is said
that the rain did not wet the house. Such was the great piety and
generosity of Ghatikara.
As mentioned at the beginning of this essay, //dana// is the first
of the meritorious deeds. It is also one of the four benevolent ways
of treating others (//cattari sangahavatthuni//), A.iv,219). But is
noteworthy that in the lists of virtues required for liberation such
as those included among the thirty-seven requisites of enlightenment
(//bodhipakkhiya dhamma//), //dana// never occurs as a required
virtue. Instead of //dana//, //caga// or generosity is included in
some of the lists, such as the five qualities -- faith virtue,
learning, generosity and wisdom. Perhaps there is a slight difference
between //dana// and //caga// when considered as virtues ingrained in
the mind. //Dana// is the very practical act of giving, //caga// is
the generous attitude ingrained in the mind by the repeated practice
of //dana//. The word //caga// literally means giving up,
abandonment, and it is an indication that the close-fitted selfish
grip one has on one's possessions is loosened by //caga//. It is
possible to give alms even out of negative motives such as favoritism
(//chanda//), ill will (//dosa//), fear (//bhaya//), delusion
(//moha//), desire for a good reputation, etc., but //caga// is the
positive virtue of a generous disposition.
Buddhism teaches a gradual process of emptying oneself. It starts
with giving away one's external possessions. When the generous
dispositional trait sets in and is fortified by the deepening insight
into the real nature of things, one grows disenchanted with sense
pleasures (//nibbindati//). At this stage one gives up household life
and seeks ordination. Next comes the emptying of sensory inputs by
guarding the sense doors. Through meditation (//bhavana//) one
empties oneself of deep-seated defilements and fills oneself with
positive noble qualities. But this whole process of bailing out
negativities starts with //dana//, the practice of giving.
* * *
GIVING FROM THE HEART
by
M. O'C. Walshe
Giving comes very naturally to some people -- they enjoy giving and
are unhappy if they cannot do so. And though it is obvious that one
can give foolishly, it is in general a very good and meritorious thing
to give. This is recognized in, probably, all religions: in
Christianity we are told that it is more blessed to give than to
receive, and in Islam there is a positive injunction to give part of
one's wealth to the poor.
Perhaps, however, we ought to start by squarely facing a point which
may worry some people: the question of giving to the Sangha. In a
phrase which lay Buddhists may frequently hear chanted, or even chant
themselves, the Sangha is described as //anuttaram punnakkhettam
lokassa//, "an unequalled field of merit-making for the world,"
meaning that the merit to be gained by giving to the Sangha is
unequalled. Well of course, not all the lay people who hear or join
in such chanting know what the words mean, but of those who do,
Westerners who are Buddhists or Buddhist sympathizers sometimes react
to this notion with a degree of indignation, considering the words
tactless or worse! In fact some, whose conditioning was at least
partly under the influence of the Lutheran Christian tradition, are
reminded of the abuses to which Martin Luther objected in the Church
of his day, when "good deeds" were very largely associated in the
popular mind with maintaining priests and monks, who in some cases at
least were idle and corrupt, in the style to which they were
accustomed.
Such misgivings are perhaps understandable, but can be countered by
a proper explanation, and will in any case not take root provided the
Sangha is patently seen to be well conducted (//supatipanno//). The
traditional Buddhist community consists of four groups: monks, nuns,
male and female lay followers. Though the original order of nuns has
died out, there are women who have undertaken the holy life and live
virtually as nuns, and there is every indication that their numbers
will grow. The relation between the first two groups and the latter
two is one of symbiosis. After all, the Sangha has a priceless gift
to give, the gift of the Dhamma. //Sabbadanam dhammadanam jinati//:
"The gift of the Dhamma excels all other gifts" (Dhp. 354). Members
of the Sangha also have an inescapable obligation to live according to
the Vinaya and to strive continuously for enlightenment. It is in
fact only by so doing that they can claim to be "an unequalled field
of merit-making," and if they fail in this obligation they are letting
down not only themselves but also the laity who support them. A monk
or nun who cannot observe the rules should, and in certain cases must,
leave the Order. This could be regarded, at least in part, as the
price to be paid for abusing the generosity of lay supporters.
It was mentioned above that, according to the Bible, it is more
blessed to give than to receive. It is interesting to note that, just
as in the practice of //metta-bhavana//, the meditation on universal
love, there is given an actual method for fulfilling that difficult
Judaeo-Christian injunction "love thy neighbor as thyself," so too
Buddhism can give a precise technical meaning to this biblical
statement. If we receive something pleasant, this in Buddhism is
considered to be //vipaka//, the result of previous meritorious
conduct. It is nice while it lasts, but when it is finished, its
virtue is exhausted. To give, however is //kusala kamma//, skilled
action, which will be productive of some pleasant //vipaka// or result
for the giver. In this way it can be clearly seen to be more
"blessed" to give than to receive. True, this "blessing" remains
purely mundane and limited, being "merit-making for the world"
(//lokassa//). But as all our actions are habit-forming, giving once
inclines us to give again, so that the result tends to be cumulative.
Also, of course, this king of //kusala kamma// can lead on to other
things, and it is not for nothing that //dana// is listed as the first
among the ten //paramis// or "perfections," coming even before
//sila// or morality. It is, after all, possible for an immoral
person to be generous!
The late Dr. I.B.Horner selected ten Jataka stories to illustrate
the ten perfections, in a little book that is widely used as an
introductory Pali reader, and she used the delightful story of the
self-sacrificing hare (No. 316) to illustrate the perfection of
giving. Strangely enough, thought, to the Western mind at least, the
most popular Jataka story on this them is the very last, the
Vessantara Jataka (No. 547), in which the Bodhisatta gives everything
away including, finally, his wife and children -- a distinctly dubious
moral, one might think! But in Thailand this story has been singled
out and is regularly made the subject of special readings and sermons
for the edification of the laity.
Giving is something that comes from the heart, and as I have said,
there are people who enjoy giving for its own sake -- which is fine
provided the giving is balanced with wisdom. There are of course
other people who are reluctant givers, and they are often the same
people who find it difficult to say "please," "thank you," "I'm
sorry," and so on. For all such types the //brahmavihara//
meditations on love and compassion would be beneficial, to enable them
to open up their hearts.
Recently, in Britain, we have had a magnificent example of the power
of giving from the heart, and from what to many must have seemed an
unexpected source. Moved by the plight of the starving people in
Ethiopia, the rock star Bob Geldof organized the fantastic
international Live Aid concert which raised millions of pounds -- in
its way, and with the aid of modern technology, the most spectacular
act of generosity in history, touching the hearts of millions, and
transcending the boundaries not only of politics and religions, but
also that gulf that exists between those addicted to this particular
form of entertainment and those who dislike it.
It is perhaps hardly necessary to point out that //dana// has to be
exercised with discretion, and is as much subject to the rule of the
middle way as everything else. It is not the best way to bring up a
child, for instance, to give it everything it wants -- or thinks it
wants. Contrary to some trendy theories recently current, it does no
harm to frustrate a spoilt brat occasionally! Nor, of course, is it
the highest kind if giving if one expects something in return -- even
a nice rebirth in some heavenly realm! That is a kind of giving which
is basically rooted in attachment and is therefore of limited kammic
value.
In point of fact, one of the true benefits to the giver is precisely
that the act of spontaneous giving is a very fine way of helping to
overcome attachment. And that is the intended point of the Vessantara
story. We Westerners think of the unfortunate wife and family the
Bodhisatta "sacrificed" (though of course there was happy ending and
they came back to him, in the story!), but the intention is to regard
them as objects of attachment, to be given up as such. As a matter of
fact, despite the popularity of this particular story, modern scholars
consider that it was not originally a Buddhist tale at all, and was
somewhat unskillfully adapted to provide a "Buddhist" moral.
The more we consider the question of //dana//, the more aspects
emerge, and we see that there are many ways of giving, skillfully or
otherwise. We may conclude with an amusing canonical example of the
alleged results of relatively unskillful giving. In the Payasi Sutta
(No. 23 of the Digha Nikaya) we read of the debate between the skeptic
Prince Payasi, who did not believe in an afterlife, and the Venerable
Kumara-Kassapa. After listening to a brilliant series of parables from
the monk, Payasi declares himself converted, and decides to establish
a charity "for ascetics and brahmins, wayfarers, beggars and the
needy," and he appoints the young brahmin Uttara to organize the
distribution. (N.B. This is the correct version -- there is an error
in the Rhys Davids translation at his point.) Uttara complains that
the food and clothing he is called upon to distribute are of such poor
quality that Payasi would not touch them himself, and Payasi finally
gives him leave to supply "food as I eat and clothes as I wear." At
the conclusion of the sutta, we are told of the rewards the two men
received after death. Payasi, who had established the charity
grudgingly, was indeed reborn in a heavenly world, but in the very
lowest, that of the Four Great Kings, where he was lodged in the empty
Serisaka mansion (//vimana//). Here, indeed, he was visited by the
Venerable Gavampati, an Arahant who made a habit of taking his siesta
in the lower heavens. And so the story was brought back to earth. But
Uttara, who had reorganized the charity and given from the heart, was
born in a higher heaven, among the Thirty-three Gods.
Probably few Westerners will give in order to be reborn among the
Thirty-three Gods, and perhaps the only reward some people look to is
an easing of the conscience: being aware of some particular need -- of
which the case of Ethiopia is the outstanding current example --
people feel unable to live with themselves if they do //not// give
something. This is certainly better than hoping for a heavenly reward,
but an easy conscience, too, may perhaps sometimes be purchased a
little too easily. Best let the giving itself be its own reward, and
leave it at that!
* * *
GENEROSITY: THE INWARD DIMENSION
by
Nina Van Gorkom
As from a heap of flowers many a garland is made,
even so many good deeds should be done by one born a mortal.
Dhammapada, 53
The giving away of useful or pleasant things is an act of generosity.
However, if we only pay attention to the outward deeds we do not know
whether or not we are being sincerely generous. We should learn more
about the mind which motivates our deeds. True generosity is
difficult. While we are giving, our thoughts may not all be good and
noble. Our motives for giving may not all be pure. We may give with
selfish motives -- expecting something in return, hoping to be liked
by the receiver or our gift, wanting to be known as a generous person.
We may notice that there are different thoughts at different moments,
some truly generous, and others having different motives.
The Buddha taught that there is no lasting mind or soul which
undergoes different experiences. Our experiences themselves are
different moments of consciousness, which arise one at a time and then
fall away immediately. Each moment of consciousness that arises and
falls away is succeeded by the next moment of consciousness. Our life
is thus a series of moments of consciousness arising in succession.
Gradually we can learn to distinguish different types of
consciousness. There is consciousness which is unwholesome or
unskillful, and there is consciousness which is wholesome or skillful,
and besides these there are other types of consciousness which are
neither wholesome nor unwholesome. Only one type of consciousness
occurs at a time, but each type is accompanied by several mental
factors. Unwholesome types of consciousness are accompanied by
unwholesome mental factors, such as attachment, stinginess, jealousy
or aversion. Wholesome types of consciousness are accompanied by
beautiful mental factors, such as generosity, kindness or compassion.
Three of the unwholesome mental factors are "roots of evil." [*]
These are the strong foundation of unwholesome types of consciousness:
attachment or greed, aversion or anger, and ignorance.
[*] See Nyanaponika Thera, //The Roots of Good and Evil// (Wheel
No. 251/253).
Each of these unwholesome factors has many shades and degrees. We
may know that there is attachment when we are greedy for food or
desire to acquire someone else's property. However, we may not
realize that there is also attachment when we enjoy natural scenery or
beautiful music. In society attachment of a subtle kind is considered
good, provided we do not harm others. The unwholesome has a wider
range than what we call in conventional language "immoral." It can
include states that are weaker than the immoral. We cannot force
ourselves not to like beautiful things; there are conditions for the
arising of attachment. But we can learn to know the difference
between the moments which are wholesome and the moments which are
unwholesome. A degree of selfishness persists even in moments of
subtle attachment. These are different from selfless moments of
consciousness accompanied by generosity, when we do not think of our
own enjoyment. There is attachment time and again, when we stand up,
move around, reach for things, eat or go to sleep. We think of
ourselves and want to acquire pleasant things for ourselves. We
expect other people to be nice to us, and this is also a form of
attachment.
We may wonder whether attachment to relatives is wholesome.
Attachment to relatives is not wholesome; it is different from pure
loving-kindness, which is wholesome. When we cling to the pleasant
feeling we derive from the company of relatives or dear friends, there
is attachment. When we are genuinely concerned for someone else we do
not think of ourselves, and then there is wholesome consciousness. We
are so used to living with attachment that we may have never
considered the difference between the moments of attachment and the
moments of unselfish love. The different types of consciousness
succeed one another so rapidly that so long as we have not developed
understanding of them, we do not notice that they have changed.
The unwholesome root of aversion also has many degrees. It can
manifest as slight uneasiness or as coarse anger or hate. Aversion
does not arise at the time as attachment. When there is attachment
consciousness likes the object that is experienced and when there is
aversion consciousness dislikes the object. Attachment arises with
certain types of consciousness, not with all types, and so does
aversion.
Ignorance is an unwholesome root that arises with all types of
unwholesome consciousness. It is the root of all evil. Ignorance
does not know what is wholesome and what is unwholesome, it does not
know anything about what is real. Whenever there is attachment or
aversion, at the same time there is also ignorance.
The three beautiful roots are: non-attachment or generosity,
non-aversion or kindness, and understanding or wisdom. Each type of
wholesome consciousness is rooted in non-attachment and non-aversion,
and it may be rooted in understanding as well. Each of these
beautiful roots has many degrees. Without the assistance of
non-attachment and non-aversion wholesome consciousness could not
arise motivating acts of generosity. Attachment cannot exist at the
same time as generosity. When one is truly generous one gives
impartially and does not restrict one's generosity to people one likes
or to the members of one's family. The purpose of all kinds of
wholesomeness should be to eliminate defilements, to get rid of
selfishness. The Buddha taught the wisdom that can eradicate the
clinging to the idea of self, but if one does not learn to get rid of
stinginess and clings to one's possessions, one cannot give up the
clinging to self.
When we see that true generosity is beneficial and that selfishness
and stinginess are harmful, we would like to have more moments of
generosity. However, in spite of our wishes, we notice that
unwholesome types of consciousness often arise. Then we are
disappointed with ourselves. We should acquire understanding of what
conditions the arising of unwholesome consciousness. We must have
been full of attachment, aversion and ignorance in the past, even in
past lives. Such tendencies have become deeply rooted; they have been
accumulated. What is past has gone already, but the unwholesome
tendencies that have been accumulated can condition the arising of
unwholesome consciousness at the present time.
We have accumulated not only tendencies to evil but also
inclinations to the wholesome. That is why there can also be moments
of generosity and kindness at the present time. When an unwholesome
type of consciousness arises we accumulate more unwholesomeness; when
a wholesome type arises we accumulate more wholesomeness.
The Buddha taught different ways of developing wholesomeness, and
when we learn about these ways there are already conditions for more
wholesomeness. We find opportunity for generosity not only while we
are giving but also before the actual giving, when we try to obtain
the things we intend to give, and afterwards when we recollect our
giving. When we are honest with ourselves we can notice that before,
during and after the giving, opportunities for generosity are often
spoilt by unwholesome consciousness. We may get tired when we have to
buy or prepare the gift, and then aversion arises. While we are
giving the gift the receiver may be ungrateful and fail to respond to
our gift in the way we expected and then we may be disappointed.
However, when we have right understanding of what wholesomeness is,
we should be concerned only with developing wholesome states of mind
and not with the reactions of other people. Wholesomeness is
wholesomeness and nobody else can change the wholesome consciousness
that arises. Before we learnt about the Buddha's teachings we did not
consider generosity in this way, we did not pay attention to the
moments of consciousness. Through the Buddha's teachings we learn
about things as they really are. After the act of giving the
opportunity to recollect our generosity with wholesome consciousness
can be wasted by unwholesome consciousness. At first we may have been
generous, but afterwards we may find that the gift was too expensive
and regret have spent our money.
The Buddha taught that there is no self that can exert power over
the different types of consciousness that arise; they arise because of
their appropriate conditions. Through his teachings we can learn
about the different types of consciousness and about our accumulated
tendencies. Thus there will be more understanding of what is real,
and this too is wholesome. When one has accumulated the tendency to
stinginess it is difficult to be generous, but through the
understanding of what the Buddha taught inclinations can be changed.
We read in the commentary to the Subhabhojana Jataka (Stories of the
Buddha's Former Births, Jatakas, Book V, No. 535) about a monk in the
Buddha's time who practiced the utmost generosity. He gave away his
food, and if he received drink sufficient to fill the hollow of his
hand, he would, free from greed, still give it away. But formerly he
used to be so stingy that "he would not give so much as a drop of oil
on the tip of a blade of grass." In one of his past lives, when he
was named Kosiya, he lived as a miser. One day he had a craving for
rice porridge. When his wife suggested that she would cook porridge
not only for him but also for all the inhabitants of Benares, he felt
"just as if he had been struck on the head with a stick." Then his
wife offered to cook for a single street, or only for the attendants
in his house, only for the family, only for the two of them, but he
turned down all her offers. He wanted porridge cooked for himself
alone, in the forest, so that nobody else could see it. The
Bodhisatta, who was at that time the god Sakka, wanted to convert him
and came to him with four attendants disguised as brahmins. One by
one they approached the miser and begged for some of his porridge.
Sakka spoke the following stanza, praising generosity (387):
From little one should little give, from moderate means likewise,
From much give much: of giving nothing no question can arise.
This then I tell you, Kosiya, give alms of that is thine:
Eat not alone, no bliss is his that by himself shall dine,
By charity you may ascend the noble path divine.
Kosiya reluctantly offered them some porridge. Then one of the
brahmins changed into a dog. The dog made water and a drop of it fell
on Kosiya's hand. Kosiya went to the river to wash and then the dog
made water in Kosiya's cooking pot. When Kosiya threatened him he
changed into a "blood horse" and pursued Kosiya. Then Sakka and his
attendants stood in the air and Sakka preached to Kosiya out of
compassion and warned him of an unhappy rebirth. Kosiya came to
understand the danger of stinginess. He gave away all his possessions
and became an ascetic.
We may find it difficult to part with our possessions, but when we
die we cannot take them with us. Life is short: thus when we have an
opportunity for generosity we should use it in order to combat
selfishness. Each moment of generosity now will condition the arising
of generosity in the future.
Good deeds bring about pleasant results and bad deeds bring
unpleasant results. This is the law of kamma and its fruit, of cause
and effect. [*] A deed (kamma) can produce result in the form of
rebirth. Wholesome kamma can produce a happy rebirth and unwholesome
kamma can produce an unhappy rebirth. Besides the human plane of
existence, there are other planes which are happy or unhappy. Birth
in the human plane or in a heavenly plane is a happy rebirth
conditioned by wholesome kamma; birth in a hell plane, as a ghost or
as an animal is an unhappy rebirth conditioned by unwholesome kamma.
Kamma can also produce results in the form of pleasant or unpleasant
sense experiences arising in the course of life. Seeing and hearing
are types of consciousness that are results of kamma. We see and hear
pleasant or unpleasant objects according to the kamma that produces
these experiences.
[*] See //Kamma and Its Fruit// (Wheel No. 221/224).
Stinginess can bring about -- either in this life or in a future
life -- the very result we fear: loss of possessions. Generosity can
bring about pleasant results, such as prosperity. However, when we
perform acts of generosity we should not cling to pleasant results;
clinging is unwholesome. Kamma will produce its appropriate result
whether we think of it or not. While we are giving we can have right
understanding of kamma and its result, without clinging. We may do
good deeds with the understanding of what wholesomeness is. As we
have seen, understanding is a beautiful root which may or may not
accompany wholesome consciousness. When understanding accompanies the
wholesome consciousness, it increases the degree of wholesomeness. We
cannot make understanding arise at will; it arises when there are
conditions for it. Learning what the Buddha taught is a condition for
greater understanding.
There are still other ways of practicing generosity, even when we do
not have things to give. The application of other people's good deeds
is also a type of generosity. When we notice that someone else is
doing a good deed we can appreciate his wholesomeness, and we may
express this with words of approval and praise. We may be stingy not
only with regard to our possessions but also with regard to words of
praise. Gradually one can learn to be generous in appreciating the
wholesomeness of others.
In Thailand I had an opportunity to learn about this way of
generosity, which I had not heard of before. I received a book that
was printed on the occasion of the birthday of Her Majesty Queen
Sirikit of Thailand. This book mentioned many of her good works, such
as promoting the teaching of Buddhism, supporting temples, improving
the standard of living of the people in the provinces by setting up
different projects for them. When one reads this one can sincerely
admire and rejoice in the good works of Her Majesty. In Thailand I
also often heard the Thais saying, "//anumodana//," which means
"thanks," with the inclination of their head and clasped hands. This
they do when they respect and appreciate the wholesomeness of others,
usually on occasions of presenting food to the monks or giving books
on the Buddhist teachings. It can become a wholesome custom to
express one's appreciation on such occasions.
When we know about this way of generosity we may remember to speak
about others with wholesome consciousness. In the development of
wholesomeness one has to be farsighted. One should realize that
whatever wholesomeness or unwholesomeness one accumulates today will
produce its effects in the future, even in future lives. One can
become more adept in evaluating the circumstances one is in and the
friends one has. One will then be able to judge whether or not one's
surroundings and friends are favorable for the development of
wholesomeness. One will know what kind of speech should be avoided,
what kind of speech cultivated. Often conversation tends to be about
the bad qualities of others or about useless matters which are not
helpful for the development of wholesomeness. Since we often become
engaged in conversation with others, we should learn how to turn the
conversation into an opportunity for wholesomeness.
Another way of generosity is the "sharing" of one's wholesome deeds
with others. This does not mean that other people can receive the
pleasant results of our good deeds. The Buddha taught that beings are
"heirs" to their deeds. We each receive the results of the deeds we
have done ourselves. Sharing wholesomeness with others means that our
good deeds can be the condition for the arising of wholesome
consciousness in others when they rejoice in our good deeds. We can
share wholesomeness even with beings in other planes of existence,
provided they are in planes where they can receive the benefits.
The commentary to the Without the Walls Sutta [*] narrates that King
Bimbisara offered a meal to the Buddha and omitted to dedicate his
merits to other beings. Ghosts, his relatives in a former life, had
hoped for this in vain, and because they were disappointed, in their
despair they made a horrible screeching noise throughout the night.
The Buddha explained to King Bimbisara why the ghosts had screeched.
Then King Bimbisara made another offering and uttered the dedication,
"Let this be for those relatives." The ghosts benefited from his
gifts immediately; they had wholesome states of consciousness and
their sufferings were allayed. Lotus-covered pools were generated for
them in which they could bathe and drink, and they took on the colour
of gold. Heavenly food, heavenly clothing and heavenly palaces
manifested spontaneously for their use. This story illustrates that
one can share one's good deeds with departed ones. If one's departed
relatives are not able to receive the merit, other beings can.
[*] In //The Illustrator of Ultimate Meaning
(Paramatthajotika)//, Commentary to the Minor Readings
(Khuddakapatha). London: Pali Text Society, 1960.
It is understandable that we are sad when we lose loved ones, but if
we know how to develop what is wholesome we can find great
consolation. Instead of becoming filled with sadness and aversion, we
should dedicate our good deeds to all those who are able to rejoice in
them, then our consciousness will be wholesome. It can become our
custom to share wholesomeness with others; we need not even specify
to whom we wish to dedicate it.
It is a Buddhist custom when a meal or robes are offered to monks to
pour water over one's hands while the monks recite words of blessings,
in order to give expression to one's intention to dedicate this deed
to other beings. The water symbolizes a river which fills the ocean,
and even so a wholesome deed is so plentiful that it can also be
shared with others.
Good deeds are usually classified as threefold: as generosity,
morality, and mental development. This threefold classification
should not be considered a rigid one. Morality, or abstinence from
evil deeds, can also be seen as an aspect of generosity, as an act of
kindness to others. When we abstain from evil deeds we give other
beings the opportunity to live in peace, free from harm. If we want
to develop generosity, we should not neglect mental development -- the
development of wholesome states of mind. We should know when
consciousness is unwholesome and when wholesome in order to develop
generosity and other good qualities. Knowing more about one's
different types of consciousness is mental development.
The "stream-winner" is the noble person at the first stage of
enlightenment. He has developed right understanding of the different
mental and physical phenomena that appear at the present moment and
has seen realities as they are. With the attainment of enlightenment
he experiences Nibbana, the unconditioned reality, for the first time.
At the moment of enlightenment the wrong view of self is eradicated,
and with it stinginess too is destroyed. Stinginess can never arise
again, and he thus has perfect generosity. An ordinary person may be
able to suppress stinginess temporarily, for example, at the time of
giving, but stinginess is bound to arise again so long as its
accumulated tendency remains. The stream-winner, through right
understanding, has eradicated the tendency to stinginess and can never
be overcome by it anymore.
Learning from the Buddha's teachings how to develop wholesomeness
and to eradicate defilements is the greatest blessing. Therefore the
teaching of the Dhamma, the Buddha's teaching, should be considered as
the giving of the highest gift. In learning what the Buddha taught
and in developing wholesomeness we correct our views about what is
worthwhile striving for and what is not, about what is real and what
is mere illusion. Before we heard about the Buddha's teachings we may
have considered the enjoyment of pleasant sense objects to be the goal
of our life. After we learn the Buddha's teachings we may gradually
come to see that selfish attachment gives unrest of mind and that it
is harmful to ourselves and others. We may come to understand that
wholesomeness is beneficial both for ourselves and for others, that it
brings peace of mind.
Our outlook on what is worthwhile in life can change. We correct
our views about reality when we understand what wholesome kamma is and
what unwholesome kamma is, when we understand that kamma brings its
appropriate result. We correct our views when we understand that not
a self but different types of consciousness, wholesome and
unwholesome, motivate our deeds, when we understand that these types
of consciousness arise because of different conditioning factors.
There are many degrees of correcting one's views. By developing
understanding of realities the wrong view of self can be eradicated,
and thereby perfect generosity can emerge. The effect of learning the
Dhamma should be that we become less selfish and more generous, that
we have more genuine concern for other people.
* * *
THE PERFECTION OF GIVING
by
Acariya Dhammapala
From the //Cariyapitaka Atthakatha//, translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi
in //The Discourse on the All-Embracing Net of Views: The
Brahmajala Sutta and Its Commentaries// (BPS, 1978), pp. 289-96,
pp. 322-23.
The perfection of giving is to be practiced by benefiting beings in
many ways -- by relinquishing one's happiness, belongings, body and
life to others, by dispelling their fear, and by instructing them in
the Dhamma.
Herein, giving is threefold by way of the object to be given: the
giving of material things (//amisadana//), the giving of fearlessness
(//abhayadana//), and the giving of the Dhamma (//dhammadana//).
Among these, the object to be given can be twofold: internal and
external. The external gift is tenfold: food, drink, garments,
vehicles, garlands, scents, unguents, bedding, dwellings, and lamps.
These gifts, again, become manifold by analyzing each into its
constituents, e.g., food into hard food, soft food, etc. The external
gift can also become sixfold when analyzed by way of sense objects:
visible forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tangibles, and non-sensory
objects. The sense objects, such as visible forms, become manifold
when analyzed into blue, etc. So too, the external gift is manifold
by way of the divers valuables and belongings, such as gems, gold,
silver, pearls, coral, etc.; fields, land, parks, etc.; slaves, cows,
buffaloes, etc.
When the Great Man (the Bodhisatta) gives an external object, he
gives whatever is needed to whomever stands in need of it; and knowing
by himself that someone is in need of something, he gives it even
unasked, much more when asked. He gives sufficiently, not
insufficiently, when there is something to be given. He does not give
because he expects something in return. And when there is not enough
to give sufficiently to all, he distributes evenly whatever can be
shared. But he does not give things that issue in affliction for
others, such as weapons, poisons, and intoxicants. Nor does he give
amusements which are harmful and lead to negligence. And he does not
give unsuitable food or drink to a person who is sick, even though he
might ask for it, and he does not give what is suitable beyond the
proper measure.
Again, when asked, he gives to householders things appropriate for
householders, and to monks things appropriate for monks. He gives to
his mother and father, kinsmen and relatives, friends and colleagues,
children, wife, slaves, and workers, without causing pain to anyone.
Having promised an excellent gift, he does not give something mean. He
does not give because he desires gain, honor, or fame, or because he
expects something in return, or out of expectation of some fruit other
than the supreme enlightenment. He does not give detesting the gift
or those who ask. He does not give a discarded object as a gift, not
even to unrestrained beggars who revile and abuse him. Invariable he
gives with care, with a serene mind, full of compassion. He does not
give through belief in superstitious omens: but he gives believing in
kamma and its fruit.
When he gives he does not afflict those who ask by making them do
homage to him, etc.; but he gives without afflicting others. He does
not give a gift with the intention of deceiving others or with the
intention of injuring; he gives only with an undefiled mind. He does
not give a gift with harsh words or a frown, but with words of
endearment, congenial speech, and a smile on his face.
Whenever greed for a particular object becomes excessive, due to its
high value and beauty, its antiquity, or personal attachment, the
Bodhisatta recognizes his greed, quickly dispels it, seeks out some
recipients, and gives it away. And if there should be an object of
limited value that can be given and a suppliant expecting it, without
a second thought he bestirs himself and gives it to him, honoring him
as though he were an uncelebrated sage. Asked for his own children,
wife, slaves, workers, and servants, the Great Man does not give them
while they are as yet unwilling to go, afflicted with grief. But when
they are willing and joyful, then he gives them. But if he knows that
those who ask for them are demonic beings -- ogres, demons, or goblins
-- or men of cruel disposition, then he does not give them away. So
too, he will not give his kingdom to those intent on the harm,
suffering, and affliction of the world, but he would give it away to
righteous men who protect the world with Dhamma.
This, firstly, is the way to practice the giving of external gifts.
The internal gift should be understood in two ways. How? Just as a
man, for the sake of food and clothing, surrenders himself to another
and enters into servitude and slavery, in the same way the Great Man,
wishing for the supreme welfare and happiness of all beings, desiring
to fulfill his own perfection of giving, with a spiritually-oriented
mind, for the sake of enlightenment, surrenders himself to another and
enters into servitude, placing himself at the disposal of others.
Whatever limbs or organs of his might be needed by others -- hands,
feet, eyes, etc. -- he gives them away to those who need them, without
trembling and without cowering. He is no more attached to them, and
no more shrinks away (from giving them to others), than if they were
external objects. Thus the Great Man relinquishes an internal object
in two ways: for the enjoyment of others according to their pleasure;
or, while fulfilling the wishes of those who ask, for his own
self-mastery. In this matter he is completely generous, and thinks:
"I will attain enlightenment through non-attachment." Thus the giving
of the internal gift should be understood.
* * * * * * * *
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
BHIKKHU BODHI is a Buddhist monk of American nationality, originally
from New York City. Ordained in Sri Lanka in 1972, he has been Editor
for the BPS since 1984 and its President since 1988.
LILY DE SILVA is Professor of Pali and Buddhist Studies at the
University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka. A regular contributor to
Buddhist scholarly and popular journals, she is also the editor of the
subcommentary to he Digha Nikaya, published by the Pali Text Society
of London.
SUSAN ELBAUM JOOTLA is an American Buddhist living in northern India
and a long-term practitioner of vipassana meditation in the tradition
of Sayagyi U Ba Khin. Her previous BPS publications include
//Investigation for Insight// (Wheel No. 301/302) and //Inspiration
from Enlightened Nuns// (Wheel No. 349/350).
NINA VAN GORKOM is a Dutch Buddhist who first encountered Buddhism in
Thailand. A keen student of the Abhidhamma, she is the author of
//Buddhism in Daily Life// and //Abhidhamma in Daily Life//.
M.O'C WALSHE has been an active Buddhist since 1951 and is a past
chairman of the English Sangha Trust. He is the author of numerous
articles on Buddhism and translator of the complete Digha Nikaya under
the title //Thus Have I Heard: The Long Discourses of the Buddha//
(London: Wisdom, 1987).
* * * * * * * *
THE BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
The BPS is an approved charity dedicated to making known the Teaching
of the Buddha, which has a vital message for people of all creeds.
Founded in 1958, the BPS has published a wide variety of books and
booklets covering a great range of topics. Its publications include
accurate annotated translations of the Buddha's discourses, standard
reference works, as well as original contemporary expositions of
Buddhist thought and practice. These works present Buddhism as it
truly is -- a dynamic force which has influenced receptive minds for
the past 2500 years and is still as relevant today as it was when it
first arose. A full list of our publications will be sent upon request
with an enclosure of U.S. $1.00 or its equivalent to cover air mail
postage.
Write to:
The Hony. Secretary
BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
P.O. Box 61
54, Sangharaja Mawatha
Kandy Sri Lanka
or
The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies
Lockwood Road
Barre, MA 01005 USA
Tel: (508) 355-2347
* * * * * * * *
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TITLE OF WORK: Dana: The Practice of Giving (Wheel Publication No.
367/369)
FILENAME: WHEEL367.ZIP
AUTHOR: Bhikkhu Bodhi (ed.)
AUTHOR'S ADDRESS: c/o Buddhist Publication Society
PUBLISHER'S ADDRESS: Buddhist Publication Society
P.O. Box 61
54, Sangharaja Mawatha
Kandy, Sri Lanka
COPYRIGHT HOLDER: Buddhist Publication Society
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 1990
RIGHTS AND RESTRICTIONS: See paragraph below.
DATE OF DHARMANET DISTRIBUTION: October 1995
ORIGIN SITE: Access to Insight BBS, Pepperell MA * (508) 433-5847 (96:903/1)
The copyright holder retains all rights to this work and hereby grants
electronic distribution rights to DharmaNet International. This work may
be freely copied and redistributed electronically, provided that the file
contents (including this Agreement) are not altered in any way and that it
is distributed at no cost to the recipient. You may make printed copies of
this work for your personal use; further distribution of printed copies
requires permission from the copyright holder. If this work is used by a
teacher in a class, or is quoted in a review, the publisher shall be
notified of such use. See the title page of this work for any additional
rights and restrictions that may apply.
It is the spirit of dana, freely offered generosity, which has kept the
entire Buddhist tradition alive for more than 2,500 years. If you find
this work of value, please consider sending a donation to the author or
publisher, so that these works may continue to be made available. May your
generosity contribute to the happiness of all beings everywhere.
DharmaNet International, P.O. Box 4951, Berkeley, CA 94704-4951
[end]
Return to The Skeptic Tank's main Index page.
The views and opinions stated within this web page are those of the
author or authors which wrote them and may not reflect the views and
opinions of the ISP or account user which hosts the web page. The
opinions may or may not be those of the Chairman of The Skeptic Tank.