INTERMEDIATE PAPER 1 : WHAT WE SEEK IN LIFE

MODULE 6: The Art of Giving (1)

"The natural law of receiving is to give."

The Beggar Approach

As you are dinning with your family members in an open-air restaurant, a young and dirty beggar walks to your table and asks for some money.  How would you react?

a.       You chase away the beggar, "go away you lazy good for nothing fellow! 
     Go and find a job and earn for your living!"

b.       Buy him his dinner instead of giving him the cash.

c.       Throw a dollar to him and ask him not to disturb you again.

d.       Ask him to clean your shoes and gave him a dollar for the good work done.

In life there are a lot of impromptu challenges that you might face that will not occur for the second time.

Generally we always think the more we receive the happier we will be.  We almost forgot that the more we give the more we will actually receive.

Thus we need to acquire the art of giving to enhance the virtue of our generosity to its utmost perfection.

In doing charity, we can maximize the merits accrue if we truly understand and committed in every process in the art of giving.  By continuous upgrading our performance, we will earn the highest level of generosity thus empowered our real happiness in the act of giving.

Dana

Dana (a Pali word) basically means giving, generosity, charity or liberality.  Dana is the fundamental virtue in the path of spiritual achievement.  It is the first step towards eliminating the defilement of greed, hatred and delusion.  For every act of giving is an act of loving-kindness and compassion.

 Dana is not simply giving of material things, it also means sharing or giving of kindness, gentleness, comfort, peace, trust, patience, attention, and a sympathetic ear in one's action, speech, and thought.

The purpose of performing Dana is to remove greed and it is done with Right Understanding.

1.   Consideration of the Giver

There are three important tasks a donor shall observed while performing dana. 
One shall …

a.  Feel Happy on the wholesome deed that is performed…                 ~ AN VI:37 ~

• Before the act - during the preparatory stage, one should realize and appreciate that what one thinks, plans and does is commendable and wholesome.
  

• During the act - while performing the whole-some deed one shall be mindful and be aware of one's action and not to be absent-minded.
  

• After the act - whenever one recalls his good deed, one should rejoice and be glad and not to regret about it.

b. Believe in Kamma

When a Dana is performed with right understanding of the Law of Action and Results (Kamma-vipaka), then we are aware that we are the owners of our own deeds.

Good deeds beget good results while bad deeds beget bad results. Mixture of good and bad deeds begets a mixture of good and bad results. Deeds that are neither good nor bad beget results that are neither good nor bad.

Dana performed with right understanding is accompanied by wisdom. It is important for us later in our life when we enjoy the results of our good deeds; it is also accompanied by wisdom. 

It will be a set back to one's practice in meditation if one is not able to understand the law of Kamma.  It will be difficult to make progress and attain higher insight knowledge.

c.  Making a Resolution (Adhitthana) for the attainment of Nibbana.

Whenever one does a good deed, one should make an aspiration for the attainment of Nibbana - the cessation of suffering. 

One can aspire for:

i.   Good Health as it is needed to aid one in our meditation practice; imagine how many hindrances will arise for one when doing good if we own a weak physical body.

ii.  Wealth.  A person with sufficient wealth has more opportunity to continue to perform Dana and has supportive conditions for the above practice. Put yourself in a beggar's shoes, you will be spending much of your time in seeking for your own survival that you'll hardly think of giving to others.

iii. Happiness. In order to perfect our practice on the Right Path, one's mind must be in a state of joy and calm. Happiness here also refers to rebirth in the happy realms such as human world and the deva's realms.

iv. Opportunity to learn, practiced and realize the Dhamma until the attainment of Nibbana. This spiritual aspiration is highly regarded for it's right direction towards the final goal. It is important here to note that the first three are considered as material aspiration that provides the supporting conditions for the fourth one.

Knowing that there are many more rebirths for us before we can perfect ourselves, we require a continuous input of Dhamma (Truth) and the opportunity to practice and realize them.

Notice the time frame in this aspiration - “…until the attainment of Nibbana” 
A proper aspiration is carefully structured with consideration on the specific time frame and condition.

Here is an example of a poorly structured aspiration.

"… may I meet the future Buddha."

Supposing this aspiration is achieved.  Since there is no consideration for the condition on whom you will be, you may be born as an enemy to the Buddha … and that means Big trouble ahead!

Remember the fulfillments of one's aspiration come from the power of one's meritorious deeds and not just wishing and hoping.

“May this Dana of mine be a condition for the attainment of Nibbana”

When one makes such an aspiration, conditions that are conducive for the practice of meditation will arise and progress will be faster and easier in one’s meditation.

8 Ways why people give ( AN VIII )

They are those who give :-

1.   of one’s accord

2.   from fear

3.   thinking, “ he gave to me, ... “

4.   thinking, “ he will give to me... “

5.   thinking, “ it is good to give. “

6.   thinking “ I prepare some food, but they do not; though I cook, 
 I am not worthy to stop giving to those who prepare no food “

7.   thinking, “ from this alms-giving of mine, a fair report will spread abroad.”

8.   to enrich and mellow the heart.

Make a reflection on the last time you give something to someone. How would you classify your giving?

The donor's mental volition or intention decides the purity and the merit of his generosity.  It is the domain for the whole art of giving.

Even if you were to give out of fear, such as in the case of extortion but if you develop an understanding of detachment, such as in the 6^th case, you are giving out of compassion.

In many cases, we choose the 4^th and the 7^th as our main intention for giving which brings down our level of giving to an inferior stage.

Three Types of Givers

1.  The Slave of Giving

He who gives what he does not want. A very common practice we normally do. During spring-cleaning time, we gave away those clothes that are not fit, those things we do not want to use anymore, … to others.

Another typical example happens during family dinner.  Your mum accidentally added extra salt into one of your favourite dish and you being "generous" take less than your normal consumption so that others can have a bigger share of it. - A mental volition!

2.  The Friend of Giving

He who shares what he needs. Time, wealth, love and understanding, bodily possession such as blood and kidney, are essential needs to perform one's activities. Being able to share these with others is like a friend who helps.

Once, a pig and a cow were discussing on why human beings prefer the cow to the pig. The pig was saying, "I gave so much to them, almost every part of my body is used by them but yet they don't appreciate me."

The cow replied, "You only give after you die, but I gave while I am alive."

There is an advantage of giving while you are alive or when you directly witness your wholesome act. One can experience the joy and happiness, personally.

3. The Master of Giving

He who gives what he requires most. It varies from one person to another. Some apportion more time and service to help others, compared to the time they spend for themselves or with their family.

An example of the situation is when you have only one piece of bread in your hand and you gave it away to another person because you think he needs it more and you. Yet you can still be happy although you are hungry.

Here again we can categorize the Giver into two types

The Active Giver

-   he who looks for the opportunity to give.

-   he also apportions his wealth accordingly and discharges his duty in giving comfort and security to his family, relatives, friends and himself besides performing charity to the virtuous and the needy.

-   he is one who performs Meritorious Deeds
( Doing Good )

An active giver does not wait for the beggar to walk to him. Instead he walks towards the beggar and offers his help. 

The Passive Giver

-   he who does not take what is not given or without permission ( stealing )

-   he who does not take more than what is given

-   he is one who is keeping his Abstinent Precepts
( Avoiding Evil )

By not taking what is not given, one is giving trust, peace of mind and a sense of security to others.

The main factor that binds Friendship is one's generosity.  If one knows how to …

give what is hard to give,
do what is hard to do, and
bear what is hard to bear.

~AN III:133~

People remember and appreciate your giving ("I give because he gave to me…") and in return they always come back to you for your kindness and helpfulness.  They forgive your minor misdeeds and repay your good deeds by giving something back to you.

"Poor indeed is a man who can only receive
and not able to give."

For every penny and help you received, you have to repay back to the giver.  The more you receive the more you owe them and if you do not give back to them (not necessary the same things or amount) or to other people, than forever you will be in debt.

A person, who gives little, receives also, very little merits and thus enjoys little results from that little act.

The major decider or domain in the art of giving lies in the virtues of the donors.  If his intention is pure and sincere, then the degree of his Dana will be determined accordingly.

1. What is the message from the picture of the tree?

2. What are the three important steps to perform a good Dana?