The 38 Ways to Happiness :- Generosity (4)

The 38 Ways to Happiness. The Fifth Group of Blessings. Blessing Fifteen :- Generosity. https://dmc.tv/a10885

Dhamma Articles > Buddhist Teaching
[ May 10^th, 2011 ] - [ read : 18262 ]

Blessing Fifteen:
Generosity

D. WHO TO GIVE
D.1 Giving to an individual:
The Buddha taught in the Dakkhiṇāvibhaṅga Sutta (M.iii.253) that the amount of merit from a gift to an individual [paṭipuggalikadāna] is in proportion to the purity of the recipient. If you give food:

1.    to a humble animal it will give long-life [āyu], good complexion [vaṇṇa], happiness [sukha], strength [bala] and intelligence [paṭibhāṇa] for no less than 100 lifetimes;
2.    to a person who does not keep the Precepts your gift will give the same fruits for 1,000 lifetimes;
3.    to a person who keeps the Precepts your gift will give the same fruits for 100,000 lifetimes;
4.    to a hermit or ascetic outside the Buddhist monastic community who has attained some degree of mental powers your gift will give the same fruits for 10 ¹² lifetimes;
5.    to a person who practices with the intention to train himself to become a stream-enterer, the fruit is countless;
6.    to a person has actually attained sainthood at the level of stream-entry [sotāpana] then the merit is even more;
7.    to a person who practices with the intention to train himself to become a once-returner [sakidāgāmi] then the merit is even more;
8.    to a person has attained sainthood at the level of once-returner [sakidāgāmi] then the merit is even more;
9.    to a person who practices with the intention to train himself to become a non-returner [anāgami] then the merit is even more;
10.    to a person has attained sainthood at the level of non-returner [anāgami] then the merit is even more;
11.    to a person who practices with the intention to train himself to become an arahant then the merit is even more;
12.    to a person has attained sainthood at the level of arahant then the merit is even more;
13.    to a paccekabuddha then the merit is even more;
14.    to a fully-enlightened Buddha then the merit is even more;

If you favour a particular person when you are making your donation, then you the amount of merit gained as the result of the gift will be reduced. Some people go to a particular temple and single out a particular monk for their attention. It is almost like something personal between the giver and the recipient. The giver feels that there must be something personal between themselves and a monk before they will give that monk any support. They will not help strangers. They might look down on monks of low rank. Their mind is rather narrow. Of course they still receive merit from their good deed, but it is slightly reduced from what it could be — because the merit in all of these categories of recipient cannot beat the merit from offering a gift to the community of monks.

D.2 Offering to the monastic community
Offering to the monastic community [saṅghadāna] means giving a gift which is not specific to any particular monk in a monastic community. Such a person does not mind who the monastic community delegates to receive a particular gift from them. Even if the community sent a novice to receive their gift they wouldn’t mind. Their mind would be filled with faith before, during and after their making of the gift. The Buddha taught that anyone who is sufficiently broad-minded to support the Saṅgha in this way will receive countless merit.