Dharma Talk Summary - Generosity

August 8, 2010
Talk Given by T'ajin Kevin Hickey
"Generosity"

Dhammapada Reading - Chapter 24 "Craving"

The gift of the teaching surpasses every gift.
The flavor of the teaching surpasses every flavor.
Delight from the teaching surpasses all delight.
The dissolution of craving conquers every pain.

Possessions hurt the unthinking person,
but not those seeking the other shore.
Because of his craving for possessions,
the unthinking one hurts himself,
just as he hurts all others.

Weeds are the ruin of fields.
Passion is the ruin of this human world.
So, to those without passion,
what is given yields abundant fruit.

There are three poisons that are often talked about in Buddhism and they are Greed, Aversion, and Delusion. My talk today is about generosity, the virtue that when cultivated properly, can help eliminate greed and the attitudes that fuel greedy behavior. Before I start talking about generosity though I want to share with you a short Zen parable that illustrates the negative consequences of greed. This story is from the collection Zen Flesh, Zen Bones and is titled, The Black Nosed Buddha:

A Nun who was searching for enlightenment made a statue of Buddha and covered it with gold leaf. Wherever she went she carried this golden Buddha with her. Years passed and, still carrying her Buddha, the nun came to live in a small temple in a country where there were many Buddhas, each one with its own particular shrine. The nun wished to burn incense before her golden Buddha. Not liking the idea of the perfume straying to the others, she devised a funnel through which the smoke would ascend only to her statue. This blackened the nose of the golden Buddha, making it especially ugly.

Generosity is a fundamental virtue in Buddhist ethics and is often listed as the 1st in many virtuous lists. Generosity is the 1st of the 6/10 Paramitas, or perfections of certain cultivated virtues. It is also included as one of the 10 Wholesome Actions, A base of social harmony, a virtue as a ruler, a virtue as a householder and one of the 3 pillars of Dharma, or making merit. So clearly generosity is important.

I think the Western, or American idea, of what we view as generosity, and what constitutes an act of generosity may be slightly different than what was tradtionally understood as generosity in Buddhist Asia and also historically. Here, when we think of generosity we often think of donating some money to a charitable cause we support or perhaps volunteering some of our time somewhere. But today I want to explore how generosity can extend beyond merely giving money or time.

The Sanskrit word for generosity is Dana, which simply means giving. But I think a more appropriate word that I heard recently may be Chaga, which means letting go, or relinquishment. And that's what generosity really is, letting go of our ego, or our possessions or other things that we think we own.

The Buddha saw 8 different reasons for giving. One reason a person might give is to reciprocate a gift you have received. If someone gives you something, then perhaps it is custom to return a gift. Another reason may be to give a gift in hopes of receiving a gift in return. You could also give thinking that it is good to give, or that it will improve your reputation or status. You could give out of tradition, such as at birthdays or Christmas. The final reason the Buddha gave for a reason we give is to adorn the mind. This means that the reason for giving shouldn't be driven by motives that are selfish at their root but should be inspired through a desire to rid oneself of greed and selfishness.

There are several benefits to practicing generosity. Generosity can help you reduce your attachment. It can help develop concentration and wisdom. It can also have positive karmic influence for yourself and others.

There is another story I'd like to share, about a wandering forest monk. This monk was good friends with the king in a nearby village so as a sign of his gratitude for their friendship and the monk's teachings, the king gave him a golden alms bowl to carry with him. The monk, being alone in the forest with his golden bowl was spotted by a man who stated to follow him for a few days. The monk noticed he was being followed and suspected that the man may want to steal his golden bowl as that was the only valuable possession he had. So one night, the monk pretended to go to sleep and when the man approached the bowl the monk suddenly rose, startling the man. The monk extended the golden bowl towards the man and said, "I've noticed your eye on my golden bowl for some time, obviously you would like to have it. Here take it, it is yours."
The man was surprised but accepted the monk's gift and left with the bowl.

By the monk giving the bowl as a gift he spared the man from the negative karma of stealing the bowl and becoming a thief if he hadn't of given it to him.

This story also teaches us that it is important to become aware of others needs. Someone once asked the Buddha when was an appropriate time to give and the Buddha replied with, "Wherever you feel inspired", or, "Wherever you recognize a need."

As many of you may know I recently started working at Starbucks and one of the benefits they give you while working there is a lot of free coffee. So everyday I leave work I get to take home something to drink. As I was driving home yesterday with my chai tea latte, I saw some kids running a lemonade stand in front of their house. I don't know about you, but it's been a long time since I've seen a lemonade stand. I'm not sure if they all got busted by the health department for not being registered vendors or what but nonetheless I was still surprised to see it. I also noticed the kids sitting there alone, looking bored. Not knowing if they had any customers at all, and feeling compassionate towards their efforts to have a successful day,I turned around to buy a lemonade although I already had a drink in hand. I was able to recognize a need and to give without expecting anything in return. Another common mistake many people make is that only the destitute and poverty-stricken populations benefit from generosity but everyone can benefit from generosity no matter how rich or poor. It's more about the recognition of needs and given when and what is appropriate.

There are 3 types of gifts we can give. Most people are aware of material gifts. Money, clothes, food, etc. But two other gifts we may not immediately think of are fearlessness and the gift of the Dharma. From our Dhammapada reading today, "the gift of the teaching surpasses every gift." And when we practice our precepts, and promise not to kill, practice such things as compassion and generosity we make a more peaceful world around ourselves and give others the freedom from living in fear, knowing that we intend no harm.

Of the things we can give there is an extensive list. We can give time or money, as we talked about before. We can also give kindness. By just being open, and friendly, radiating a welcoming and kind attitude, smiling at someone, can have great effects and spread kindness easily. We can give patience, so often, especially in this area, people are very attached to time, and when they are slowed down get angry that someone is wasting their time.

Everyone know those self checkout lanes in the grocery stores? And how some people that use those machines, perhaps don't know how to use them so well or take longer that you think they should take? I was at Kroger earlier this week on my lunch break which is only 30 minutes and grabbed some sushi and a pop to buy through the express self checkout. All the lanes were full and I noticed there was one woman who had probably taken more groceries through the line than she probably should of. Noticing how long it was taking her to scan and bag by herself I offered to help her bag, to help move the line more efficiently. She was pleased and appreciated my help and immediately looked relieved.

There was another man using the same checkout machine another time that was obviously having a very bad day for whatever reason and it appeared that his machine was malfunctioning. He was cursing and kicking the machine and was overtly showing his frustration. While all the other machines were busy again and the one I was waiting for had just opened up I offered my machine to the man, telling him I could see his machine wasn't working properly. His attitude almost immediately changed and I ended up waiting a bit longer to check out but it wasn't that much of a problem.

In addition to giving, time, money, kindness and patience we can give fearlessness as I mentioned earlier and we can give forgiveness. If someone has hurt you or did some wrongdoing in your opinion you can give a gift of forgiveness and let go of your grudge. No one else can give forgiveness but you.

We can give attention, gratitude and praise. These can all be acts of generosity.

We are all recipients of generosity and we are all dependent on each other. A Korean Zen master by the name of Ko Bong said, "Forgot I, Give, You" Without a recipient there can be do donor and without a gift there cannot be either a recipient or a donor. Likewise, I wouldn't be able to donate if it weren't for my parents, my teachers, my employers, the sun, oxygen, people who make the material gifts I decide to give or anything else. We are all interdependent and rely on each other more than we remember sometimes.

Generosity also isn't about the quantity of what you give but the quality, and the motives for your giving. Sometimes it is a more precious gift if it is small and from the heart than a large gift that is given for selfish reasons.

I want to end with a reading of the Aditta Sutta, also known as the House on Fire:

When a house is on fire,
the vessel salvaged
is the one that will be of use, not the one left there to burn.

So when the world is on fire,
with aging and death,
one should salvage [one's wealth] by giving: what's given is well salvaged.

What's given bears fruit as pleasure.
What isn't given does not:
thieves take it away, or kings; it gets burnt by fire or lost.

Then in the end
one leaves the body
together with one's possessions.
Knowing this, the intelligent man enjoys possessions and gives.

Having enjoyed and given in line with his means,
uncensured he goes to the heavenly state.