Fourteen Kinds 0f
Puggalika Dana
The Buddha enumerated the
benefits of the various types of Puggalika dana as follows.
There are altogether
fourteen types of individuals as donee; namely,
1. the Buddha,
2. the Lesser Buddha (Pacceka Buddha),
3. one who has attained Arahatta-phala (Arahat),
4. one who has attained Arahatta-magga,
5. one who has attained Anagami-phala (Anagami),
6. one who has attained Anagami-magga,
7. one who has attained Sakadagami-phala (Sakadagami),
8. one who has attained Sakadagami-magga,
9. one who has attained Sotapatti-phala (Sotapanna),
10.
one who has
attained Sotapatti-magga,
11.
the recluse
who has attained supernormal powers outside the Buddha’s Teaching (Sasana),
12.
the worldling
who keeps moral precepts,
13.
the worldling
with no morality, and
14.
the animals.
The meritorious deed of
offering a meal to an animal may bear benefits which enables one to enjoy
longevity, good looks, happiness, great strength and great wisdom for one
hundred existences.
Donating a meal to a
person with no morality will bear the same results for one thousand existences
whereas offering a meal to a person with morality will produce the same results
for one lakh existences.
Again, offering a meal to
a recluse with supernormal powers will bear similar benefits for ten-lakh
million existences, and offering a meal to one who has attained Sotapattimagga
will produce similar benefits for countless numbers of existences.
Offering a meal to Noble
Ones (Ariyas), the Lesser Buddha and the Buddha can produce infinite benefits
for infinite existances.
Note that the benefits
significantly escalate from 14(the animals) to 1(the Buddha).
Only if one makes donation
to an immoral person with a connivance towards that person’s misdeed, such
donation is a blameworthy one. But if one donates something to such a person
without discrimination the type of donee and without a connivance towards a donee’s
misdeed, such donation is blameless.
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