No.213 - The sense of charity

The Sense 0f Charity, Dispensing Charity & The Advantages 0f Charity

The Sense 0f Charity

Charity means donation or giving away one’s own properties to others. There are three kinds of charity: giving material offerings(Amisa dana),giving sanctuary and protection to animals from being killed(Abhaya dana)and giving doctrinal lectures(Dhamma dana).In dispensing the charity, volition(cetana)and the belief in karma and its results(saddha)play important roles. In growing paddy, the good rains in the beginning, in the middle and in the later part of the rainy season can produce a good yield of rice. So also in performing the charity, the accomplishment of three steps of volition can produce great benefits to the donors. These three steps of volition are:---

(1) Volition that arises before giving (Pubba cetana);

(2) Volition that arises while giving (Munca cetana); and

(3) Volition that arises after giving (Apara cetana).

It is very important to make the three-fold volition keen and pure, whenever we perform any act of charity.

Dispensing Charity

Every pious Buddhist more or less carries out the meritorious deeds of dispensing charity, observing morality and practicing meditation. Out of these three, the Buddhists usually perform the charitable deeds daily. At every house of Buddhists, they offer food, water and flowers dedicated to the Triple Gems every morning. Moreover, with generous mindedness, they offer alms-food to the Samghas who go round from house to house for collecting alms-food, in procession or individually. In some towns, there are many hundreds of the members of Samghas going in procession for alms-food. The Buddhists heartily believe that the daily act of offering alms-food to the Samgha is the main cause for the perpetuation of the Buddha’s Teaching. According to their wealth, they occasionally make other donations such as inviting the monks to their home and offering food, donating the material requisites to the Samghas, etc.The charity is the first item of ten meritorious deeds.

The Advantages 0f Charity

Charity is praised by the Buddha in many ways. It is: ---

(1) The stairway to celestial realms;

(2) The packet of provisions for the long journey of rebirths;

(3) The direct way to a good destination;

(4) The support to attain Nibbana;

(5) The condition for becoming a ruler;

(6) Capable of producing luxuries and wealth;

(7) Capable of enjoying happiness;

(8) Capable of self-protection;

(9) Capable of civilizing the uncivilized;

(10) Capable of bringing success in everything; and

(11) The noblest auspiciousness.

No,212 - Greatly Beneficial Charity and Less Beneficial Charity.

Greatly Beneficial Charity and Less Beneficial Charity

While the Buddha was dwelling at the Jetavana monastery in Savatthi, the female lay devotee, Nandamata, who lived in Velukantati City was offering alms-food to the Samgha headed by the two chief disciples of the Buddha. On seeing this greatly beneficial offering with His divine eye, the Buddha delivered the discourse on charity which can bring great benefits.

A greatly beneficial charity is accompanied with six factors, three factors pertaining to the donor and three factors pertaining to the donee.

The three factors pertaining to the donor are:

(1) The donor is delighted before giving to charity;

(2) His consciousness and volition are keen and clear while he is giving to charity;

(3) He is delighted after giving to charity.

The three factors pertaining to the donee are:

(4) The donee is free from attachment (raga) or he is striving to be free from it;

(5) The donee is free from hatred (dosa) or he is striving to be free from it;

(6) The donee is free from bewilderment (moha) or he is striving to be free from it.

The Buddha proclaimed that the charity which is endowed with the above six factors can bear infinite benefits. If one of the factors is missing, the charity will bear less benefit, and consequently it is called less beneficial charity.

Moreover, the charity which is endowed with the following four factors can bring great benefits “immediately”. So it is also called greatly beneficial charity. The four factors are:

(1) The things to be offered are procured or earned by righteous means;

(2) The conviction and volitions of the donor are keen and clear before, during, and after the offering.

(3) The donee must be an arahant or anagami.

(4) The donee must have just arisen from dwelling in his attainment of absorption in cessation (Nirodhasamapatti).

The charity endowed with these four factors is called greatly beneficial charity because it produces its great benefits in this very life. If one of the four factors is missing, it is not possible to bear benefits “immediately”, and the charity is denoted as the less beneficial charity.

Moreover, the offering endowed with the following five kinds of factors is called greatly beneficial charity. They are:

(1) The donor must be endowed with morality and good conduct;

(2) The donee also must be endowed with morality and good conduct;

(3) The objects of offering must be things acquired by honest means;

(4) The conviction and volitions of the donor are keen and clear before, during and after the offering;

(5) The donor must be one who is endowed with firm belief in Kamma and its results.