The 38 Ways to Happiness:- Generosity (1)

Blessing Fifteen:
Generosity

 

 

A. INTRODUCTION
A.1 Introduction to Blessing Fifteen
Buddhism places great importance on generosity because it is seen as the origin of wealth. The Law of Karma states that “we shall reap what we sow” and if we provide for the happiness of others through our generosity, the karmic fruit will be that we will always be provided for in our own happiness and convenience. Thus Buddhism sees generosity less in a material way (benefit for the recipient) than in its spiritual fruits (benefits to the giver).

 

A.2 The Importance of Giving
A.2.1 Generosity is a basic virtue
You may ask yourself why, if generosity is so fundamental, why it is not the first blessing. However, you must not forget that all the previous Blessings are necessary preparation for the actual performance of good deeds and recognizing and setting a foundation for their accrual. From Blessing Fifteen onwards, all the content of the blessings is concerned with real good deeds. There are five good reasons for choosing generosity as a first priority in doing good deeds (Siam Rath Edn. 33/2/428):

 

1. It is the first step on the stairway to heaven: It engenders the compassionate way of thinking characteristic of an angel even from the time one is still living in the human realm;

2. It is like provisions that you can take with you: If you have been generous to others in your past, then in the future you will be on the receiving end of generosity. No matter how far your spiritual journey may take you, with the provisions you have stored up for yourself through our generosity, you will be sure never to fall on hard times.

3. It is the direct path to Nirvana: It clears the way for doing other sorts of virtue with ease. To give an example, when peasants slaughter animals it is not that they don’t know the karmic retribution of what they do — it because of force of circumstances of their poverty. If you are poor it is hard to keep the precepts properly. If you are poor, the opportunity to sit and listen to a sermon is hard to find. Even the price of the bus to the temple is hard to find. If you are poor, then you have little chance of obtaining a good education. If you are poor, you won’t see the point of sitting for meditation. If you are generous then it will stop you from falling into poverty and the other sorts of good deed will come naturally.

4. Generosity is a splendid means of escaping the cycle of rebirth. Anyone who is going to escape the cycle of rebirth must have faith in the performance of good deeds. As for the good deeds for which it is easiest to see the fruition in the here and now, there is nothing to beat generosity.

5. Generosity purifies the mind: The most direct way we can cure ourselves of stinginess lurking in the mind is to be generous. The more you give, the more you rid yourself from stinginess in the mind and the more and more control you gain over your desires.

 

A.2.2 Generosity makes the world go round
You can offer money to hire a person but if they don’t want to do the job, you can offer the highest salary in vain. Generosity is like the down-payment needed to get a new project rolling. If it wasn’t for the generosity of our parents, how could we have survived after the moment of our birth? If it wasn’t for the extra hours of work put in by our teachers, would we be so able to make sense of the world around us today? Thus it is true that before all else one must practice generosity.

 

A.2.3 Respect for generosity makes you respectable too!
Some people complain that others show them less respect than they deserve. If we are moved by the value of giving, then others will respect us for that (i.e. we have respect for generosity) then when our generosity gives its fruit then we too will be the object of respect. If you find that others never treat you with much respect then the situation is telling you that your attitude to giving is a little reluctant. Thus, if you find you are not being treated with enough respect, then don’t go blaming others, put the blame on yourself first. Generosity is thus an indispensable prerequisite for being a ‘pillar of society’.