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Venerable Ajahn Vajiro -
Dana
The following teaching has
been taken from a talk given by Ajahn Vajiro at Chithurst Buddhist Monastery in
1988.
'Giving' is the beginning and the end of the
religious life.
The feeling of separation is an experience
that all living beings have. We come across it within ourselves and can see it
in animals also. There's a recognition that 'this' is separate from 'that'; this
body is separate from that one. And we make various attempts to get over this
sense of separation. Perhaps the most primitive reaction to it, is 'taking'. We
take from the environment around us - absorbing into ourselves. We take food and
we take power. This 'taking' can be one way of trying to cope with the sense of
separation.
A slightly more
refined way of trying to cope with this experience is 'making a bargain', one
being with another - a sort of agreement. We give something to get something in
return: 'If I give this much, then I expect that much back'. Using such
bargaining structures is perhaps the most common way we relate with each other
as humans - the shopping we do, agreements we make with our spouse, or with the
children: 'I'll give you this and you give me that.' So this can be another way
of dealing with this feeling of separateness.
Then there is
sharing. That's a little bit more open, isn't it? There's a recognition of the
separation of one being from an other, and a willingness to share. In this way
both parties are benefiting from the arrangement. It's akin to a bargain, but
it's a little more spacious, both expecting some sort of enjoyment from it -
some sort of gratification.
But with each of
these ways of relating, there's always reinforcement of the sense of
separateness. With taking, with bargaining, and even with sharing there's still
a sense of one being separate from the other. So it's not really transcending or
getting beyond our separateness. This is where Dana works so well. With Dana
or real giving, real generosity, there is no expectation of return. It's not a
bargain, it's not even a sharing. It's not that we share something with another,
and keep some for ourselves. We actually give completely, without expecting
anything back.
A lot of our giving is not
giving completely. It's imperfect giving. But this is something that can be
worked on. We can consider how to perfect giving over a period of time. It is
the first of the 'Ten Paramitas'
[1]
. We understand from the texts that it
was the last of the ten that the Buddha perfected, but as Theravadin Buddhists,
we have it first on the list.
I think Ajahn
Buddhadasa once said that if we perfect one of the Paramitas fully, then
all the others are perfected also. That's very helpful when considering Dana.
We can see how if we practise giving without expecting anything in return, all
the Paramitas can be fulfilled at that moment.
One has to use
wisdom - panna - to know for example, the right time and place and the
right things to give. And to give honestly - sacca - requires that we
look at our intention clearly. And patience - khanti - we must be patient
in the act of giving, and with our limitations in learning to give. There's
renunciation there too: we give something that we perceive as being 'ours'. And
we have to use energy - viriya. Also, whenever we give, there's the
chance that our offering could be rejected, so we must develop metta and
upekkha. And we have to 'resolve' to do it; it requires a determination to give
- this is developing adhitthana. Also, resolving to share the merit of
the act of generosity - making a dedication. Now how can we notice these
qualities -giving, renunciation, honesty - the whole spectrum of perfections
that can exist in that simple act of giving?
How do we really work with giving? When I was first in
Thailand, I remember that receiving generosity was not easy. As a strong young
man, walking on almsround and having the old village people come running out to
offer a little bit of rice, a piece of fruit, a couple of pieces of palm sugar
or whatever.... At times I thought: 'What on earth have I done to deserve this?
I should really be helping these old villagers.' And yet, for those people
practising generosity, they felt it was a privilege. You know, they'd be more
annoyed if we didn't come on almsround. They would be round at the monastery
saying: 'Well, why didn't you come today? Are you ill or something?' or 'You
haven't been doing your duty.' I remember talking to Ajahn Jagaro at the time
about how I felt, and he said: 'You'll never really learn how to give until you
learn to receive, and you'll never learn how to receive until you learn to give.
There are two
sides to giving; there's receiving also. The gratitude - the appreciation of the
spirit of giving. That doesn't necessarily mean liking what is offered; but
appreciating the loveliness of the act of generosity - the act of giving without
expecting anything in return. The humbling quality, which comes with this
gratitude, is very helpful in transcending the sense of separation. This helps
in going beyond the feeling of selfishness, of being separate. We can give in
many ways, of course: give materially, food, shelter, medicine, clothing,
money..... We can give time, encouragement, kindness, love.... And all of these
can be bargained with, taken, shared, or given. But it's not the quantity, or
the thing itself that's important. It's the attitude of not expecting anything
in return or not making some sort of agreement about it. When we do give in this
way, then we find that there's no disappointment, and there's no fear either.
There's no conceit and no arrogance. There's just giving. Eventually, we come to
recognize the 'giving of attention' - giving attention to 'this' moment and not
expecting anything from it. We say that in Buddhist practice, all you have to do
is 'be mindful'. What this actually means is that that is all we are doing;
mindfulness is all that is happening. We're not expecting something back. To
expect a return would be striking a bargain; 'giving' would not be perfected,
and the sense of separation would not be transcended. Giving attention to the
moment is what we can practise all the time. Giving attention to the breath, not
expecting anything from the breath. Giving attention to the posture, to the
movements of the body. Giving attention throughout our life is a way of
practising generosity: not expecting anything in return, not bargaining, not
taking anything, not even sharing, just giving. That giving doesn't indulge and
doesn't repress. It doesn't seek anything or try to get rid of anything. With
such generosity, with dana, we can see the possibility of the perfection
of humanity. Classifying these ways of relating into taking, bargaining, sharing
and giving may not come directly from the scriptures, but I hope it is helpful
in your practice. To me, 'giving' is the beginning and the end of the religious
life.
[1]
The Ten Paramitas ['virtues' or 'perfections']
are: generosity, moral discipline, renunciation, wisdom, energy, honesty,
determination, patience, loving-kindness, and equanimity.
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