A person's refusal to help another can
sometimes be due to a lack of compassion. A
man driving on the highway sees. that an
elderly lady has met with an accident. He leaves
her alone lying there,dying, because he does
not want to dirty the seat of his car.
Anger and hatred can also hinder a person from
being generous. Under these unwholesome
influences, he speaks harshly and acts
mindlessly without ever thinking that others
have feelings too.
2.Why Should We Give?
Dana is the antidote to the poison of greed.
Each time we give selflessly, we chip away our
mighty crag of selfishness.
Not only do wepurify ourselves by giving, but
we also increase our happiness. While
performing charity, the good thoughts, actions
and speech are wholesome Kamma which yield
fruits accordingly.
The Buddha taught that a person who is
generous and gives alms to monks or virtuous
people will have five blessings: the affection of
the many, noble associations, good reputation,
self-confidence and heavenly rebirth.
(AnguttaraNikaya V, Sutta 34)
In giving, the gift benefits both the giver and the
recipient. When someone offers food to the
monks, not only do the monks benefit from this
wholesome act but so does the giver. The
monks give him an opportunity to develop
wholesomeness and provide him a rich field of
merit to sow and reap the good results of his
actions.
3.What is True Generosity?Generosity springs from the heart. It arises with
compassion, friendliness and kindness.It is not patronaging the giving with the
intention of indebting another. Neither is
generosity the giving with ulterior motives. In
generosity, the one who gives is not in any way
more superior to the one who receives. It is
clean, wholesome and leaves both parties free.Generosity goes hand in hand with sympathy
and a generous person is tactful. When he hears
someone tells a joke to his friends he does not
interrupt with a better story in order to rob the
other fellow of his due share of attention.We can be generous in the things we think and
say about others. You must have come across
people who speak maliciously about others,
even behind the backs of their close friends,
and yet proclaim themselves to be generous. In
fact, deep down they are mean and small. The
so-called acts of generosity are nothing more
than calculated investments. Investments to
secure the goodwill and help others in this life
and to get rich dividends in future lives.When a truly generous person gives something
to another there are no strings attached. He
does not even expect gratitude in return. He
has given, and that is the end of the matter. He
never complains or gets bitter when people
take his gifts for granted, as sometimes happen.
He just goes on giving.You may think this sort of thing is one-sided and
unfair to the giver, but this is wrong view. The
giver is on his road of growing stronger and
freer with every gift he gives. He purifies
himself in giving selflessly; he thinks about the
welfare of others.4