The Foundations of Buddhism

The Buddhist Community !09

he offered his flesh to a hungry tigress in order that she might

have the strength to succour her young.^62 Another well-known

tale tells of Prince Vessantara, who gave away even that which

is most precious: his children and family.^63 Such heroic acts

of generosity are expressions of a bodhisattva's practice of 'the

perfection of generosity', inspiring faith rather than providing

examples of behaviour to be emulated. In everyday practice,

generosity is developed by the laity especially by acts of generosity

directed towards the Buddhist religion itself. This takes the form

of supporting Dharma by donating money, time, and effort for

the building of monasteries and temples, and for the general

support of the Buddhist monastic community, for the copying or

publication of Buddhist writings. In the countries of Theravada

Buddhism the term dana refers in particular to the act of giving

alms directly to Buddhist monks either by offering food at a

monastery or by placing it directly into the bowls of monks who

still undertake a traditional alms round.

Relevant to the cultivation of generosity are two practices

which are not, however, exclusively lay: the transference of

merit and the rejoicing in the merit of others. The practice of the

transference of merit-the giving ofone's-merit-is an ancient
and extremely widespread and common Buddhist practice. What
it indicates is that spiritual practice is to be entered into in a ·
generous spirit, not for the sake of acquiring merit exclusively

for oneself but for the benefit of others too. Indeed, only acts

undertaken in this spirit are truly meritorious in the first place.

The rejoicing in the merit of others also indicates that, in under-

taking meritorious acts, it is one's state of mind that is crucial:
thus if one gives grudgingly, with an ungenerous heart, the aus-

piciousness of one's acts is compromised; on the other hand, if

one gives nothing at all but is deeply moved by another;s act of
generosity, then that in itself is an auspicious occasion, an act of
merit. Thus for many Buddhists it is customary at the end of Bud-
dhist devotions and rituals to offer the merit generated during

the ceremony for the benefit of other beings-either specific beings

such as dead relatives, or all sentient beings-and in so doing to

invite all present (whether they have directly participated in the