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to others. Generosity is so deeply rooted in us.
“And you are surprised,” the Archbishop continued, “when you go to a
monastery or a convent, where people live a very, very simple life, and
you just have to accept that they have a peace that we who are always
grabbing find elusive. Unless, of course, we sit loosely in relation to all
of our wealth and all of our status, then we can be generous because we
have really been made a steward of these possessions and these positions.
And we don’t hold on to them for dear life.
“So it’s not the wealth and the status. These are neutral. It’s our
attitude. It’s what we do with them that is so important. We said it on the
very first day: When you become so inward looking, so self-regarding,
you are going to end up a shriveled human being.”

•           •           •

here are ways to give even beyond our time and our money. Jinpa
explained that in Buddhist teachings there are three kinds of
generosity: material giving, giving freedom from fear (which can involve
protection, counseling, or solace), and spiritual giving, which can involve
giving your wisdom, moral and ethical teachings, and helping people to
be more self-sufficient and happier. This was of course what the Dalai
Lama and the Archbishop were giving all week long.
“It’s there in front of our eyes,” the Archbishop said. “We have seen
it. The people we admire are those who have been other-regarding. Who
even in the midst of a lot of hard work and so on, when you want to speak
with them, they have a way of making you feel that, at that precise
moment, you are the most important thing they have to deal with.
“We don’t have to bring in religion. I mean it’s a secular thing.
Companies that are caring of their workers are more successful. Now they
could say, ‘Well, we pay them so much and that’s the end of our concern
for them.’ Yes, well, okay. Do that. And your workers will be workers
who say, ‘I work my shift from a certain time to a certain time, and I
finish.’ But when they have experienced that you care about them as
people—you know, you ask after them, you ask after their families or at