GENEROSITY

Lord Buddha places Dana Paramita in the first place among all other Paramitas.  Dana is an act of giving and Paramita means well being of others.  Primarily Dana Paramita is an Upaya -a skilful mean, for cultivating the right attitude.

Lord Buddha emphasizes that the generosity with which an act of giving is executed has the power to change our attitude, outlook and accrue virtue for harmony and happiness of everyone.  

More than the act of giving, the intention of giving and the degree of loving kindness and compassion associated with the act of giving, is important.  Whatsoever is given, it must be given selflessly to a genuinely needy recipient.

If we cultivate generosity, our mind will stop sticking to physical and emotional desires and dislikes.  Instead we are  suffused with the feeling of vast spaciousness in our mind and heart.  

When we develop generosity is us we are able let go negative emotions like anger or desire or jealousy that arises in us and prevent us from being in painful state when they arise.  We are able to allow the negative emotions to follow their natural path of coming and going and we remain undisturbed and happier with their passing.  

Generosity triggers to unfold Bodhi Citta –good will, and its underlying power to deliver harmony and happiness.  It frees practitioners from attachment, the emotional bond that ties everyone to Samsara.

Practicing generosity provides trans-formative experience and it is the beginning of spiritual awakening, and it requires a generous heart.

Practicing generosity means practicing the act of giving selflessly to genuinely needy recipient.  The recipient is important because helping those who do not have problem does not solve the actual problem and does not bring happiness to anyone. 

In practicing generosity we experience the joy of our intention being transformed.  Giving selflessly for the well-being of others who are genuinely wanting to receive help, we experience confidence; we grow in self-esteem, and self-respect.  

Generosity cause spaciousness in our mind and heart, bringing in inner introspection where true happiness is found.  It is with the spaciousness of mind and heart we derive the strength to accept things as they are; and exercise contentment, tolerance and forgiveness. 

With generosity, if we develop, spacious mind and heart, we are not afraid.  The fear factor itself does not exist in us.  The vast array of experiences comes and goes when we have spacious mind and generous heart.  We remain self-confident at all circumstances.

It is the fear and attachment that make us hold on to a pleasant experience. We like to have pleasant experiences because we think we need them to be happy.  We want them to last as long as we can.  But nothing stays forever. 

Such compulsive attachment does not bring true happiness, whereas learning to let go, learning to relinquish; being able to give selflessly with right intention does bring happiness. Indeed, in a singly act of giving selflessly, fear and attachment are diminished. 

The strength of generosity is a primary factor in our ability to accept change, and let go painful experiences and negative emotions without being disturbed.   

Indeed a single act of giving selflessly to a genuinely needy recipient unfolds Lord Buddha’s message of love, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity.  

The objective of practicing generosity has two folds.  The first one is to free our minds from the conditioned forces of craving, clinging and attachment that bind and limit us to a confinement that lacks self-esteem.  

If we are always looking for things to be complete, we miss the degree to which we are complete.  For this reason Lord Buddha advises us to practice generosity to free our mind from projecting incompleteness and weaken the forces of craving, clinging and attachment.  

Secondly, we practice generosity to extend welfare and happiness to all beings and free them from all forms of suffering.

Giving is an act of abandoning delusion and perform wholesome act with skillful means.  By way of selflessly giving a material possession, contributing a positive thought, sharing a feeling for well being of others, or volunteering for social welfare activities, we understand the value of life.  

We must understand that what we do in our life—the choices we make, the values we hold—matters.  What we think and do in this Samsara matters to us and others alike.  

With a selfless act of giving we are abandoning desire and grasping.  We are abandoning ill will and aversion, as aversion creates separateness and withdrawal, a sense of not being in harmony with others. 

In a selfless act of giving we are aligning ourselves with human values.  We let go grasping, aversion and delusion. 

One of the great joys that come from generosity is the understanding that no matter how much or how little we have, if we know we have enough, we will always have something to give. “One who knows that enough is enough will always have enough (Tao Te Ching).”