This website is the home of The Four Noble Truths on the web.

Generosity / Giving

• Just say ‘take it’. This is my pith instruction.
• Pay taxes with a good heart. Think it will be used to provide beneficial services.
• Give as bodhisattavas give - freely.
• Aspire to be there for each being. “May I be a protector to those in fear, a friend to the lonely.”
• There are realms in which there is so much abundance, there is no one to practice generosity with. That is why Bodhisattvas aspire to be reborn in Jambudvipa [our realm] where one can accumulate merits. We need sentient beings to practice Dharma.
• Being nice to mean people is an offering to the lama.
• Buddha said “our real belongings are what we give away.” What does this mean? We give because of bodhicitta. This is what we keep. This is what benefits us in future life. When you die, the body will disintegrate. But love and compassion will go with you.
• Offer what is delightful to you.
• One can offer anything that one experiences.
• Give something of value.
• Give without attachment. All these things are impermanent.
• Aspiration is an offering.
• To expect something in return is business, not generosity.
• When you practice material generosity, first focus on noble mind. Don’t worry about quantity. Offer one bite of food. Offer it joyfully. Offer tormas to pretas. Smoke offering. Pour water and at the same time recite mantras. They will receive it if you are practicing with pure mind.
• Praise is an offering. Putting hands together, recite “O Great Buddha, who is wholly perfect, like you no other being can be found, even if I search the four corners or look in treasury.”
• Learn to share with others.
• Give bodhicitta. Return bad with good.
• Generosity has more to do with intention than material.
• You can offer mountains, sun, moon, lakes, valleys, virtues.
• If you cannot give, start with aspiration.
• Be willing to give things that are not easy to give.
• After giving, ask how much attachment did we overcome? How much compassion did we generate?
• Generosity is capital for next life.
• Teachers don’t need our offerings. They appreciate what we are letting go of.
• Put in your day’s work with pure motivation. You can turn it into generosity.
• Attachment is the obstacle to generosity.
• Attachment is the problem, not possessions.
• Give to the needy. Give with compassion.
• Protects lives in danger. Give help.
• Maintaining dharma center is like giving eyes to the blind.
• When you give, give wholeheartedly.
• Prayer for beings in bardo is generosity.
• Dedicating merits is generosity.
• You need to reduce anger and attachment to give Dharma generosity.
• Even if you don’t give money, do something skillful. e.g. pass out flyers.
• Not grasping to ‘self-nature’ is perfection of generosity.
• Perfection of giving means giving with the three supreme factors - it does not mean eliminating poverty. Look at bodhicitta in the heart.