Introduction
Buddhism emphasizes so much on giving (dāna) because it is the beginning of the path to liberation. Liberation denotes the attainment of a state of moral perfection, namely Nibbāna. Nibbāna, is best described as an ethical ideal which has to be realized by uprooting greed, hatred and ignorance, the three radical roots of all moral evil. Giving as suggested by Lily de Silva is the prime importance in the Buddhist scheme of mental purification because it is the best weapon against greed, the first of the three mentioned unwholesome motivational roots.
By drawing reference from the teaching of early Buddhism, I will try to illustrate that giving which is one of the essential and fundamental Buddhist practices, has a particular intimate connection to the entire movement of the Buddha’s path. Hence, my discussion in this essay mainly consists of three components. Firstly, to understand how the practice of giving can contribute to the process of liberation, discussion on the Buddhist understanding of human predicament and its solution will be the focus. Secondly, I will discuss how the practice of giving can transform the mind by taking reference to the principle of Dependent Origination. Thirdly, the discussion will focus on motive or volition being an important factor contributing to the qualities of giving. There will be an exploration on how volition determines giving as a virtue promoting social cohesion or a virtue leading to the path of liberation.
Human predicament and its solution
Siddhattha Gotama attained enlightenment after his six-year struggle. Subsequently, he dedicated himself to convey the sole message in the rest of his life. As what he told Anuradha, “Both formerly and now, it is only stress [dukkha] that I describe, and the cessation of stress [dukkha].” Therefore, dukkha, as the key concept in Buddhism, has been fully discussed in the First Noble Truth. The word is often translated as “suffering” and also has its deeper philosophical meaning such as “imperfection”, “impermanence”, and “insubstantiality”.
In addition, owing to the above mentioned three unwholesome motivational roots, we trapped ourselves in samsara, the endless cycle of suffering. Ignorance is a fundamental confusion pertaining to our own existence and the world, which is directly related to one’s grasping of self and identity through developing the ideas of “this is mine” (etam mama), this is “I am” (esoham asmi), and this is “my self” (eso me atta). With the attachment to such a false notion of self, the other two deep rooted defilements, greed and hatred are manifested together with ignorance.
Moreover, the idea of self is somehow an imaginary and false belief which produces harmful thoughts such as selfishness, desire, craving, attachment, ill-will attempts and other impurities. Therefore, if one aspires to ultimate peace and purity by practicing giving, one will then build up a store of merit that will bear its full fruit with the attainment of enlightenment. For this, the one should learn to get rid of stinginess and cling to one’s possessions first at the very beginning just like what the sutta stated:
“Without abandoning these five qualities, one is incapable of entering & remaining in the first jhana… the second jhana… the third jhana… the fourth jhana; incapable of realizing the fruit of stream-entry… the fruit of once-returning… the fruit of non-returning… arahantship. Which five? Stinginess as to one’s monastery [lodgings], stinginess as to one’s family [of supporters], stinginess as to one’s gains, stinginess as to one’s status, and ingratitude.”
Giving, as mentioned, is the best weapon against greed and stinginess. After removing our stinginess, we can then proceed to practice sāla and bhāvanā, which finally lead to the highest goal, Nibbāna. Nevertheless, the practice of giving alone cannot attain Nibbāna because one cannot practice sāla and bhāvanā without giving.
Therefore, as elucidated by Bhikkhu Bodhi, although giving does not appear in its own right among the factors of the Noble Eightfold Path nor does it enter among the other requisites of enlightenment, giving (dānakatha) is always the talk of the Buddha being the primary focus in his ‘graduated exposition’ of the Dhamma. Only after his audience had come to appreciate the virtue of giving, he then introduced many other aspects of his teaching, such as morality, the law of kamma, and the benefits in renunciation, and the Four Noble Truths. This practice clearly reflected that the Buddha acknowledged giving is an essential and preliminary requisite for spiritual progress.
Transforms unwholesome to wholesome
Buddhism denies the existence of a soul, self or ātta. Instead of, our experiences themselves, according to the Buddha, are different moments of consciousness, which arise one at a time and then fall away immediately. Each moment of consciousness that arises and falls away is succeeded by the next moment of consciousness. After practicing Right Concentration and Right Mindfulness, we can gradually learn to distinguish different types of consciousness including the unwholesome or unskillful, the wholesome or skillful, and those are neither wholesome nor unwholesome.
Unwholesome types of consciousness are accompanied by unwholesome mental factors, such as attachment, stinginess, jealousy or aversion. Wholesome types of consciousness are accompanied by beautiful mental factors, such as generosity, kindness or compassion. The arising of different types of consciousness is because of their appropriate conditions. In other words, they are dependently originated.
The principle of Dependent Origination refers to “This being, that exists; through the arising of this, that arises. This not being, that does not exist; through the ceasing of this, that ceases.” With reference to this principle, a phenomenon arises from a combination of conditions which are present to support its arising. And the phenomenon will cease when the supportive conditions are changed. For example, the growth of plant is depending on the supportive conditions such as seed, soil, water, air and sunlight. And of course, the above supportive conditions also depend on their respective supportive conditions and so on. By the same rationale, our unwholesome inclinations and its effect can be diminished by cultivating good conditions. Giving includes among the essential attributes such other qualities as faith, morality, learning and wisdom. Therefore it is one of the virtues can introduce good conditions for seeding and grooming wholesome or skillful consciousness.
Volition makes the difference
There is no doubt that giving can promote social cohesion and solidarity, i.e., when we give, we can develop compassion towards the others and cultivate loving-kindness within us to get rid of hatred. Moreover, when we decide to give something of our own to someone else, we simultaneously reduce our attachment to the object; to make a habit of giving can thus gradually weaken the mental factor of craving, one of the main causes of unhappiness. Nevertheless, giving should accompany with wholesome motive if it can lead to the path of liberation. In Anguttara Nikaya, there are eight types of motive for exercising generosity as follows:
- One who gives with annoyance or acts as a way of offending the recipient, or with an idea of insulting him.
- One who has fear hinders his motivation to make an offering.
- One who gives in return for a favor done to oneself in the past.
- One who gives with the hope of getting a similar favor for oneself in the future.
- One who gives because he considers giving is good.
- Some give urged by altruistic motives, e.g., “I cook, they do not cook. It is not proper for me who cooks not to give to those who do not cook.”
- Some give alms to gain a good reputation.
- Some give alms to adorn and beautify the mind.
From the above list, it is noted that ill-will, fear, favoritism and delusion can also motive someone to practice giving; however, these motives are the hindrances for liberation according to Buddhism. Hence, more emphasis has been put on the non-attachment attitude in practicing giving in a later Buddhist development, as in the Mahayana tradition.
Here is an example to illustrate the shift of focus in practicing giving by a discussion on attitude of giving in Diamond Sutta made by the Buddha. He told Subhuti, “In the practice of charity a Bodhisattva should be detached. That is to say, he should practice charity without regard to appearances.” In other words, one should not attach to what one has done because all appearances are delusion. Moreover, he recommended not attaching to the outcome of practice such as the attainment of full enlightenment, the fruits of practicing dhyāna and so forth. And he finally concluded, “Therefore, Subhuti, all Bodhisattvas should develop a pure, lucid mind, not depending upon form, sound, flavor, odor, touch, or mental object. A Bodhisattva should use one’s mind in such a way that it will be free from any attachment.”
In other words, if there must be a motive, the only valid motive for giving should be the motive of adorning the mind, to rid the mind of the ugliness of greed and selfishness. This is the highest form of giving.
Conclusion
Although the practice of sole giving cannot achieve Nibbāna, it is definitely the essential preliminary steps of Buddhist practice to introduce good conditions to transform unwholesome to wholesome. That is the reason why the Buddha reminded us of not underestimating any power of small gifts in Anguttara Nikaya:
“Even if a person throws the rinsing of a bowl or a cup into a village pool or pond, thinking, ‘May whatever animals live here feed on this,’ that would be a source of merit.”
Therefore, the practice of giving does occupy a notable and important position in Buddhism and why it is usually praised as a great virtue in the early Buddhist scriptures.
Reference
- Guang Xing, “The Buddhist way to improve human relationship” Lecture Notes. BSTC6058: Buddhism and Society. Master of Buddhist Studies. The University of Hong Kong. 28th Sept., 2007.
- Walpola Rahula, What The Buddha Taught. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 1997.
- Y. Karunadasa, “The Buddhist Critique of Sassatvada and Ucchedavada: The key to a proper Understanding of the Origin and the Doctrines of early Buddhism.” The Middle Way, U.K., vol 74 & 75, 1999-2000.
- Y. Karunadasa, “The Early Buddhist Teaching On the Practice of the Moral Life.” The Numata Yehan Lecture in Buddhism. The University of Calgary, 2001.
Sutta
- Anguttara Nikaya 3.57. Ttranslated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Source: http://www.accesstoinsight.org)
- Anguttara Nikaya 5.258. Ttranslated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Source: http://www.accesstoinsight.org)
- Majjhima Nikaya, 79. Translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
- Samyutta Nikaya 22. Translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Source: http://www.accesstoinsight.org)
- Diamond Sutra. Translated by A.F. Price. Source: http://community.palouse.net/lotus/diamondsutra.htm).