Itivuttaka 1.26 Giving

[mikenz66]

Itivuttaka 1.26 Giving
Translated by John Ireland

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... ml#iti-026

This was said by the Lord...

"Bhikkhus, if beings knew, as I know, the result of giving and sharing, they would not eat without having given, nor would they allow the stain of meanness to obsess them and take root in their minds. Even if it were their last morsel, their last mouthful, they would not eat without having shared it, if there were someone to share it with. But, bhikkhus, as beings do not know, as I know, the result of giving and sharing, they eat without having given, and the stain of meanness obsesses them and takes root in their minds."

• If beings only knew —
  So said the Great Sage —
  How the result of sharing
  Is of such great fruit,
  With a gladdened mind,
  Rid of the stain of meanness,
  They would duly give to noble ones
  Who make what is given fruitful.
  
  Having given much food as offerings
  To those most worthy of offerings,
  The donors go to heaven
  On departing the human state.
  Having gone to heaven they rejoice,
  And enjoying pleasures there,
  The unselfish experience the result
  Of generously sharing with others.

[mikenz66]

Itivuttaka 1.26 Giving
Translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... ml#iti-026

This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "If beings knew, as I know, the results of giving & sharing, they would not eat without having given, nor would the stain of selfishness overcome their minds. Even if it were their last bite, their last mouthful, they would not eat without having shared, if there were someone to receive their gift. But because beings do not know, as I know, the results of giving & sharing, they eat without having given. The stain of selfishness overcomes their minds."

• If beings knew
  what the Great Seer said,
  how the result of sharing
  has such great fruit,
  then, subduing the stain of selfishness
  with brightened awareness,
  they'd give in season
  to the noble ones,
  where a gift bears great fruit.
  Having given food
  as an offering
  to those worthy of offerings,
  many donors,
  when they pass away from here,
  the human state,
  go
  to heaven.
  They, having gone there
  to heaven,
  rejoice,
  enjoying sensual pleasures.
  Unselfish, they
  partake of the result
  of sharing.

[Sam Vara]

If beings knew, as I know, the results of giving & sharing, they would not eat without having given, nor would the stain of selfishness overcome their minds

I have always thought this one is as tantalising as it is inspirational. What did he know? What are those results? And perhaps just as importantly, how did he know them?

[kilanta]

If beings knew, as I know, the results of giving & sharing, they would not eat without having given, nor would the stain of selfishness overcome their minds

I have always thought this one is as tantalising as it is inspirational. What did he know? What are those results? And perhaps just as importantly, how did he know them?

One result -- a very mundane and not connected to buddhism in any way -- is for most people to feel good, also about themselves, because the act of giving produces that result in most of us, maybe socio- or psychopaths excluded. I hope this is not what the writer meant, though.

[santa100]

Sam Vara wrote:What did he know? What are those results? And perhaps just as importantly, how did he know them?

From the verse section:

Having given much food as offerings
To those most worthy of offerings,
The donors go to heaven
On departing the human state.
Having gone to heaven they rejoice,
And enjoying pleasures there,
The unselfish experience the result
Of generously sharing with others

Without the Supernatural power of clairvoyance of the Buddha, we could only infer the bliss up there in deva world must be quite spectacular. This sutta reminds me of the skillful means the Buddha employ to get prince Nanda to let go of sensual pleasures with the promise of heavenly sensual pleasures:

When they arrived at the Park, the Buddha questioned Nanda regarding whether he might become a Monk. Although Nanda had just wedded the beautiful Janapada Kalyāni,[1][2] that same day, he took ordination and joined the community of Monks.
However, Nanda enjoyed no spiritual happiness. His thoughts were constantly directed towards to Janapada Kalyāni and his heart pined for her.
Learning of this, the Buddha took Nanda on a journey to Tavatimsa Heaven or Trāyastriṃśa. On the way Nanda saw a she-monkey that had lost her ears, nose and tail in a fire, clinging to a charred stump. When they reached the heaven abode, Nanda saw beautiful celestial nymphs and the Buddha asked Nanda: "Which do you consider more beautiful? Those nymphs or Janapada Kalyāni?"
Nanda replied: "Venerable Sir, Janapada Kalyāni looks like the scalded she-monkey, compared to those nymphs."
The Buddha said: "Cheer up Nanda. I promise that you will join the company of those nymphs if you persist as I bid you and take pleasure in living the Holy Life."
Upon hearing this, Nanda practiced diligently with the object of winning the celestial nymphs. However, when the other monks learned of Nanda's wish they ridiculed him and he eventually saw his motive as base, and renouncing desire, attained Arhatship.
There is a poem in Theragatha collection of verses believed to have been authored by Nanda praising the Buddha for having become an arahant.[3]
Abeysekera writes: "On realizing the exquisite happiness of Nibbana, Nanda approached the Buddha and thanked Him respectfully by saying, "Lord I release you from your promise of celestial bliss." The Buddha then informed Nanda that He had been released from the promise the moment he had reached the supreme bliss of Nibbana, because the bliss of Nibbana was greater and transcended any celestial bliss

~~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanda_(Buddhist) ~~

[mikenz66]

If beings knew, as I know, the results of giving & sharing, they would not eat without having given, nor would the stain of selfishness overcome their minds

I have always thought this one is as tantalising as it is inspirational. What did he know? What are those results? And perhaps just as importantly, how did he know them?

Dana is certainly an important part of the path, and often the first thing that the Buddha taught:
Kuṭṭhi Sutta: The Leper

So, aiming at Suppabuddha the leper, he gave a step-by-step talk, i.e., he proclaimed a talk on generosity, on virtue, on heaven; he declared the drawbacks, degradation, & corruption of sensuality, and the rewards of renunciation. Then when the Blessed One knew that Suppabuddha the leper's mind was ready, malleable, free from hindrances, elevated, & clear, he then gave the Dhamma-talk peculiar to Awakened Ones, i.e., stress, origination, cessation, & path. And just as a clean cloth, free of stains, would properly absorb a dye, in the same way, as Suppabuddha the leper was sitting in that very seat, the dustless, stainless Dhamma eye arose within him, "Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation."

There are many suttas on dana, linked here: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/index-subject.html#dana


Mike

[Coyote]

A passage that has stuck in my mind about Dana:

"I tell you, Vaccha, even if a person throws the rinsings 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,

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html

[dhammapal]

In an age that has made our common humanity so palpably real, the Buddha's teachings challenge us to "share our meal" with others no matter where they may be living, no matter what their nationality, ethnicity, gender, or religion might be. Since chronic malnutrition is the cause of unthinkable misery, we cannot remain complacent when so many go hungry every day.

We must express compassion in action by giving others the gift of food and offering them the chance to live with dignity, to feed themselves and their families. By putting our hearts and hands together, we can turn this world into a Buddha-realm marked by justice, equity, and opportunity for all.
From: Understanding Hunger by BuddhistGlobalRelief.org

With metta / dhammapal.