Buying flowers online is a cheap and easy way to make merit.

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LG2V
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Buying flowers online is a cheap and easy way to make merit.

Post by LG2V »

It feels good, too. I've recently begun sending flowers to the Temple of The Tooth in Sri Lanka via http://lassanaflora.com/ . The bundles are cheap, and you get free delivery if your order is $14 or larger. Just a few clicks, and your flowers end up in front of Buddha's relics. Just a quick tip for anyone who's curious and/or somewhat geographically isolated from temples.
Here are some excellent sites for giving free Dana (Click-Based Donation):
http://freerice.comhttp://greatergood.com/www.ripple.orgwww.thenonprofits.com
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Dhammarakkhito
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Re: Buying flowers online is a cheap and easy way to make merit.

Post by Dhammarakkhito »

The Blessed One said: "But what was the advantage you had in view for yourself, O Visakha, in asking the eight boons of the Tathagatha?"

Visakha replied: "Bhikkhus who have spent the rainy seasons in various places will come, Lord, to Savatthi to visit the Blessed One. And on coming to the Blessed One they will ask, saying: 'Such and such a bhikkhu, Lord, has died. What, now, is his destiny?' Then will the Blessed One explain that he has attained the fruits of conversion; that he has attained arahatship or has entered Nirvana, as the case may be.

"And I, going up to them, will ask, "Was that brother, Sirs, one of those who had formerly been at Savatthi?' If reply to me, He has formerly been at Savatthi then shall I arrive at the conclusion, For a certainty did that brother enjoy either the robes for the rainy season, or the food for the incoming bhikkhus, or the food for the outgoing bhikkhus, or the food for the sick, or the food for those that wait upon the sick, or the medicine for the sick, or the constant supply of rice-milk.'

"Then will gladness spring up within me; thus gladdened, joy will come to me; and so rejoicing all my mind will be at peace. Being thus at peace I shall experience a blissful feeling of content; and in that bliss my heart will be at rest. That will be to me an exercise of my moral sense, an exercise of my moral powers, an exercise of the seven kinds of wisdom! This Lord, was the advantage I had in view for myself in asking those eight boons of the Blessed One."

The Blessed One said: "It is well, it is well, Visakha. Thou hast done well in asking these eight boons of the Tathagata with such advantages in view. Charity bestowed upon those who are worthy of it is like good seed sown on a good soil that yields an abundance of fruits. But alms given to those who are yet under the tyrannical yoke of the passions are like seed deposited in a bad soil. The passions of the receiver of the alms choke, as it were, the growth of merits." And the Blessed One gave this thanks to Visakha:

"O noble woman of an upright life,
Disciple of the Blessed One, thou givest
Unstintedly in purity of heart.
"Thou spreadest joy, assuagest pain,
And verily thy gift will be a blessing
As well to many others as to thee."

http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/btg/btg35.htm
"Just as the ocean has a single taste — that of salt — in the same way, this Dhamma-Vinaya has a single taste: that of release."
— Ud 5.5

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User1249x
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Re: Buying flowers online is a cheap and easy way to make merit.

Post by User1249x »

I'll tell you another cheap way to make a lot of merit
- meditation
chownah
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Re: Buying flowers online is a cheap and easy way to make merit.

Post by chownah »

If you pay for the delivery of the flowers but no flowers are delivered do you still get the merit?

I mean, this is thailand......land of "mai pen rai" ("it doesn't matter") and corruption.

"Are there some flowers at the tooth temple?.....yeah, lots there already.....no need to deliver more.....thanks for the bucks."

EVen if the flowers are delivered (there is a good chance that they will be delivered) then my question is if a local person can provide the flowers for one or two dollars (very possible) then do you get one or two dollars of merit or do you get the entire fourteen dollars in merit?

Does merit accrue from the amount of money spent (zukerberg, gates et al probably hope so) or the amount of personal envolvement?
chownah
Garrib
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Re: Buying flowers online is a cheap and easy way to make merit.

Post by Garrib »

Recently my grandpa told me a story about his mother - she had quite a bit of money after her husband passed away (he was a successful artist), and every month she would make a ton of charitable donations. My grandpa started to look into her finances and unfortunately, some (but not all) of her donations were to scammers preying on the elderly. When my grandpa brought this to her attention, she told him "I might be the biggest chump in the world, but I'm going to die happy."
I thought this was a pretty powerful story. To me, it demonstrates that even the simple intention to be generous, and to offer something of value - that in itself is productive of happiness, even if you are actually being taken advantage of or scammed.
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LG2V
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Re: Buying flowers online is a cheap and easy way to make merit.

Post by LG2V »

chownah wrote: Thu May 10, 2018 1:50 am If you pay for the delivery of the flowers but no flowers are delivered do you still get the merit?

I mean, this is thailand......land of "mai pen rai" ("it doesn't matter") and corruption.

"Are there some flowers at the tooth temple?.....yeah, lots there already.....no need to deliver more.....thanks for the bucks."

EVen if the flowers are delivered (there is a good chance that they will be delivered) then my question is if a local person can provide the flowers for one or two dollars (very possible) then do you get one or two dollars of merit or do you get the entire fourteen dollars in merit?

Does merit accrue from the amount of money spent (zukerberg, gates et al probably hope so) or the amount of personal envolvement?
chownah
I don't know if you get merit if your flowers aren't delivered. I think probably some, but not as much as if they had been delivered.

I think that offerings in person are more meritorious than offerings made by proxy. Or, perhaps it depends on the intention. There's the story about a man who became a rich money lender for seven lifetimes because he ordered one of his servants to feed a paccekabuddha. And there's also the story of Anathapindika, who didn't construct Jetavana by hand, although he was physically present for its purchase and presumably parts of its construction.

The currency question is a good one. My opinion is that it's the gift that matters, and not necessarily its dollar value. So, for example, a pair of mid-quality flowers in The US that cost $15 may not be as valuable of a gift as a dozen high-quality flowers in Thailand that cost $10.

Those are just my opinions, of course. I could be wrong. They're quite provocative questions that I reflect on as well.
Here are some excellent sites for giving free Dana (Click-Based Donation):
http://freerice.comhttp://greatergood.com/www.ripple.orgwww.thenonprofits.com
chownah
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Re: Buying flowers online is a cheap and easy way to make merit.

Post by chownah »

The currency question is a good one. My opinion is that it's the gift that matters, and not necessarily its dollar value. So, for example, a pair of mid-quality flowers in The US that cost $15 may not be as valuable of a gift as a dozen high-quality flowers in Thailand that cost $10.
If it is something to do with the quality of the flowers then exactly what quality is it which creates the enhancement?
chownah
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LG2V
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Re: Buying flowers online is a cheap and easy way to make merit.

Post by LG2V »

chownah wrote: Tue May 22, 2018 3:02 am If it is something to do with the quality of the flowers then exactly what quality is it which creates the enhancement?
chownah
By quality, I mean healthier, larger, and more beautiful flowers. For example, a bouquet of lotus flowers like the ones in the picture below can be bought for as little as $13. In the US, they could easily cost upward of $60.



Perhaps the enhancement is due to my own internal perception of value, e.g. numerous larger, brighter flowers are more valuable than a few smaller ones, regardless of the amount of money I paid for either. Perhaps the value is rooted in some physical constant, such that larger, more impressive gifts result in greater merit. I'm not sure, but it feels good to do it.
Here are some excellent sites for giving free Dana (Click-Based Donation):
http://freerice.comhttp://greatergood.com/www.ripple.orgwww.thenonprofits.com
chownah
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Re: Buying flowers online is a cheap and easy way to make merit.

Post by chownah »

LG2V,
Have you seen the Dana Sutta? (https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitak ... .than.html)

It talks about various motivations for giving. The motivation you say that you respond to is included there as "'When this gift of mine is given, it makes the mind serene. Gratification & joy arise'".....there are also many others mentioned with a very short discussion of each.

chownah
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LG2V
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Re: Buying flowers online is a cheap and easy way to make merit.

Post by LG2V »

chownah wrote: Wed May 23, 2018 3:09 am LG2V,
Have you seen the Dana Sutta? (https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitak ... .than.html)

It talks about various motivations for giving. The motivation you say that you respond to is included there as "'When this gift of mine is given, it makes the mind serene. Gratification & joy arise'".....there are also many others mentioned with a very short discussion of each.

chownah
Thanks! Yeah, I love this sutta. I've read it before, but it's definitely worth another read.
Here are some excellent sites for giving free Dana (Click-Based Donation):
http://freerice.comhttp://greatergood.com/www.ripple.orgwww.thenonprofits.com
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