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The Buddha enumerated three 
different attitudes 
to the quality of the gift chosen for 
an act of generosity: 
I. Giving things of worse quality 
than you would 
use yourself [dAnadAsa]: This sort 
of giving 
which literally means "giving as a 
slave" happens 
when one gives a gift of worse 
quality than 
one would consider using oneself. 
An example 
of this would be selecting the 
smallest or most 
unattractive of three mangos to 
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use yourself [dAnasAmE]: This 
sort of giving 
which literally means "giving as a 
boss" happens 
when one gives a gift of better 
quality than one 
would consider using oneself 
choosing only 
the best to give to someone else. It 
is termed "giving 
as a boss" because at the time of 
giving, one's 
mind has stinginess under control. 
In general, 
Buddhists cultivating generosity 
try to make sure 
that their giving falls into this last 
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category. When 
giving rice to the monks on their 
almsround, they 
will select the tender rice from the 
mouth of the 
rice-pot to give to the monks 
before taking 
their own meal from the remainder 
of the pot. 
When offering food to the monks, 
supporters will 
offer delicacies they might never 
consider themselves 
worthy of eating — and when 
offering 
food, they might decorate and 
garnish the food 
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with special attention. In fact, 
when we give to 
others we should always try to give 
things of a 
quality we would like to be give 
ourselves, no 
matter whether the recipient is of 
lower, equal 
or higher social status than 
ourselves. Such giving 
is especially characterized by acts 
of generosity 
to those we respect or to whom we 
have a 
debt of gratitude such as our 
parents, teachers 
or teaching monks. 
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C.2.2 The Nature of the Gift 
Here are some "do's" and "don'ts" 
to help you with 
your choice — in general things 
which are worthy 
of giving are the four basic 
requisites: clothing, food, 
shelter and medicine. You have to 
be careful, however, 
because some forms of clothing 
are not suitable. 
These four are sometimes 
subdivided further 
into ten: 
1. food (but not aphrodisiacs); 
2. drinks (but not alcohol); 
3. cloth or clothing (but not 
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immodest clothes); 
4. vehicles, shoes or fares for 
travelling; 
5. flowers; 
6. candles, incense; 
7. rubbing creams; 
8. bed clothes & beds; 
9. shelter; 
10. fuel. 
As for objects not suitable for 
giving: 
1. Alcohol for the purpose of 
drinking (rather 
than rubbing alcohol or alcohol for 
cleaning). 
Blessing Fifteen: Generosity 189 
Alcohol is the component of some 
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medicines. 
This usage is good 
but don't 
use this as an 
excuse to give alcohol with a little 
bit of medicine 
instead of giving medicine with a 
little 
bit of alcohol; 
2. To give shows, entertainment; 
3. To give a female animal to a 
male animal or 
vice-versa; 
4. To offer matchmaking services 
to find a partner 
for others; 
5. To give someone else erotic 
pictures or even a 
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picture of yourself (so that they 
think of us); 
6. To give weapons (especially 
when two people 
are in the middle of a fight); 
7. To give poisons or drugs. 
In addition the gift should be made 
clean, refined 
and attractive to receive. At the 
time of giving you 
should do your best to relinquish 
your attraction 
for the appearance, sound, smell, 
taste, texture or 
mood of that object (The 
meditation master Luang 
Phaw Wat Paknam suggested to 
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bring you mind to 
a standstill at the centre of your 
body as a practical 
way of achieving this). 
C.3 Make yourself pure before 
giving your gift 
Purify yourself before giving the 
gift by taking the 
Five or Eight Precepts. Meditate to 
purify the mind, 
thinking of the recipient as if they 
were as pure as 
an arahant, or as a representative 
perpetuating the 
teaching of the Lord Buddha. 
C.4 Make a resolution 
It is customary to raise the gift one 
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intends to offer 
to one's forehead while making the 
resolution. Making 
a wish or resolution is like setting 
up a longterm 
plan for yourself. If a government 
takes care 
of a country it must have a 
long-term plan. Even 
merchants have plans for what 
they will be doing 
in the years to come. In Buddhism 
we have merit 
as our budget and we have our 
resolution or ambition 
as our long term plan for doing 
good deeds 
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over the course of the lifetimes to 
come. If we have 
made a resolution at the time we 
make a merit of 
some sort then when the merit 
gives its fruit it will 
give its fruit in the way we have 
made the wish. 
However we must also be careful 
about the thing 
which we wish for 
supposing 
we make a resolution 
but our mind is still under the 
influence of defilements 
then it might be disastrous because 
we 
leave ourselves wide open to the 
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working of evil. If 
we make a resolution about 
something skilful, by 
contrast then the merit will give its 
full fruit, shortening 
our path to Nirvana. An example 
of a skilful 
way of making a resolution is: 
"Through the power of this good 
deed, from 
this day forth may my mind never 
fall under 
the influence of greed or stinginess 
again and 
may I never be born in a family 
with stingy or 
greedy people ever again and may 
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I never be 
born in a country where there is a 
shortage of 
basic needs for survival, and even 
when it 
comes to studying the Dhamma, 
may I never 
be stuck with a teacher of the 
Dhamma who is 
stingy with his teachings and 
wants to keep his 
knowledge to himself. May I never 
know shortage 
of anything skilful. May I always 
be well 
provided-for . . . and may the 
power of this generous 
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deed help me to enter upon 
Nirvana 
[nibbAna paccayo hau]." 
Or more briefly according to the 
traditional Pali: 
"SudinnaO vata me dAnaO 
AsavakkhayA 
vahaO hotu" (May these alms that 
I have given 
on this day be for an end of all 
defilements.) 
C.5 Harbour no regret in mind: 
Having offered the gift, make sure 
the gift is gone 
from your mind too by thinking 
only of the joy of 
giving and not allowing any 
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feeling of regret to 
enter your mind. It is also 
customary to transfer 
the merit of one's generosity 
[pattidAnamaya] 
by making the intention that the 
merit of our 
good deeds might also benefit our 
deceased relatives 
wherever they might find 
themselves reborn 
— in accordance with the Pali 
verses:
"IdaO riAtEnaO hotu, sukhitA 
hontu fiAtayo" 
(May this merit accrue to all my 
[deceased] relatives. 
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May all my [deceased] relatives be 
happy). 
C.6 Summary: Four Tures' 
In conclusion, there are four things 
that will ensure 
190 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
that the giving we do will bring the 
maximum of 
merit: 
I. Pure Gift. The thing which we 
give must be 
something we have come by in an 
honest way 
or bought with money that is 
honestly earned; 
2. Pure Intention. A pure intention 
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for giving 
means the intention to reduce the 
stinginess 
in your mind, or to reduce the 
number of defilements 
in the mind or cultivate your 
Perfection 
of Generosity or Loving Kindness. 
The 
Buddha also taught that if you 
want to gain 
the maximum of merit from a gift 
you must 
maintain the quality of the mind 
during three 
periods of time. Intentions which 
are not pure 
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are giving with the wish for 
something in return 
e.g. giving for one-upmanship, 
giving to 
make yourself famous or giving to 
make 
someone else love us: 
1. before giving [pubbecetanA]: 
make sure that 
you come to the act of giving 
wholeheartedly 
2. during the act of giving 
[muricanacetanAp 
give with respect and a mind full 
of faith 
and without any trace of irritability 
3. after giving [aparAparacetanAp 
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