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malevolent relatives) 
4. one part which should be used 
for five sorts 
of dedication 
1. for one's extended family 
2. for hospitality 
3. for dedicating merit for the 
departed 
4. for taxes 
5. for dedicating merit to the things 
that you 
believe in according to your local 
custom 
(e.g. ascetics, animals, physical 
forces and 
elements, lower deities or higher 
deities depending 
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on your culture) 
5. one part to extend support to 
well-practising 
monks and ascetics 
The Buddha did not say that each 
part should be 
20% of your earnings, but he 
taught that you should 
budget for each of these sorts of 
expenditure. As 
for the "working capital" which 
you have built up 
for yourself, the Buddha taught in 
the SiIgalovAda 
Sutta (D.iii.180ff.) that you should 
apply one-quarter 
of your earnings for your 
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immediate needs, onehalf 
should be reinvested in your 
business and the 
remaining quarter should be saved 
in case of emergency. 
It is up to each individual to decide 
how 
much of their income to use as 
"working capital" 
and how much to use for 
generosity. If you budget 
in this way, you will be able to 
practise generosity, 
giving neither too much nor too 
little. 
E.3 Degree of Generosity 
As mentioned above, generosity 
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usually refers to 
giving away what is excess to 
one's needs. Generosity 
thus trains one to overcome the 
tendency to 
want more and more without end 
— and to be able 
to distinguish between `need' and 
`want'. If you 
have a big plate of food and you 
know that half 
will be enough for you, to give the 
other half to a 
hungry friend is generosity [dAna]. 
However in 
some places such as the "Four 
Virtues of the Householder" 
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[gharavAsadhamma] (S . i .2 1 5 
Sn.1 89) the 
Buddha exhorted his householders 
to train themselves 
even to be willing to sacrifice their 
own convenience 
for the good of others. In such a 
case, a 
hungry man might forgo the whole 
of his large plate 
of food for the benefit of a friend 
who has eaten 
nothing for three days. Such giving 
is a more developed 
form of generosity known as 
"self-sacrifice" 
[cAga]. In pursuit of the perfection 
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of generosity 
the bodhisattva cultivated 
self-sacrifice to the 
point he was willing to sacrifice all 
his material possessions, 
but also parts of his body such as 
blood 
and eyes [upa-dAna-paramitA] and 
his own life 
[paramatta-dAna-paramitA]. 
F. RESULTS OF GIVING 
F.1 Speed of Outcomes 
A final point about generosity 
concerns the reason 
why some people perform an act of 
generosity and 
receive the fruit of their deed 
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immediately. For example, 
someone is generous and 
immediately 
comes into a fortune or is made 
king or attains enBlessing 
Fifteen: Generosity 193 
lightenment. What is the reason? 
There is an additional 
factor in the performance of 
generosity which 
influences the swiftness with 
which the merit will 
give its fruit. If you look at the set 
of teachings `the 
giving of a noble one' 
(SappurisadAna Sutta 
A.iii.172) you will find the answer. 
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The Buddha 
taught that a noble man will give: 
I. with faith (i.e. with full faith in 
the favourable 
outcome of a good deed): will 
bring the 
giver wealth, attractive and 
trustworthy 
appearancewith a good 
complexion; 
2. with respect: will bring the 
giver wealth and 
endowment with obedient children, 
spouse 
and servants; 
3. at the correct time; will bring 
the giver wealth 
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and the wishes of the giver will 
come to fruition 
without delay; 
4. with the thought to help the 
recipient; will 
bring the giver wealth and higher 
enjoyment 
of the pleasures of the senses; 
5. without coming into conflict 
with yourself or 
others: will bring the giver wealth 
and protection 
of possessions from fire, flood, 
misappropriation 
by tax-collectors, theft and 
exhortation 
by enemies of malevolent heirs. 
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F.2 Difference of fruit by 
difference of gift type 
Whenever we do generous deeds, 
we reduce the 
influence of greed in the mind, 
however the degree 
of the reduction will depend on the 
purity of the 
gift, the intention, the recipient and 
the giver. Apart 
from these factors, the fruits of our 
giving is also 
influenced by the type of thing we 
offer is. To take 
the example some examples of 
offerings. The first 
five come from the KiOdada Sutta 
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(S.i.32) — see 
table below. 
Therefore, if ever you have the 
opportunity to 
cultivate generosity, never let the 
opportunity pass 
by unanswered. Sometimes we 
think of waiting 
until we are more ready, but often 
if we wait until 
everything is ready, the 
opportunity is gone. 
G. ILLUSTRATIVE 
EXAMPLES 
G.1 Proverb: MahApadayE Sutta 
(A.iii.51) 
Those who give the things they 
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like, are wont to 
receive things that they like; those 
who give the 
supreme, are wont to receive 
supreme things; those 
who give good things are wont to 
receive good 
things; those who give the ultimate 
are wont to attain 
the ultimate; persons who give the 
supreme, 
the good, the ultimate, will have 
long life and honour 
wherever they are born. 
Offering Example Fruit 
giving food 
giving cloth or clothing 
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giving transport 
giving light 
giving shelter 
giving permanent 
property 
time-limited giving 
forgiving, giving life 
giving knowledge 
meal for monks 
robes for monks 
vehicles, shoes, a lift, bus/ 
train fare 
candles, lanterns, fuel oil 
a place for the night, a 
building 
buildings, trees 
receiving guests, those 
preparing to travel, first 
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harvest 
forgiving others, extending 
the life of condemned 
animals, releasing fish 
a lecture, needed advice 
long-life, bright complexion, good 
health, strength, quickwittedness 
good complexion 
happiness 
outstanding eyesight 
everything! 
long-life, strength, security of 
personal property 
wishes will come true, lack of 
difficulty in times of shortage 
long-life 
intelligence, easy attainment of 
wisdom 
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TABLE 15.1: THE 
MERITORIOUS FRUITS OF 
VARIOUS SORTS OF 
GENEROSITY 
194 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
G.2 Metaphor: A burning house 
If our house catches fire, the 
possessions we can 
manage to salvage before it burns 
down will be all 
we are left with. In the same way, 
the possessions 
that are really our own, are those 
we can convert to 
merit by the power of our 
generosity in the space 
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of our lifetime, before the fires of 
old-age, sickness 
and death burn up this 
impermanent body of ours. 
Dutiya Jana Sutta A.i.156 
G.3 Metaphor: Cow and Pig 
(trod.) 
The pig was jealous of the cow 
because the cow 
seemed to be very popular with 
everybody. 
Someone advised the pig,"Don't 
be jealous 
popularity is in proportion to one's 
generosity. The 
cow gives her milk daily to make 
butter and yoghurt 
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and cheese". 
The pig was indignant 
saying,"Generous — I'm 
generous! Look at all the things 
mankind has to 
thank me for — my bristles make 
paintbrushes and 
my flesh makes all the pork dishes 
of the world." 
"Don't confuse the issue," said the 
advisor, "—
all the things the cow gives, she 
gives while she is 
still living!" 
Ever wondered why the people 
who are only generous 
in their will are never very 
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popular? 
G.4 Ex. CEOasAtaka Brahmin 
(DhA.iii.002ff) 
There was once a couple who were 
so poor that they 
only had a loincloth each and 
between them they 
only had a single shawl. If the 
husband went out of 
the house with the shawl then the 
wife had to hide 
in the house. If the wife went out 
of the house, the 
husband had to stay home. They 
couldn't go anywhere 
together because they only had a 
single 
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shawl between them. One day the 
husband went 
alone to hear the teaching of the 
Buddha. He was 
filled with faith and thought to 
offer the shawl to 
the Buddha. He took off the shawl, 
then thought of 
his wife at home and changed his 
mind. He listened 
to the sermon further until 
midnight and again he 
was filled with faith to offer the 
shawl — but when 
he thought of his wife, he changed 
his mind again. 
He listened to the sermon further 
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almost until dawn 
and this time when he was filled 
with faith, he offered 
the shawl to the Buddha without 
any further 
hesitation, while exclaiming the 
words, "Cittame 
Cittame" meaning "I have 
conquered (it), I have 
conquered (it)." King Pasenadi 
was sitting nearby. 
If anyone shouts anything like this 
near a king, they 
will normally have their head 
chopped off — but 
the king was interested to know 
what he had conquered. 
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