Speaker: Venerable Master Chin Kung, 2012.01.28
There are three types of giving, that is, the giving of wealth, the giving of teachings and the giving of fearlessness. What is the purpose of practising giving? ‘To free oneself from stinginess and greed’. Stinginess and greed are the most severe afflictions out of all afflictions. Being stingy means unwilling to give what we have to others. Wanting what we do not have is greed. Greed can be without end. Being greedy for fame, for wealth and for profit. In this world, what people are greedy for is the Five desires and the Seven emotions. Such greed has reached a very severe level and caused much physical and mental harm to oneself, as well as severely affecting our planet in the forms of disasters.
The Buddha told us in Mahayana sutras that greed attracts water-related disasters, e.g. river flood and the rise of sea level. What is the cause of these disasters? The cause is the stinginess and greed of human beings living on this planet. The consequence is terrible. Anger attracts fire-related disasters, e.g. eruption of volcanos and global warming. Ignorance brings us wind-related disasters. Arrogance brings us earthquakes. Doubts on sages’ teachings, on good teachings and on the law of cause and effect bring us landslides and cave-ins. Nowadays we often hear the news about landslides and sink holes. These are the results of doubts. You see how terrible it is.
All these disasters are not natural disasters. They are responses to our unkind thoughts and deeds. Being natural is the most beautiful. Being natural is the healthiest.It is us human beings who have damaged the natural ecosystem of the Earth and bring forth disasters. The same principle applies to our bodies. These disasters are also reflected in the organs of our bodies, causing illnesses, pain and even death.
That’s why the first thing that the Buddha taught us is to practise giving. To give is to let go, to give wealth, to give teachings, to give fearlessness. Speaking of wealth, there is internal and external wealth. External wealth refers to material possessions. Internal wealth refers to things related to our bodies. We do housework when we are at home. We use our bodies to serve our family members. These acts are all wealth giving. In our centers, there are many fellow practitioners working as volunteers. What they do is giving internal wealth, the merit of which is greater than that of giving money.
What kind of giving is giving money? It is the giving of external wealth. Serving others here is the giving of internal wealth. The merit of giving internal wealth is greater than that of giving external wealth. We should practise giving with a selfless frame of mind. Whenever we think, we do not think of ourselves but think of others. ‘How do I love and help them? How do I care for them? How do I look after them? How do I help them?’ We do our best to do things properly. This is the right attitude to practise giving.
The most important giving is the giving of teachings. To do it, we should start with ourselves and set good examples for others to see. If we can serve others with great generosity, our service is the giving of teachings.
Be it the giving of internal or external wealth, so long as we are generous without being stingy, so long as we can benefit others at the cost of our own benefit, then what we do has merit.
Speaking of the giving of teachings, for example, the Buddha taught us the six perfections, we practise them properly. The Buddha taught us to respect and love our parents and teachers, we practise it properly. We set good examples for others, this is teaching by example. Buddhist practitioners should practise the Buddha’s teachings, be constantly mindful of his teachings, and often speak of his teachings. We must practise them and set good examples for others to see. We should do it constantly and perpetually without stopping. Nowadays, there will be no effect if we do it for a short period of time. It’s because in this day and age the bad habits of human beings are too deep-rooted and people have been contaminated for too long. The bad habits cannot be changed over a short period of time. It takes time to be truly transformed. It could take 3 to 5 years.
Today, helping people can be quite exhausting. So we must practise the perfection of patience. Only with patience can we succeed. If we cannot be patient, we will not be successful. So how do we proceed? Be patient daily for as long as we live. Sakyamuni Buddha set a good example for us. He showed us the Eight Phases to Enlightenment.
Throughout his life, he had never relented for a single day. It was why his teaching was successful. People believed him. He never lied. He truly practised what he preached.
The third type is the giving of fearlessness. When others are in terror or fear, you help them to be free from all fear and bring peace to their minds and bodies. This is the giving of fearlessness. Today, our world experiences disasters frequently. Many people are restless and emotionally insecure. They find it difficult to settle their minds. They have lots of worries and much fear. How to help them? Learn sages’ teachings and the Buddha’s teachings together with them.It will calm us down. Even if there are disasters, we will not be in fear. Our minds will be pure and settled. A pure mind generates wisdom. Wisdom helps us overcome disasters safely and peacefully. This is the giving of fearlessness. So when we teach saints’ and sages’ teachings, we must set good examples for others to see, then what we do includes all three types of giving mentioned above. This is something we should learn and practise.