Buddhist Belief Blog

As promised in my last post about the various aspects of Buddhist Belief, today we’ll begin to take a look at The Six Paramitas — beginning with the first paramita, The Perfection of Generosity.

As I mentioned last time, it’s important to have a good basic understanding of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path before embarking on these teachings. There are several articles among the earlier posts on this blog where you can obtain the basics. The reason why it’s important is because all of these teachings tie together in so many ways. Buddha taught us how we can train our minds and hearts from the outside in, by restraining or vowing not to harm, not to be naughty, not to kill, lie, steal, intoxicate ourselves, and so on. At the same time, we can work from the inside out, from our innate goodness and integrity, by resting in our natural state of being without clinging, free from concepts and attachments. Needless to say, putting these forms of training into reality require a consistent practice of meditation. As always, I stress a daily practice.

Actually the best way to train our minds is from the outside in and the inside out at the same time. Then wherever we are, that kind of faultlessness can bloom, our highest character will develop. That’s what enlightened living is all about — faultlessness. Not just rules or vows, not just morality, but impeccability, character, and integrity.

The Buddha taught that we suffer because we crave. That’s the second of the Four Noble Truths. Actually, we sometimes crave things we already have. Once we have something we desire, we don’t want to lose it. We hold on to stuff and accumulate it. We let the stuff we have define who we are. We want more of what we have, or better versions of what we have, or to make full use of what we have. We refuse to give things up because, [we think], it was such hard work to get it we can’t possibly let it go. I believe that deep down, we all know how this accumulated stuff is holding us back and weighing us down.

Generosity is a good way to work with this. When we’re generous, we can let go of our “stuff” — our baggage — our excess belongings. It’s okay not to cling to it. If we don’t truly need something, maybe there’s someone else who does. It’s our chance to reach out and give to others. With this paramita, we practice it by giving from the very depths of our heart, we practice generously offering our love, compassion, time, energy, and resources to serve the highest welfare of all beings.

Giving is an essential step in our practice. When we give, we should give unconditionally. It should be free of any selfish desire for gratitude, recognition, advantage, reputation, or any sort of worldly reward.

The Perfection of Generosity is not accomplished simply by the action of giving, nor by the actual gift itself. Rather, the true essence of this paramita is our pure motivation of genuine concern for others—the truly generous motivation of our awakened heart of compassion, wisdom, and love. In addition, our practice of giving should be free of discrimination regarding who is worthy or who is unworthy to be on the receiving end of our generosity.

When we’re working to cultivate the paramita of generosity, it is wise to contemplate the enormous benefits of this practice, the disadvantages of being miserly, as well as the obvious fact that our body and our wealth are not permanent. We frequently use the phrase, “Well, you can’t take it with you!” With this in mind, we should certainly be encouraged to use both our body and wealth to practice generosity — while we still have them.

Generosity is a cure for the afflictions of greed, miserliness, and possessiveness. In this practice of giving, we may offer our time, energy, money, food, clothing, or gifts so as to assist others. Also, to the best of our ability, we can also offer the treasures of Buddhist Beliefs and teachings to others. This offering serves to free others from any misunderstandings that may cause confusion, pain, and suffering.

We can offer fearless giving and protection by delivering living beings (insects, animals, and people) from harm, distress, fear, and terror. In this way, we offer care and comfort, helping others to feel safe and peaceful. We should do this selflessly, without determining any possible cost to ourselves. We practice the perfection of generosity in an especially powerful way when we embrace all living beings continually in the radiant love of our heart.

This is why I end these posts with ….

Metta ….May all beings be well and happy. May all beings live in safety. May all beings be healthy and strong. May all beings live with ease.

Namaste — Be in Peace.

Ron Rink
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Just click the links that are sort of Grey in color to take you to where you can learn more about each book and how you can purchase a copy for your own library.

Anam Thubten — No Self – No Problem

No Self – No Problem
shows how to realize the ultimate meaning of life in each moment by dissolving all notions of ego-identity. It asks that spiritual seekers wake up to their true nature, which is already enlightened. Based on Buddhist wisdom traditions, this easy-to-read book discusses in simple, but profound and inspiring language, how we can live a life full of love, satisfaction, and happiness. No Self – No Problem

Sharon Salzberg — The Kindness Handbook

“It takes boldness, even audacity, to step out of our habitual patterns and experiment with a quality like kindness–to work with it and see just how it might shift and open up our lives. This book is an invitation to do just that. — From The Kindness Handbook