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Buddhism recognizes four important types of generosity:
- The first is material generosity, giving material things to those who don't have enough. . . .
- The second is emotional generosity when we share our time and emotions. . . .
- The third is generosity of good counsel when we encounter people who are captive to negative emotions such as anger, hopelessness, despair, anxiety, depression, bitterness. . . . It has to be conveyed as friendship, as we try to help guide their minds and emotions to a more noble path. . . .
- The fourth one is offering the generosity of protection from danger. . . . Defending a Muslim American woman who is being verbally attacked; rescuing an animal; driving a homeless person to a shelter. . . .
Reflection: 1) How and when have you benefited from any of these?
2) How and when have you offered these generosities to others?
-Victor M Parachin, Buddhist Wisdom for Beginners
- The first is material generosity, giving material things to those who don't have enough. . . .
- The second is emotional generosity when we share our time and emotions. . . .
- The third is generosity of good counsel when we encounter people who are captive to negative emotions such as anger, hopelessness, despair, anxiety, depression, bitterness. . . . It has to be conveyed as friendship, as we try to help guide their minds and emotions to a more noble path. . . .
- The fourth one is offering the generosity of protection from danger. . . . Defending a Muslim American woman who is being verbally attacked; rescuing an animal; driving a homeless person to a shelter. . . .
Reflection: 1) How and when have you benefited from any of these?
2) How and when have you offered these generosities to others?
-Victor M Parachin, Buddhist Wisdom for Beginners
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Sometime today, close your eyes and take a few moments to consider how your actions impact your life and the lives of those around you. Ask yourself: How would my life and the lives of those around me be different if I worked to be thoughtful, gentle, generous, kind and compassionate at all times?
-Victor M Parachin, Eastern Wisdom for Western Minds
-Victor M Parachin, Eastern Wisdom for Western Minds
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Buddhist tradition notes that the Buddha himself taught three fundamental types of generosity. First, material generosity, which involves sharing money and other material things with others. Secondly, emotional generosity, which the Buddha described as "making others feel unafraid." We do this when we spend time with a person who has just experienced a traumatic event such as the diagnosis of a life-threatening illness, or with someone who has had a loss to death, or with someone who has been "downsized." Thirdly, there is the generosity of sharing wisdom with others such as leading a meditation group, offering a spiritual workshop, making a presentation about higher values and ethics.
The Buddha often taught about the importance of generosity because it is not only helpful to the recipient of our generosity. We ourselves are greatly helped when we act generously.
-Victor M Parachin, Think Like the Buddha
The Buddha often taught about the importance of generosity because it is not only helpful to the recipient of our generosity. We ourselves are greatly helped when we act generously.
-Victor M Parachin, Think Like the Buddha