Paramita – Generosity 2

We were compelled by the tragic events of January 6th in Washington DC to reflect on how those events affected us and how we could possibly include Generosity in our practice around our anger, confusion, and disbelief at what was happening to our government. Our practice, as always, is not to deny or run away from these feelings, but to see how we can be with them, in the body and in the mind and in the heart. We sit with our feelings in a way that accepts them as our reactions without needing to distract ourselves or push the feelings away. This practice is fundamentally Generosity for our self.

We will continue to explore aspects of generosity in a formal setting, but remember that you can access your field of care at any time when you need to sit with these feelings.
So, now a little more detail about Generosity, starting with a definition of Generosity (Dana in the Pali Language), liberally borrowed from Phillip Moffitt’s book, Emotional Chaos to Clarity.

dana [daana]: Giving, liberality; offering, alms. More generally, the inclination to give, without expecting any form of repayment from the recipient.

Dana (Generosity) Practice

In the Buddhist tradition, the teachings are given freely because they are considered priceless; in the Buddhist tradition we also practice dana, or generosity, by making monetary offerings for the teachings. Dana is not payment for goods or services rendered; it is given from the heart. Your generosity is a gift that supports not just the teachers, but also the Sangha, the larger Dharma community, and your own practice.

Generosity means practicing generous behavior in all aspects of your life, not just giving money or sharing material possessions. In daily life generosity also means receiving each arising moment with a generous attitude and meeting it with patience. You cultivate magnanimous thoughts that allow you to see others in their best light and to interpret their actions as well-meaning until proved otherwise. Being generous in your thoughts doesn’t mean that you’re naive or that you permit a wrong action to go uncorrected. Rather, it means that you treat everyone as innately worthy of your respect and care.

I know this can be a difficult practice.

Reflections [that is a nice word for ‘Homework’]:

Experiment with being generous for a week.

Each day look for opportunities to be kind, helpful, and non-critical.

Each evening, reflect on how it felt to be generous. Has it added to your sense of well-being?

Then, reflect on how you might practice generosity throughout the year.

There are many ways to cultivate an attitude of generosity in daily life. Here are just a few by Phillip Moffitt that I have found to be quite powerful:

Be generous with your attention when you’re listening to someone.

Be generous in celebrating another person’s happiness.

Be generous with your sympathy toward someone who has experienced loss.

Be generous with your compliments and praise of others.

Be generous with your unconditional respect of others.

Be generous with your willingness to be helpful.