Dāna (Pali, Sanskrit: दान dāna) is a Sanskrit and Pali term meaning "generosity" or "giving". In Buddhism, it also refers to the practice of cultivating generosity. Ultimately, the practice culminates in one of the Perfections (paramitas): the Perfection of Giving (dana-paramita). This can be characterized by unattached and unconditional generosity, giving and letting go.

Dāna as a formal religious act is directed specifically to a monastic or spiritually-developed person. In Buddhist thought, it has the effect of purifying and transforming the mind of the giver.^[1]

Generosity developed through giving leads to being reborn in happy states and material wealth.^[2] Alternatively, lack of giving leads to unhappy states and poverty.

Buddhists believe that giving, without seeking something in return, leads to greater spiritual wealth and reduces acquisitive impulses that ultimately lead to further suffering.

Bodhisattva and the Art of GivingEdit

The quality of giving is believed to be one of the virtues perfected over numerous lifetimes by Shakyamuni Buddha in his bodhisattva phase, before the final culmination into Nirvana, after he had purified obscurations and released attachment. This is symbolized by the sacrifice of his own body when he has nothing else to offer an unexpected guest in the Jataka folktale entitled 'Shasha Jataka' (story no. 316). Shakyamuni Buddha is born as a rabbit, and unable to present any other food to a Brahmin come home, roasted himself in a fire. A similar message is given by the story of King Shibi in the Jataka Mala, who having given away all his wealth, was still moved enough by small insects hovering around him, and inflicted several wounds on his body to feed the mosquitoes. In another narrative from the same text, the bodhisattva throws himself in front of a hungry tigress, who, otherwise, was on the verge of consuming her own cubs. This is however not the only instance of the Buddha-To-Be sacrificing his physical body partly or fully and numerous tales abound in Buddhist Canonical literature illustrating this theme.

In the ancient Samadhiraja-Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha's principal disciple Ananda asks how a bodhisattva can cheerfully suffer the loss of his limbs etc and not feel any pain when he mutilates himself for the good of others.

Shakyamuni Buddha explained that intense compassion for humankind and the love of Bodhi (spiritual awakening), sustain and inspire a bodhisattva towards heroism, just as worldly people are inclined to enjoy sensual pleasures even when their bodies are burning with fever.^[3]

See alsoEdit

• Alms (Buddhism)

Notes and referencesEdit

1. ↑ Stewart McFarlane in Peter Harvey, ed., Buddhism. Continuum, 2001, page 186.
2. ↑ In the Pali canon's Dighajanu Sutta, generosity (denoted there by the Pali word "cāga" which can be synonymous with "dāna") is identified as one of the four traits conditioning happiness and wealth in the next life.
3. ↑ Living Like Trees: The Buddhist Ideal of Sharing, by Sri Nitin Kumar.

External linksEdit

• Article from about.com

ru:Дана (индуистская этика) th:ทาน vi:Bố thí zh:布施

Advertisement | Your ad here

Latest Photos

Add a Photo

2,369photos on this wiki

• by Simon Peter Hughes
  2012-05-06T10:08:35Z
  Posted in Joan of Arc
• by Josedimas
  2012-04-25T08:07:51Z
  Posted in The Second Word
• by Simon Peter Hughes
  2012-04-19T12:22:59Z
  Posted in Evelyn Waugh
• by Simon Peter Hughes
  2012-04-19T12:20:01Z
  Posted in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
• by Simon Peter Hughes
  2012-04-18T13:16:14Z
  Posted in Fyodor Dostoevsky
• by Simon Peter Hughes
  2012-04-18T13:15:40Z
  Posted in Graham Greene
• by Simon Peter Hughes
  2012-04-13T11:49:45Z
  Posted in Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
• by Simon Peter Hughes
  2012-04-03T11:55:16Z
  Posted in Dante Alighieri
• by Simon Peter Hughes
  2012-04-03T11:54:57Z
  Posted in Julius Caesar
• by Simon Peter Hughes
  2012-04-03T11:54:26Z
  Posted in Napoleon I of France
• by Ron Feyl
  2012-04-03T01:54:05Z
  
• See all photos

See more >

Recent Wiki Activity

• Documentary hypothesis/Gospels
  edited by Granpa 6 hours ago
• Isar Gospel Harmony
  edited by A Wikia contributor 11 hours ago
• Uta Ranke-Heinemann
  edited by Simon Peter Hughes 12 hours ago
• Marguerite Porete
  edited by Simon Peter Hughes 1 day ago

See more >

Recent Questions