The supreme sacrifice of Dana
By Ven. Meegahwature Dhammagaveshi Thero
Dana in Pali means generosity or giving. It is on top of the list of ten
Perfections (Parami), three kinds of meritorious deeds, ten qualities of
a virtuous king, and four ways of hospitality. Generosity is an important
quality to reduce craving and eventually eradicate it. Craving is one of
the main roots of all forms of suffering, grief and fear.
The Buddha says:
Tanhaya jayati soko
Tanhaya jayati bhayam
Tanhaya vippamuttassa
Natthi soko kuto bhayam
(From craving arises grief
From craving arises fear
For him who is free from craving
There is no grief, there is no fear)
That is why the Buddha practised generosity in different ways in his
previous births, when he was a Bodhisatva - one who is making an effort
to become a Buddha by fulfilling the perfections. At the beginning of his
Bodhisatva life, he reflected on what would be the first virtue that would
help him to become Buddha in the future. He realized it would be generosity.
Then he started practising it. So many Jataka stories relate how the Bodhisatva
practised Dana Parami. He donated precious material things, parts of the
body and even his life for the welfare of others.
The Vyagra Jataka illustrates how the Bodhisatva sacrificed his body
to a tigress. Thousands of years ago, there lived a king named Maharatta.
He had three sons - Maha Prasada, Maha Deva and Maha Satta. One day, the
king, accompanied by the three princes, went to the forest park on an excursion.
Leaving the king alone, the three princes went into the thick forest to
enjoy the beautiful environment. When they reached a mountain top, the
eldest prince saw a tigress with five cubs down below. They seemed to be
very hungry. The tigress had been without food for seven days since the
delivery of the cubs and was about to eat her own cubs to satisfy her hunger.
Realizing that tigers and lions thrive on blood and flesh, Maha Satta thought
to himself: 'I must sacrifice my filthy body to the starving tigress. Here
is an ideal opportunity for me to practise the Dana Parami by giving my
body to the tigress. This body in any case does not last for ever. This
is not a permanent and solid object. It is liable to old age, liable to
decay, liable to disease and liable to death.'
The Bodhisatva asked the other two brothers to go away leaving him.
Once they left, Maha Satta made up his mind, removed his garments and ornaments
and leaving them on the branch of a tree, jumped from the top of the mountain
towards the tigress with a pure thought in his mind: 'May the power of
this great deed help me to achieve my goal of becoming a Samma Sambuddha
to save all beings from the ocean of Samsara.'
However, nothing happened to him because of the great power within him.
Besides, the tigress was too weak to reach him. Again, Maha Satta with
firm determination not to miss the opportunity went out looking for a weapon.
He could only find a bamboo splinter. That was good enough for his purpose.
He took it, cut off his neck and fell dead on the ground in front of the
tigress. The hungry tigress drank the blood, devoured the flesh and left
just the bones. At that particular moment, the waters of the ocean were
disturbed, the earth trembled and the sun's rays dimmed. As they noticed
the earth tremor, the two brothers guessed that their younger brother had
done the supreme sacrifice. When they returned to the spot, they saw for
themselves what had happened. They were very sad. When they went back and
told their father, the king and his retinue, came to the spot where the
incident occurred. They all felt sad and were speechless. Some fainted.
The king ordered that a Cetiya be built and the prince's hair and bones
be enshrined. It was named 'Om Nam Buddha'.
Such meritorious deeds helped the Bodhisatva to reach his goal of becoming
the Buddha. Once he achieved Buddhahood, He expounded the Dhamma to human
beings and to the deities on numerous topics taking into account the ability
of the listeners to hear and comprehend.
Buddha explains in several places how to practise 'dana'. There are
three forms of 'dana' - Amisa dana' (giving away material things), 'Abhaya
dana' (grant of amnesty) and 'Dhamma dana' (helping people to realize the
Truth).
We should practise the 'Amisa dana' in our daily lives. When we look
round, there are so many who lack basic necessities like food, clothing,
medicine and shelter. Think how you can help the needy. Start filling a
till with a coin or two and when it is full, spend that money on someone
who needs things for his survival. Such an act is highly appreciated in
the teachings of the Buddha.
Granting amnesty can be done by disciplining ourselves. For example,
if one follows the first precept in 'Pansil', one can make others live
without fear. Furthermore, there may be instances when you can help those
who face danger. It could be a fire or a flood or any other disaster. Donating
blood, eyes, kidneys or any other part of your body to save the life of
another falls into 'Abhaya dana'.
The Dhamma dana is the best of all danas. One must have a clear understanding
of what is good and bad thereby avoiding immoral behaviour. Listening to
the Dhamma will help you achieve this. It is an essential ingredient to
realize the eternal Truth or 'Nibbana'. One can practise Dhamma dana by
teaching the Dhamma, giving sermons and organizing discussions. Publishing
books on the Dhamma and supporting monks and laymen who teach the Dhamma
also falls within Dhamma dana. It is important to remember that one should
not donate anything expecting something in return. One should not expect
praise, look for fame or respect, or for that matter, any materialistic
gain either in this life or the next after doing a good deed. Just let
go. That is the real way to practise generosity.
May the Triple Gem protect you!
The writer is resident monk of the Schofild Buddhist Temple in Sydney |
