How to Give So That It Bears Great Fruit

Dāna (giving) means giving, letting go of and sharing what is one’s own for the benefit of others. One needs knowledge and understanding of giving for it to be wholesome giving: giving done rightly, with great fruit and great benefit (ānisaṃsa).

Wholesome Giving Emphasizes the Mind, Not the Object

Look at the mental factors (nāmadhamma) involved. In giving, there must be intention (cetanā): the will, the resolve, the determination to give, to let go, to share. This intention is a very important mental factor; it is the starting point. When intention arises, it prompts other mental factors to do their work. For example, when there is the intention to give, it prompts non-greed to arise and non-anger to arise, and effort, focus and wisdom follow, and so on.

So wholesome giving is a group of good, wholesome states led by intention. In the thought to give, the thought to let go, one may give out of non-greed, or out of non-anger, or out of knowledge and understanding, trusting in kamma and its results, giving with wisdom. It depends on which good, wholesome state the giver lets drive the giving.

When an offering is made with faith, trusting in kamma and its results, reflecting on it again and again until a brightness of mind arises in that moment, then even if the gift is small, the merit that arises is by no means small.

The Gift Does Not Bear the Fruit; the Intention Does

Whether the giving we do bears great fruit depends on refining the mind. A gift may be worth very little, but if the mind, which is immaterial, is refined and shaped so that much that is wholesome arises, with great faith and great determination, for example, that gift bears great fruit.

So when you are about to give, you must shape your mind well and refine it at all three times: pubba-cetanā, the intention before giving; muñcana-cetanā, the intention while giving; and apara-cetanā, the intention after giving. That is: before giving, be glad; while giving, be full of faith; after giving, let delight arise. Whenever you bring it to mind, joy and rapture arise.

Giving wisely, with knowledge and understanding, having listened to and studied the Dhamma well, means giving what is called sappurisa-dāna, the giving of a good person: giving what is clean, giving what is fine, giving what is suitable, giving at the right season and the right time, choosing the person to give to so that it brings the greatest benefit, giving continually, regularly and consistently, giving with a bright mind, and being glad after giving.

See the Fruit of Giving First, Then Give

When a person knows what fruit a given way of giving will bring, it makes us refined and attentive in our giving. These are the five kinds of sappurisa-dāna:

1. Giving with faith: trusting in kamma and its results, trusting in cause and effect, making the mind bright while giving. Giving with faith, acting with faith and keeping the precepts with faith are causes for gaining wealth, children, followers, relatives and friends, as well as rank, wealth and abundant power. One is born with a fine body and a bright, cheerful face, and receives good things; even one’s children, followers, relatives and friends receive only good things.
2. Giving with respect: giving respectfully, giving with mindfulness and clear comprehension, giving with a grateful heart. This is a cause and condition for having children, grandchildren, relatives and friends who listen, who are not stubborn or rebellious, who are ready to do as we wish; whoever we ask, whoever we tell, no one is obstinate.
3. Giving at the right time: giving at the proper season and the proper time is a cause for never being disappointed; whatever we hope for is fulfilled. For example: what should be given in the hot season, the cold season, the rainy season; what to give travelers or visitors; what to give someone who is sick; what to give when COVID is spreading; and so on. All of this is wisdom in giving.
4. Giving by letting go completely: letting go completely is like plucking out your heart and handing it over, not giving and then clinging to it because defilements are still in control. For example, when we take food to offer a monk and he does not eat it, or gives it to someone else, we must not feel resentful, because we have already given it away completely. The result for those who give without letting go completely: having wealth, they stand guard over their wealth; having children, they stand guard over their children; having a wife, they cling to her. They gain wealth and are troubled by it, suffer because of it, hoard it for others, dare not eat or spend. They own a fine car but drive an old one, own fine clothes but wear old ones.
5. Giving without harming oneself or others: that is, not giving with a sulking, petulant mind, meaning giving out of craving (taṇhā), conceit (māna) and views (diṭṭhi), comparing ourselves with others: they are better than us, we are better than them, and the mind grows clouded. When such people gain things, they get struck by misfortune: floods, fires, robbery, their property seized; they find a partner and the partner is stolen. Do not compare yourself with others; be glad for them. Do not let your mind become resentful in giving or in keeping the precepts.

Giving to Adorn the Mind, Refining the Mind Toward Nibbāna

• Some people in this world give with bias, out of love. This is called chanda-dāna.
• Some people give and then resent it, give just to be rid of a nuisance, or give poor things to people they dislike. This is called dosa-dāna.
• Some people give for no reason, without knowing or understanding why they give. This is called moha-dāna.
• Some people give out of fear. This is called bhaya-dāna.
• Some people give because their father, mother and grandparents gave before them. This is called kulavaṃsa-dāna.
• Some people give hoping that after death they will reach a happy destination, the heavenly world. This is called saggaloka-dāna.
• Some people give hoping that by giving they will be happy. This is called somanassa-dāna.

These seven kinds of giving are supported by craving, conceit and views. Such giving still turns within the round of rebirth (vaṭṭa): once the fruit has been enjoyed and the merit used up, one still has to come back and be born again. It is giving with little fruit and little benefit.

Some people in this world give to adorn the mind, to refine the mind, not letting the defilements take hold. This is called cittālaṅkāra-dāna, giving to adorn the mind. It leads solely to nibbāna. The Buddha praised it as giving of great fruit and great benefit.

How do we refine the mind so that we can give with a mind that is clean, pure and spotless, and keep the precepts with a mind that is clean and spotless? We need skill in looking after our own mind well, and in developing faith so that it is strong, effort so that it is steady, mindfulness so that it arises, and wisdom so that it knows and understands and can wash the defilements away.

When someone gives cittālaṅkāra-dāna, unsupported by the defilements of craving, conceit and views, the mind becomes bright and radiant. Recollecting the giving one has done is called cāgānussati (recollection of generosity). It can give rise to joy, rapture, passaddhi (tranquility), happiness and samādhi (steadiness of mind) at the level of access concentration (upacāra-samādhi), as a foundation for developing insight knowledge and penetrating the Four Noble Truths.