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Dear Friends,
This Thursday evening, August 9, after our meditation period we will
recite the Five Mindfulness Trainings. Our discussion will center on
the Second Mindfulness Training:
Aware of the suffering caused by
exploitation, social injustice, stealing, and oppression, I am
committed to cultivating loving kindness and learning ways to work for
I am committed to practicing generosity by sharing my time, energy, and
material resources with those who are in real need. I am determined not
to steal and not to possess anything that should belong to others. I
will respect the property of others, but I will prevent others from
profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other species on
Earth.
Often in daily life, when I hear the words generous or generosity I
think of acts of giving that include a LOT of money, time, or material
means. For example, I was reading today that Maple Forest Monastery was
started when "a generous donor offered the Unified Buddhist Church
a 120-acre property." Now that's generous!
In my life I have certainly tended to measure generosity - others' and
my own - in dollars and cents, or in the quantity of time spent in
service. But I've that learned there are other dimensions available,
such as the intention that underlies a gift. Or the quality of presence
that I bring to the giving. Or perhaps my willingness to give joyfully
even when the person I'm giving to is receiving it begrudgingly. And so
in moments when I don't have access to a lot of time or money, the gift
is still available.
How do you "measure" generosity, and what experiences have you had
recently that might cause you to look at it in different ways? I look
forward to sharing them with you during our dharma discussion.
Warmest wishes,
Peter