GIVE

We will only begin to find peace within when we come to appreciate life and are fully satisfied. We will only begin to find peace when we begin to move into the moment, live in the present, not allowing the past to taint the present and the future to instill fear in us about the uncertainties. We will only find peace if we can recognize an enemy infiltrate our camp through their negative speech, thought and opinions and stop them before they can even perturb the serenity of our environment that we had worked hard to achieve. We will only find peace when we begin to give.

When peace befalls, all else becomes secondary. When all else is taken care off meditation happens. With peace settling on us the mind too settles. It becomes conducive to enter a meditative state without any effort or attempt.

A friend while browsing through a magazine while having an hair cut came across a wonderful article. He wanted to share it with me. He took the trouble to take snapshots of the pages and forwarded them to me.

I managed to find the original article on the net at https://www.puti.org/en/meditation-health-no-20-08/.

Some excepts from this wonderful insight of Master Jinbodhi.

There is an old saying: “The blessed have only smooth sailing ahead.” When one is blessed, life is a smooth experience of lasting peace and happiness, and obstacles are absent.

He gives an explanation of why some are successful while others are not. He provides a solution to change our fate.

To be blessed, we need to do more kind deeds, be virtuous, and give useful things to people who are more in need than us, material or immaterial: basic necessities, food, drink, clothing, lodging, money. You don’t have to be rich to be generous. Give according to your means and you are considered rich. Regardless of your financial status, if you are constantly thinking of profiting from others, you are in fact considered poor. On the other hand, willingness to give money and be helpful and generous to strangers is virtuous giving — it is the real wealth.

Donating useful things at the right time can earn vast merit. In times of need such as a natural disaster, we can contribute money, food or labor to give assistance to the needy. People who are truly generous take delight in giving away things that benefit others. 

Sincere givers are more blessed than those who often receive. Virtuous giving is the secret to transforming oneself from a state of poverty to prosperity.

Those with challenged destinies will reap positive results through continual kind acts and gradually become blessed.

In accordance with the karmic law of cause and effect, the Buddha taught that giving yields benefits in the present life and the lives to come. It is more blessed to give than to receive. Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and deities protect those who perform good deeds.

Every cell in your body will start to radiate compassion. The accumulation of wholesome deeds will see your life start changing. When all the cells come together, your compassionate energy is enormous, changing your fate.

Offering to buddhas, monks and cultivators are called “upward-giving,” while giving to all sentient beings is called “downward-giving.” In both instances, the noble giver thereby accumulates merits and virtues and generates a bounty of blessings.

The pure intention of the giver is to strengthen the cultivator’s aspiration to study and teach dharma, allowing sentient beings to benefit from their guidance, attain enlightenment, and ultimately achieve buddhahood in the years to come.

If the cultivator you made an offering to achieves enlightenment, you will obtain the auspiciousness too.