大乘理趣六波羅蜜多經

FASCICLE 4

Chapter 5: THE PERFECTION OF GENEROSITY

At that time, in the midst of the great assembly, the Blessed One had finished proclaiming with a lion’s roar the five kinds of resolve for bodhi. There were the great bodhisattva Maitreya, together with immeasurable and innumerable hundreds of thousands of kotis of great bodhisattvas, headed by the great bodhisattva Manjushri, all of whom had perfected the six paramitas. There were also immeasurable great arhats whose outflows had been exhausted, whose task had been accomplished, who had laid down their burdens, and whose pure conduct was immaculate; and innumerable kotis, hundreds of thousands, myriads of millions, and nayutas of devas, nagas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, mahoragas, yakshas, rakshasas, gandharvas, pishachas, humans, nonhumans, and others.
At that time, the great bodhisattva Maitreya rose from his seat in the midst of the assembly, adjusted his Dharma robe, bared his right shoulder, knelt with palms joined, and single-mindedly and reverently addressed the Buddha:
“Blessed One! The Blessed One has spoken of the irreversible mind of a Mahayana bodhisattva. How many dharmas must a bodhisattva cultivate before being called a great bodhisattva? I beseech the Blessed One to distinguish and explain them.”
The Blessed One then said to the great bodhisattva Maitreya:
“If any good man or good woman, with a pure mind, takes refuge in the Three Jewels—the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha—and arouses the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi, that person attains the stage of irreversibility and is called a bodhisattva. Abiding in my Dharma, such a person is called a mahasattva, serves as a Dharma prince to Buddhas and bodhisattvas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, becomes a father and mother to sentient beings, and becomes a great light of merit that shines more brightly than hundreds of thousands of suns, thereby adorning the body of a Buddha.”
The great bodhisattva Maitreya said:
“Blessed One! From what should this great bodhisattva distance himself, and with whom should he associate? Whom should he take as companions? What should he do first, and how should he abide? How should he practice? How should he discipline his mind? What should he guard? Through whose power may he quickly realize unsurpassed bodhi?”
The Blessed One said:
“Good men and good women who guide sentient beings of the five paths to the unsurpassed perfect awakening of bodhi should keep far away from non-Buddhist paths, false teachings, and evil friends. They should draw near to practitioners who are fully endowed with generosity, moral discipline, patience, diligence, meditative concentration, and wisdom, and take practitioners of the Mahayana as their companions. They themselves should listen attentively to the true Dharma, diligently recite and retain it, abide in the six paramitas in this manner, practice diligently, discipline their minds, and restrain the six sense faculties. Through this power, they will quickly realize unsurpassed, complete and perfect awakening; therefore, they are called great bodhisattvas.
“What are the six paramitas? They are the paramitas of generosity, moral discipline, patience, diligence, meditative concentration, and wisdom.”
Bodhisattva Maitreya said:
“Why is the perfection of generosity taught first?”
The Buddha said to Maitreya:
“I shall analyze and explain this extensively for you. Among the six paramitas, the perfection of generosity is the easiest to cultivate, and therefore it is taught first. Just as, among worldly tasks, that which is easy should be done first, so the perfection of generosity is taught first.
“All sentient beings are capable of practicing the perfection of generosity. Yakshas, rakshasas, lions, tigers, wolves, jailers, butchers, cooks, and others are among the most violent and cruel of sentient beings, yet even they are able to abandon stinginess and practice generosity. How do they give? They nurture their offspring and, out of compassion, suckle them with milk. Although these beings do not understand the meritorious benefits, through their compassion their offspring gain health, longevity, and well-being and are freed from the suffering of hunger and thirst. This, too, is called generosity. Therefore, among the six paramitas, the perfection of generosity is taught first.
“Furthermore, when sentient beings are poor, suffering from hunger and cold, naked, and distressed in body and mind, how can they undertake any task? If they are given food to eat and clothing to wear so that they may attain well-being, only afterward can they cultivate wholesome karma. Great bodhisattvas are likewise.

Seeing sentient beings oppressed by poverty and suffering, unable to arouse supreme faith, cultivate all the undertakings of the Mahayana, or accomplish great deeds, they first give them all manner of clothing, food and drink, dwellings, bedding, medicines, and other necessities so that their minds may find ease. Afterward, they cause them to arouse the aspiration for unsurpassed, complete and perfect awakening and to cultivate the Mahayana Dharma.

Therefore, the perfection of generosity is the gateway leading to the fulfillment of the six paramitas and the first practice among the four means of attraction. Just as all things depend upon the earth for their growth, so the perfection of generosity is taught first.
“As for yakshas and the other beings mentioned above, although they do not know what constitutes a field of merit and what does not, by nursing their offspring out of loving affection, they will come to be humans rich in possessions and free from hunger and want. Through this cause, wherever they are born, they will be without a stingy nature and will give to all sentient beings to eliminate their poverty, hardship, and distress.

Why is this? Because great bodhisattvas who wish to benefit sentient beings must first practice the perfection of generosity. Whenever someone comes to ask, they give and must not scowl, show contempt, become angry, or feel regret.

Whatever they possess, they give without delay or stinginess. Whatever they cherish—clothing, bedding, food and drink, medicines, lands and kingdoms, wives and children, male and female servants, attendants, elephants, horses, the seven precious treasures, and all else—they give away, without even a single thought of regret. If anyone causes them to doubt, that is Mara.

Why is this? Mara the Evil One conjures up possessions to make people stingy. He acts in this way to delude our minds and obstruct great bodhi.

For this reason, one must not be stingy but should reflect: ‘I must relinquish all the possessions I cherish.’”
At that time, the great bodhisattva Maitreya said:
“Blessed One! If I give away cherished possessions without regret, then when a great bodhisattva becomes a wheel-turning king, possesses the seven precious treasures, and is surrounded by a thousand sons, he will not know what to do. It is like tiny grasses growing in a ravine that encounter torrential rain: a great flood surges through and sweeps everything away, leaving nothing behind. A wheel-turning king freely enjoys the five sensual pleasures, is mighty and powerful, and has a thousand sons following him. These may sweep away his entire aspiration for bodhi. How, then, can he cultivate the practice of generosity? For this reason, relinquishment is difficult.”
The Blessed One said to the great bodhisattva Maitreya:
“Good man! Wherever great bodhisattvas are born, they are always wealthy and abundant in possessions, and it is likewise with the Dharma of the path. A holy wheel-turning king should contemplate two matters:

1. He should contemplate the difficult practices performed by the Buddhas of the past and all the teachings of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. The wheel-turning king’s pleasures of the five senses arise from deluded grasping and discrimination and are like illusions and dreams. If the holy wheel-turning king neither discriminates nor clings to these objects of the five senses, how could they obstruct his aspiration for bodhi?

2. He should contemplate: ‘Just as Buddhas and Tathagatas of the past, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, relinquished what was difficult to relinquish in order to lead all sentient beings to the peace and happiness of unsurpassed bodhi, so I also vow to relinquish in the same way.’ Wishing to cleanse away the defilements of stinginess, he makes this vow: ‘From now until I attain Buddhahood, I vow to give this body throughout the entire dharmadhatu so that all sentient beings may cultivate meritorious karma.

Whether the merit is great or small, I vow to share it with all sentient beings and dedicate it to unsurpassed, complete and perfect awakening.’ He should contemplate it thus: ‘In the past, I relinquished innumerable lives and bodies, as vast in number as Mount Sumeru; viewing my present body as no more than a mustard seed, if I can relinquish even this body, how much more readily should I relinquish possessions?’”}]}Final output must conform to codexoutputschema.

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If a bodhisattva possesses many precious assets yet does not give them away, he is like a white elephant that, after bathing itself clean in the Ganges River, uses its trunk to draw up filthy excrement and dusty earth and smear them all over its body. I should bathe my body clean with the pure water of merit, making it dignified, fragrant, and immaculate; I should not, through stinginess and attachment to wealth, smear my body with defilement.
Maitreya, you should know! A great bodhisattva reflects thus: If someone comes and asks for my skin, I shall immediately flay it off and gladly give it away with a joyful heart, without the slightest anger. If someone asks for my body, head, blood, flesh, bones, or marrow, I shall give them all away. Thus, a great bodhisattva brings benefit and happiness to sentient beings, neither abandoning samsara nor grasping at nirvana.
He further reflects thus: This body of mine did not come from anywhere before and will not go anywhere afterward. It arose through the union of my parents from impure seeds and dwelt within the filthy womb. It is like planting a tree: when its branches and leaves flourish, its flowers bloom and its fruit ripens.

My body is likewise: suffering is its branches, sorrow its leaves, deceit its flowers, and delusion its root. The wrathful rakshasa demon dwells in this tree, while evil karmas, like tigers, leopards, jackals, lions, and others, surround it. I am now merely resting temporarily beneath this tree; why should I covet and cherish such a vicious, poisonous tree?

The body of this tree has neither self nor anything belonging to a self. Even if it did, I would still relinquish it, vowing to give it to sentient beings according to their needs and never begrudging it. Why is this?

If they are hewn and cut down with axes and all given to people, they can benefit immeasurable sentient beings. Yet the earth does not think that sentient beings have consumed its body, branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits and thereby recovered from illness. Those insentient things, though devoid of discrimination, can still benefit all sentient beings; how much more should I be able to practice giving with my own body to benefit others!

How could I instead respond with arrogance and contempt, insulting those who come to ask?
One should further contemplate the inside and outside of one’s own body. First contemplate the inside of the body: Are the eyes mine? If they are not mine, why should I begrudge them?
The ears, nose, tongue, body, and so forth are likewise. When all are thoroughly contemplated, nothing is found to be either self or belonging to a self.
Then contemplate what is outside the body: Is form the self or does it belong to the self? Sound, fragrance, taste, and touch are likewise.
When the inside and outside of the body are thoroughly contemplated, no self is found anywhere. Since there is no self, why be stingy and refuse to give? One should therefore firmly reflect thus: “May I dedicate this body to all beings.” Why? Because this body is impermanent and ever-changing, without stability, arising and ceasing in every instant, and possessing nothing whatsoever.
At that time, the Blessed One spoke these verses:
Who compels me to forsake body and wealth,
Leaving me without freedom or benefit?
Having understood this, reflect upon it well:
To open one’s heart and give is most supreme.
If deluded beings awaken to dreamlike, illusory dharmas,
They relinquish both inner and outer, grasping at no existence.
Such giving is comparable to empty space;
Neither self nor recipient—the most supreme.
Furthermore, Maitreya! If a great bodhisattva practices the Mahayana and seeks unsurpassed bodhi, he should cultivate the Dharma of emptiness, for by contemplating emptiness his mind gains mastery. In the presence of Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, he receives predictions of awakening, abides in the non-retrogressive fruit, and practices giving without weariness.

Giving is the blade that severs the bandit of stinginess; the bandit of stinginess is the root of all suffering. A bodhisattva gives without begrudging anything. Why is this?

Although a great bodhisattva has afflictions, they are all skillful means for benefiting the myriad beings. Those afflictions entail no fault, for they arise from the great bodhisattva’s power of vows. With body, speech, and mind abiding in “effortlessness,” he attains purity, skillfully disciplines the five faculties without negligence, brings manifold benefits to all sentient beings, and understands ultimate truth and conventional truth.

With the water of right samadhi, he washes away the dust of stinginess. Having completely removed this defilement, he gives freely and expounds the Mahayana Dharma. The radiance of his majestic bearing shines brilliantly like the sun, dispelling every darkness.

The radiance of the voice proclaiming the Dharma removes the mind’s torpor and delusion.
The great bodhisattva Maitreya asked:
“Blessed One! Why is the gift of Dharma explained first?”
The Buddha said:
The gift of Dharma surpasses the gift of material wealth in three ways:
1.Material wealth given away can be exhausted, whereas the Dharma increases the more it is given and is never exhausted. Therefore, it surpasses the gift of material wealth.
2.Those who receive material gifts gain benefit only in the present life. Those who receive the gift of Dharma gain benefit in this life and future lives. It constantly follows them throughout countless kalpas, and no one can take it away; it does not leave them even until they attain unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment.
3.In material giving, the giver gains benefit, whereas the recipient does not gain such benefit. In the gift of Dharma, however, both gain benefit, for by hearing the Dharma they arouse the aspiration and swiftly proceed toward unsurpassed bodhi.
For these three reasons, the gift of Dharma surpasses the gift of material wealth. Through practicing the gift of Dharma, one’s renown resounds afar, and all humans and devas honor and revere one. For this reason, the gift of Dharma is explained first.
If a great bodhisattva cultivates the perfection of giving, he takes three matters and their merits as the foundation:
1.Benefiting oneself and others. If one does not benefit others but enjoys worldly happiness only for oneself, this is not the bodhisattva practice.
2.Never regressing within the Mahayana.
3.Cultivating even a small portion of giving becomes the root of immeasurable merit. Why? Because the mind is pure and free from discrimination.
It is like the sun illuminating the entire world: sentient and insentient beings alike receive its beneficent light and benefit from it. Yet the sun does not say, “I have shone upon them,” nor does it discriminate between the sentient and the insentient. In the same way, whatever merit a bodhisattva creates—even by giving a single flower or a single fruit—is dedicated to benefiting all sentient beings. Through this merit, he realizes the unsurpassed fruit; his loving-kindness and compassion pervade the ten directions as he teaches and guides all living beings.
Furthermore, Maitreya! A great bodhisattva uses the giving of precious wealth as an instrument of adornment, until the time he becomes a Buddha adorned with the excellent marks. Why does a small gift yield great merit? By employing a little power of skillful means in giving, he dedicates the merit and vows that he and all sentient beings together will realize unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment. He thereby gains immeasurable and boundless merit, just as a small cloud gradually spreads throughout the world.
Maitreya! Giving is of three kinds:
1.Small giving.
2.Great giving.
3.Giving according to the ultimate meaning.
Small giving means giving food and drink, clothing, ornaments, wealth and treasures, elephants and horses, vehicles, granaries and storehouses, cities and towns, villages, orchards, houses, and all the musical instruments of a wheel-turning king. This is called small giving.
Great giving means giving away what a wheel-turning king cherishes—such as his queen, secondary consorts, retinue, and his own body—to others. This is called great giving.

Giving in the ultimate sense means being able to give even one’s own body and life. Because the mind accords with non-attainment, it is called giving in the ultimate sense.
When a great bodhisattva practices giving in these three ways, it is called the paramita of giving.
Maitreya, one who gives food gives five things:
1. The gift of life: if people do not eat, it is difficult for them to preserve their lives.
2. The gift of physical beauty: through receiving food, one’s complexion becomes beautiful.
3. The gift of strength: through receiving food, one’s strength increases.
4. The gift of happiness: through this food, body and mind gain peace and happiness.
5. The gift of understanding: when afflicted by hunger and thirst, the body and mind become weak, and one speaks faintly and indistinctly. When adequately supplied with food and drink, the body and mind become strong and healthy, and one acquires wisdom and great unobstructed eloquence.
When a great bodhisattva gives food, he should make a vow and dedicate the merit as follows:
When I give food, I give these five things:
1. When giving life, I vow that all sentient beings may attain longevity like that of the Buddha, dwelling together for one kalpa, two kalpas, or immeasurable kalpas.
2. When giving physical beauty, I vow that all sentient beings may attain a body of pure gold like that of the Buddha, illuminating the world with a radiance surpassing that of hundreds of thousands of suns.
3. When giving strength, I vow that all sentient beings may attain the Buddha’s Ten Powers, each power containing eighty-four thousand six hundred and sixty-three kinds of Narayana strength.
4. When giving happiness, I vow that all sentient beings may attain Buddhahood and the incomparable bliss of nirvana.
5. When giving eloquence, I vow that all sentient beings may perfect the World-Honored One’s four unobstructed eloquences.
When giving flavors, may all sentient beings be fully endowed with the Buddha’s unsurpassed ambrosial flavor of the Dharma and attain the incomparable peace of pure nirvana.
When giving water, may all sentient beings completely eliminate the thirst of craving.
When giving delicious foods, granulated sugar, rock sugar, sugarcane, and grapes, one will attain the four central teeth in the Tathagata’s mouth, such that all food, drink, and poisons become ambrosia upon touching them.
When giving medicines, may all sentient beings obtain the medicine of the Six Paramitas, which cures the illness of birth and death, and attain the bliss of nirvana.
When giving clothing, may all sentient beings obtain the garment of moral shame with which to cover their bodies, abandon ugly forms, and attain beautiful bodies of pure gold, splendid beyond compare.
When giving powdered incense or anointing fragrances, I vow that all sentient beings may obtain the fragrance of moral discipline with which to anoint their bodies, cleansing away the defiled habitual tendencies of the afflictions.
When giving elephants, horses, vehicles, boats, or rafts, I vow that sentient beings may all attain the Tathagata’s samadhi of following the mind, moving freely without obstruction.
When giving bridges and causeways, may sentient beings seek and attain the Six Paramitas, cross the river of birth and death, and reach the shore of nirvana.
When giving necklaces, may sentient beings be adorned with the jeweled necklace of the thirty-two excellent marks and eighty characteristics.
When, in desolate wildernesses and deserts, travelers suffer hunger and thirst and are scorched by the sun, one should provide ponds and wells for drinking and bathing. May all sentient beings leave far behind the wilderness of transmigration through birth and death, the burning heat of the three poisons, and the suffering of the thirst of craving. I further vow that my body may become a pond and a spring of Dharma, filled with the water of omniscience, so that sentient beings may freely drink and bathe therein, bring the source of birth and death to an end, and attain true liberation.
When giving houses and dwellings, may sentient beings escape wind and rain, thieves and bandits, vicious beasts, and fear, and attain peace and happiness. May sentient beings all enter the house of nirvana, leave behind the bandits of the afflictions and the hot and cold hells, and forever be free from fear of the wind and rain of birth and death.
When giving soft blankets, mosquito nets, beds, mats, and the like, may sentient beings sit upon the seat of bodhi, awaken naturally, and attain true equality.
When giving the finest garments, may all sentient beings possess the Dharma robes of the Three Vehicles, which completely cover all their afflictions.
When offering oil lamps to the Three Jewels, monastic teachers, or one’s parents, may all sentient beings attain the eye of omniscience.
When giving music, may all sentient beings attain the divine ear and hear and know every sound throughout the worlds of the ten directions.
In remote places where the Buddhadharma is absent, one should establish Sangha dwellings and monasteries for the Sangha of the four quarters, and provide utensils, food, drink, and medicines. May all sentient beings attain the peace and bliss of nirvana and bring the suffering of transmigration through birth and death to an end.
When giving medicines, may all sentient beings use the medicine of the Dharma to eliminate the illness of the afflictions.
When giving servants, may all become like Ananda in attending upon the Tathagata.
When freeing prisoners from captivity, may all sentient beings forever leave the prison of the afflictions, attain liberation, and fully abide in the station of the Dharma King.
When giving gold, silver, and priceless treasures, may all sentient beings obtain bodies adorned with the hundred marks of merit.
When giving jeweled crowns and ornaments such as necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings, and garlands, may all sentient beings obtain bodies adorned with the eighty characteristics.
When giving a pure place for study and cultivation, may all sentient beings obtain the Four Noble Lineages as their refuge.
When giving treasuries, may all sentient beings obtain the Buddha’s unsurpassed wealth of Dharma and merit.
When giving the seven treasures and the sovereign bliss of the station of a wheel-turning king, may all sentient beings obtain great strength; may they use the hand of the wondrous Dharma to rescue sentient beings from the ten unwholesome actions, cleanse them with the water of the Ten Wholesome Actions, anoint their bodies with the pure fragrance of moral discipline, and eliminate every foul and impure odor; may they use the garment of moral shame as a canopy, the Buddha’s merits as a necklace, patience as a garland adorning the body, and meditative concentration as their seat, abiding thereon unmoved; may they place the crown of bodhi upon their heads and receive consecration in the station of the Dharma King.
Maitreya, you should know that giving in this manner is called a bodhisattva’s practice of lesser giving.
Furthermore, great giving means that a bodhisattva gives away even his faithful and virtuous wife, beautiful children, sons, daughters, friends, and those whom he most cherishes and esteems. If he does not relinquish his wife and children, how can he become a father and mother to all sentient beings and cherish them? He should compassionately rescue sentient beings as though they were his own beloved children, enabling them to leave birth, aging, illness, and death behind. For this reason, a great bodhisattva gives away everything he favors and cherishes, until he attains the unsurpassed bodhi of Buddhahood.
Maitreya, you should know that giving in this manner is called a bodhisattva’s practice of great giving.
Giving in the ultimate sense: with a pure mind, a great bodhisattva gives his hands, feet, skin, flesh, bones, marrow, head, eyes, ears, nose, and even his own body and life, without the slightest regret. Through this merit, he vows that all sentient beings in future lives may attain an indestructible vajra body.
When giving his hands and feet without attachment or regret, he vows that all sentient beings who wander and drift in the torrent of birth and death with no one to rescue them may be saved by the hand of the true Dharma and brought to the shore of the realm of peace and bliss.
When giving his ears, nose, and tongue, he vows that all sentient beings in future lives may attain the five pure faculties of the Buddhas and adorn sentient beings with that wondrous Dharma.
When giving his blood and flesh to sentient beings, he vows at the time of giving that he and all sentient beings may attain bodies like the great earth, serving as a refuge for all living beings.

Just as a great stream of water can wash away defilements and fill dry ravines and channels; just as a great flame dispels darkness and brings all things to accomplishment; and just as a great wind blows, stirring everything and causing all that is beautiful to unfold and grow.
When giving their eyes, they vow that all sentient beings may attain the Buddha-eye.
If they give their head and jeweled crown, they vow that all sentient beings may attain the Buddha’s unsurpassed jeweled crown of the seven factors of awakening.
“Maitreya! A great bodhisattva gives all the finest things in the world to all sentient beings without greed or reluctance. Why is this? Because, with great compassion, the bodhisattva regards all sentient beings impartially, as an only child. The bodhisattva vows that all sentient beings shall be free from poverty and suffering, that all their wishes shall be fulfilled, that within the wilderness of birth and death they shall possess the seven noble treasures, and that they shall attain the treasure of the Buddha’s wisdom.
“Maitreya! How does a great bodhisattva practice giving without incurring misfortune? The bodhisattva personally performs acts of giving, not out of jealousy, not from fear of ill repute, and not in quest of gratitude, but solely to rescue the poor, solitary, distressed, and suffering. This is called giving. If one becomes a teacher for the sake of a good reputation and continually practices giving, one is like a merchant; this is not genuine giving. To give with great compassion, without distinguishing between enemy and friend or whether one’s wealth is abundant or scarce—this is genuine giving.
“Maitreya! There are two kinds of fields:
1. The field of compassion: namely, those who are orphaned, widowed, poor, destitute, distressed, and suffering.
2. The field of reverence: namely, the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, parents, teachers, and elders.
“One should not disparage the field of compassion by saying that it is not a field of merit. Toward the field of reverence, one should not seek reward. To give impartially to all with an undiscriminating mind of great compassion is called genuine giving.

Moreover, in giving, one should not refuse to relinquish wealth and possessions because of deluded desires, give only because officials have forcibly seized them, or give out of fear that they may be damaged or lost. One must not slight the Three Jewels, but should honor and revere them, and one should not praise oneself while practicing giving. To give precious things without regret, conceit, or arrogance is called genuine giving.

If one is irreverent toward a field worthy of reverence and gives something one dislikes, this is not called giving. Or, although one’s household is poor and has no fine articles, one may refrain from giving because, out of concern for appearances, one feels ashamed of their coarseness. Because of such circumstances, one fails to practice giving.
“Good man! One who practices giving should not discriminate. Whatever one possesses, one should give to anyone who comes seeking whatever they need. This is the paramita of giving. When practicing giving, a great bodhisattva should not rely upon the fact that they observe precepts, possess great learning, cultivate meditative concentration, or have wisdom. Nor, while giving, should they despise others as greedy, angry, deluded, unintelligent, or violators of the precepts. Such giving is not pure giving.
“When practicing giving, a great bodhisattva does not fear poverty or hunger and does not fear falling into the lower realms. Whether the bodhisattva possesses little or much, they give it all away. Through this vast mind, they acquire inexhaustible and boundless merit. This is the paramita of giving.
“If giving causes people to become jealous of one another, making family members and relatives quarrel, fight, and live in discord, it is not called giving.
“If, while giving, one disparages a beggar, saying, ‘You are now healthy and all your faculties are intact. Why do you not find an occupation to support yourself instead of going about begging?’ giving in this manner is not called giving.
“Or, after giving, one regrets it and says, ‘It was because I was foolish and deluded that I gave away my possessions.’ Giving in this manner is not called giving.
“Or, if one gives in hopes of being praised or from fear of ill repute, this is not called giving.
“Or, if one gives because of an unwholesome vow, this is not giving.
“Or, one may select particular days for giving: in a bright lunar fortnight, only the first, eighth, fourteenth, and fifteenth days; and in a dark lunar fortnight, only the third, eighth, thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth days, while giving nothing on any other day. This is not called giving.
“Or, one may select particular times for giving: giving in the morning but not at midday, and likewise not in the afternoon. Giving in this manner is not called giving.
“Or, one may select the recipients: giving to the poor and distressed but not to the wealthy; or giving to both poor and wealthy but not to the sick; or giving to the sick but not to others; or giving to this person but not to that person. Giving in this manner is not called giving.
“Or, one may choose acquaintances of handsome appearance and give them fine things, while giving inferior things to others. This is not called giving.
“Or, upon seeing beggars perform comedies, play music, enact entertainments, or engage in jesting, one gives to them but gives to no one else. This is not called giving.
“One who gives does not seek the karmic reward of becoming a wheel-turning king, Shakra, a world-protector, Brahma, a kshatriya, a brahmin, an elder, or a householder. Even if, after being born into such households, one practices giving solely in pursuit of one’s own liberation, without ever becoming weary or saying, ‘I have already given and need give no more,’ giving in this manner is merely called giving; it cannot be called the paramita of giving.
“Maitreya! A great bodhisattva does not engage in the improper forms of giving described above, but dedicates everything solely to true liberation and makes the vow to attain unsurpassed bodhi. This is the genuine, ultimately pure paramita of giving, through which one attains the stage of non-retrogression on the path to unsurpassed bodhi. If one can abandon all such faults and practice signless giving, one will obtain immeasurable, boundless merit, as vast as the dharmadhatu and as ultimate as empty space.
“When a great bodhisattva gives with such a mind even a single flower, a single fruit, or even one drop of water, and when the bodhisattva accepts, upholds, reads, and recites this sutra, down to a single verse or sentence, enabling another to hear it for even one kshana, the merit gained is immeasurable and boundless. Suppose, moreover, that another person, throughout immeasurable asamkhya kalpas, has practiced giving by bestowing gold, silver, the seven treasures, and other supremely precious objects in pursuit of becoming a wheel-turning king, Brahma, Shakra, or a world-protector; or in pursuit of the fruition of arhatship, the bodhi of a pratyekabuddha, or other achievements.

Suppose that throughout immeasurable, boundless asamkhya kalpas that person has also accumulated all the merit of observing the pure precepts. Compared with the merit of the preceding bodhisattva’s giving without abiding in signs, not even one part in hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of nayutas equals the power of the vow with which that bodhisattva has given. It is like placing a single drop of water into the great ocean: the drop has a limit, but the waters of the ocean have no limit.

Because sentient beings are inexhaustible, the power of the bodhisattva’s vow is likewise inexhaustible; so too are the dharmadhatu and empty space.
“Furthermore, by successively cultivating with such diligence, a great bodhisattva attains great supranormal powers. The bodhisattva may fly to Mount Sumeru, or enter the great ocean to obtain priceless jewels, then return to Jambudvipa and rain down innumerable treasures to aid sentient beings. Or the bodhisattva may rain down food and drink, clothing, bedding, and medicines to eliminate the hunger, thirst, illness, poverty, distress, and suffering of sentient beings.

The bodhisattva vows, through this merit, to bestow these things upon sentient beings continuously until the end of the future, as vast as the dharmadhatu and as boundless as empty space. If one gives only for one’s own benefit, it is like a cloud in the sky that is immediately scattered by the wind; how could it benefit all sentient beings?
“The giving of a great bodhisattva is equal in extent to the dharmadhatu. Fire cannot burn it, water cannot wash it away, and wind cannot scatter it. Like a solid vajra jewel, it can never be destroyed.”

Therefore, through the power of a bodhisattva’s vow of giving, sentient beings gain great benefit and complete peace and happiness. The bodhisattva also enables all sentient beings to share in this same practice and vow. Until attaining unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment, the bodhisattva constantly practices this conduct and vows never to regress, benefiting sentient beings and enabling them to attain liberation until they reach nirvana.
Maitreya, while the Tathagata is present in the world, all sentient beings may offer him the finest articles—clothing, dwellings, bedding, food and drink, medicines, cooking oil, lamp oil, champaka oil, and various flowers and fragrances—honoring, revering, venerating, celebrating, and praising him.
After the Buddha has entered parinirvana, they may build stupas for his relics and likewise present these articles as offerings, honoring and praising him. The meritorious results of these two acts are equal and do not differ. Through this benefit, sentient beings are inspired to bring forth an earnest mind of wholehearted joyful aspiration.

Through reverence and devotion, they awaken the mind of enlightenment; after hearing the true Dharma, they practice accordingly and consequently attain the fruit of arhatship or pratyekabuddhahood, while bodhisattvas perfect the Ten Grounds and the six paramitas, ultimately attaining the fruit of Buddhahood—unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment. These sentient beings, in turn, encourage other sentient beings to practice the same supreme conduct until they attain unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment.
Therefore, when a great bodhisattva practices the paramita of giving, even the gift of a single drop of water produces benefits equal in extent to the Dharma realm and without end. But if, when giving, one does not dedicate the merit on behalf of all sentient beings toward unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment, then even if one gives away a heap of treasures as vast as Mount Sumeru, the benefit gained will be exceedingly small. Like a mustard seed, it can very easily be exhausted; like a wisp of cloud, it vanishes as soon as the wind blows.
Maitreya, when a great bodhisattva cultivating the Mahayana practices giving, it is like a treasury that always accompanies him, or like a wish-fulfilling tree that grants sentient beings whatever they desire.
A great bodhisattva should generate two kinds of supreme resolve:
1.Regarding all wealth and everything stored in granaries and treasuries, one knows that their intrinsic nature is empty, like a mirage, a dream, or an illusion.
2.One brings forth vast loving-kindness and compassion toward all sentient beings and takes pity on the poor and destitute.
Having generated such a mind, one must understand correctly and should harbor neither attachment nor miserliness toward wealth and treasures, but give them away with one’s own hands, vowing that all sentient beings will together attain unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment. Only then does all that wealth truly belong to oneself. If one accumulates material goods not for oneself but to benefit all sentient beings, every such act perfects the paramita of giving. If I hoard wealth without giving it away, that wealth does not belong to me. If I cannot freely make use of such wealth, I am like a naked person with no possessions. Because I do not know how to use it freely, I am no different from one who owns nothing at all.
It is like a custodian of a treasury who himself has no share in it. When the bandit of impermanence arrives and cuts his body apart with a blade, he must be separated from all his wealth and from his beloved wife and children, or they must be given over to others. Even so, his miserly attachment only intensifies until the moment of death; his clinging grows day by day, and he cannot relinquish it.

Such people are merely temporary custodians. Therefore, one should know that this wealth certainly does not belong to oneself. Moreover, they constantly fear the laws of the king, bandits, floods, fires, and wicked heirs who may disperse or seize their wealth.

They must think of ways to entrust it to acquaintances, and neither eat nor sleep in peace, always fearing its loss. Such are the grief and distress endured because of attachment and refusal to give.
Maitreya, once one has practiced giving, neither fire, water, enemies, nor bandits can seize what has been given. One eats and sleeps peacefully, without fear. If one personally gives, dedicates the merit, and makes vows, those sentient beings truly receive the benefit, while the resulting merit follows one constantly until the attainment of Buddhahood. One’s mind is always peaceful and secure, free from sorrow and anxiety. A miserly person is constantly afflicted by fear and suffering. Miserliness is the root of suffering in the present life, and one should know that it will be the same in future lives.
Maitreya, one who miserly hoards wealth without giving is like a person carrying a torch made of grass while walking against the wind. When the grass burns away, the flame will scorch his hand and cause him pain. If he quickly throws it aside, he will suffer no pain. Knowing this, one should contemplate wealth as being like such a torch, and also like an illusion or a mirage. One should quickly relinquish it in order to seek the true fruit.
If miserly sentient beings praise one another, saying, “You are wise. You should preserve your wealth and not foolishly give it away as others do,” then, because of the karmic cause and effect of speaking such slanderous words, they will fall into the hells or be reborn as hungry ghosts or animals. If they attain human birth, they will be poor and destitute.
Those who practice giving are praised by kings, great ministers, brahmins, and householders, and whatever they say is trusted by everyone. In contrast, miserly people who do not give are constantly afflicted by sorrow and distress. Believing that giving brings no merit, they will fall into the three evil destinies.

Those who give are respected and loved by everyone, while misers are resented and despised. One who delights in giving is like a monastery, serving as a refuge for all devas and humans. A miser, however, is like a burial mound, shunned by all sages and noble beings, just as birds do not gather at a dried-up pond.

When these two kinds of people are in a great assembly, the generous rejoice upon hearing giving praised, while the miserly feel ashamed upon hearing miserliness reproved.
Furthermore, devas, sages, and noble beings delight in dwelling with those who practice giving, whereas hungry ghosts and animals naturally gather around miserly people who refuse to give. Those who practice signless giving abide in ultimate truth and realize the emptiness of persons and dharmas, thereby fully benefiting both themselves and others.
Maitreya, if good men or good women claim to be bodhisattvas practicing the Mahayana, they must certainly contemplate with right mindfulness: “Just as the merit of giving is immeasurable and boundless, so too are the faults of miserliness boundless and immeasurable.”
Knowing this, they should resolve to eradicate miserliness completely, without obstruction. When they see a person coming to beg, they should rejoice and must not disparage him. Upon hearing the voice of someone begging, they should respond with joyful compassion, like a filial child who, after being separated from his parents for more than fifty years, suddenly hears that they are returning and experiences indescribable joy. They should respond in the same way upon hearing the voice of a beggar, welcoming him into their home as though he were the Buddha.
They should bring forth this thought: “Today this spiritual friend accepts my gift, thereby removing my faults of miserliness and closing off the evil destinies for me. He brings immeasurable benefit to adorn my person and is the jewel of unsurpassed enlightenment adorning my body. This beggar, dressed in torn and filthy clothing, speaks gently and cheerfully. Out of compassion for me, he has come here; therefore, he is my good friend. Why is this so? Because he removes the evil of miserliness from within me. This beggar is my master, and I am his servant; therefore, I should obey his command.”
Having generated such a mind, one should rise, take the object to be given, kneel with the right knee touching the ground, and joyfully present it, vowing that all sentient beings will gain benefit, peace, and happiness, and dedicating the merit toward unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment. One must also cherish a mind intent on benefiting the beggar. A person who acts in this way is truly able to practice giving. If the beggar were not a celestial wish-fulfilling tree, how could one cross the wilderness of birth and death? Through the beggar, one lacks no provisions, attains rebirth among devas and humans, and reaches the farther shore of nirvana. Therefore, the peace and happiness of devas and humans, as well as unsurpassed liberation, are all accomplished through those who beg.
Maitreya!

If someone seeking alms comes to a bodhisattva and asks to be aided through the bodhisattva's benevolence and virtue, but at that time the bodhisattva's household is poor and has nothing at all, the bodhisattva should gently console that person and not allow them to become angry or suspicious, thinking that the bodhisattva possesses something but refuses to give it, so that they may depart joyfully.
Furthermore, when a great bodhisattva practices giving, they should expand their loving-kindness and compassion and be magnanimous in mind. They should allow all who seek alms to come and go freely, and whatever they need, the bodhisattva should give without reluctance.
Maitreya! All possessions are impermanent and subject to decay; they are the root of suffering, like a boil upon the body or like a bird guarding a piece of putrid flesh. A miser neither uses their wealth to sustain themselves, nor cultivates merit with it, nor gives it to others, but merely clings to and hoards their possessions. Know that such a person is not one who practices giving and is not called a bodhisattva.
If one does not arouse the supreme resolve within the Mahayana Dharma, one cannot attain the stage of non-retrogression. Just as the great ocean does not retain a corpse, the ocean of the Mahayana does not retain the miserly. A bodhisattva cultivates the Mahayana practice in order to leave behind all the defilements of wrongdoing, fully cultivate merit, and harbor no doubt regarding the Buddha-Dharma.
At all times, toward all sentient beings and all treasures, the bodhisattva has no discriminating mind, but constantly practices giving for the benefit of all beings. By thus perfecting the paramita of giving, the bodhisattva swiftly realizes unsurpassed bodhi.
This is the third ultimate meaning of the paramita of giving.