What is more fruitful than any lavish gift (AN 9.20)

The Buddha explains the difference in the results of giving disrespectfully and giving with respect. Recalling his past life as the brahmin Velāma, he shows that inner purity and wisdom surpass even the grandest charity—feeding one with right view, cultivating loving-kindness, or realizing impermanence even for a brief time brings far greater fruit than any lavish gift.

An orange wrapped gift box with a bow, Photo by Ilie Barna on Unsplash

Thus have I heard—At one time, the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthi, in Jeta’s grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s park. Then the householder Anāthapiṇḍika approached the Blessed One, and having approached, paid homage to the Blessed One and sat down to one side. As he was sitting to one side, the Blessed One said to the householder Anāthapiṇḍika: “Are alms given in your family, householder?”

“Alms are given in my family, venerable sir, but they consist of coarse rice accompanied with sour gruel.”

“Householder, whether a gift is coarse or excellent, if one gives it disrespectfully—without regard, not with one’s own hand, gives what would be discarded, and without regard for its future consequences—then wherever the result of that gift appears for one, his mind will not incline toward enjoying excellent food, excellent clothing, excellent vehicles, or whatever is excellent among the five objects of sensual pleasure. Moreover, those around him—his children, wife, servants, messengers, and workers—will not want to listen to him, nor lend him their ear, nor apply their minds to understand him. Why is that? It is because, householder, this is the result of actions that are done disrespectfully.

Householder, whether a gift is coarse or excellent, if one gives it respectfully—with regard, with one’s own hand, does not give what would be discarded, and with regard for its future consequences—then wherever the result of that gift ripens, his mind will incline toward enjoying excellent food, excellent clothing, excellent vehicles, or whatever is excellent among the five objects of sensual pleasure. Moreover, those around him—his children, wife, servants, messengers, and workers—will want to listen to him, lend him their ear, and apply their minds to understand him. Why is that? It is because, householder, this is the result of actions that are done respectfully.

In the past, householder, there was a brahmin named Velāma. He gave such a great alms offering as this: 1.) 84,000 gold bowls filled with silver, 2.) 84,000 silver bowls filled with gold, 3.) 84,000 bronze bowls filled with gold, 4.) 84,000 elephants with golden ornaments, golden banners, covered with nets of gold thread, 5.) 84,000 chariots draped with lion skins, tiger skins, leopard skins, and fine wool blankets, with golden ornaments, golden banners, covered with nets of gold thread, 6.) 84,000 milk cows with fine cloth tethers and bronze milk pails, 7.) 84,000 maidens adorned with jeweled earrings, 8.) 84,000 couches spread with fleece rugs, fine covers, and exquisite antelope skins, complete with canopies above and red cushions at both ends, 9.) 84,000 koṭis of cloths made of fine linen, fine silk, fine wool, and fine cotton. How much more of food and drink, snacks, meals, refreshments, and beverages? It seemed to be flowing like rivers.

Now, householder, it might occur to you: ‘Surely, the brahmin Velāma who gave that great offering at that time must have been someone else.’ But it should not be seen in that way. I was the brahmin Velāma at that time, who on that occasion gave that great alms offering. But, householder, in that offering, there was no one worthy of receiving gifts, and no one purified that offering.

Even more fruitful than the great alms offering that the brahmin Velāma gave would it be to feed one person having right view.

And even more fruitful than feeding a hundred persons having right view, would it be to feed one once-returner.

And even more fruitful than feeding a hundred once-returners would be to feed one non-returner.

And even more fruitful than feeding a hundred non-returners would be to feed one Arahant.

And even more fruitful than feeding a hundred Arahants would be to feed one Paccekabuddha.

And even more fruitful than feeding a hundred Paccekabuddhas would be to feed the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the perfectly Awakened One.

And even more fruitful than feeding the Tathāgata is feeding the Saṅgha led by the Awakened One.

And ․․․ is to establish a monastery for the sake of the Saṅgha.

And ․․․ is to go for refuge to the Buddha, Dhamma, and Saṅgha with a settled mind.

And ․․․ is to undertake the training rules with a settled mind: 1.) abstinence from destruction of life, 2.) abstinence from taking what is not given, 3.) abstinence from sexual misconduct, 4.) abstinence from false speech, and 5.) abstinence from alcoholic drinks and drugs that lead to negligence.

And even more fruitful than that is to cultivate a mind of loving-kindness, even for the time it takes to milk a cow.

Even more fruitful than the great alms offering that the brahmin Velāma gave would it be to feed one person possessing right view; and more fruitful than feeding a hundred of those with right view is to feed one once-returner; and more fruitful than feeding a hundred once-returners is to feed one non-returner; and more fruitful than feeding a hundred non-returners is to feed one Arahant; and more fruitful than feeding a hundred Arahants is to feed one Paccekabuddha; and more fruitful than feeding a hundred Paccekabuddhas is to feed the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Perfectly Self-Awakened One; and more fruitful than that is to feed the community of monks headed by the Buddha; and more fruitful than that is to have a monastery built dedicated to the Sangha of the four quarters; and more fruitful than that is, with a settled mind, to go for refuge to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha; and more fruitful than that is to undertake the training rules with a settled mind—1.) abstinence from destruction of life, ․․․ 5.) abstinence from alcoholic drinks and drugs that lead to negligence; and more fruitful than that is to develop a mind of loving-kindness, even for the time it takes to milk a cow; and even more fruitful than that is to develop the recognition of impermanence, even just for the time it takes to snap one’s fingers. This is even more fruitful than all of that.”

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Footnotes:

[1] disrespectfully [asakkaccaṁ] ≈ carelessly, inattentively

[2] not with one’s own hand [asahatthā] ≈ impersonally, by proxy

[3] discarded [apaviddha] ≈ lit. thrown away

[4] without regard for its future consequences [anāgamanadiṭṭhika] ≈ with no thought of the results

[5] koṭis [koṭi] ≈ 10 million, 1 crore

[6] having right view [diṭṭhisampanna] ≈ one who is accomplished in view, with correct outlook, attitude, belief

[7] once-returner [sakadāgāmī] ≈ the second stage of awakening where one has completely exhausted the fetters of 1] personal existence, 2] doubt regarding suffering, the arising of suffering, the end of suffering, and the path leading to the end of suffering, and 3] adherence to rules and observances as a means of liberation; as well as made significant progress in overcoming the fetters of 4] sensual desire and 5] ill will.

[8] non-returner [anāgāmī] ≈ third stage of awakening where the lower five fetters of 1] personal existence, i.e. view that one is an embodied being, 2] doubt regarding suffering, the arising of suffering, the end of suffering, and the path leading to the end of suffering, 3] adherence to rules and observances as a means of liberation, 4] sensual desire and 5] ill will are completely overcome

[9] Arahant [arahant] ≈ a worthy one, a fully awakened being, epithet of the Buddha

[10] Paccekabuddha [paccekabuddha] ≈ an independently Awakened One

[11] Tathāgata [tathāgata] ≈ one who has arrived at the truth, an epithet of a perfectly Awakened One

[12] Saṅgha [saṅgha] ≈ The community of monks and nuns practicing in line with the Buddha’s teachings. In the broader sense, this is the community of disciples who have realized the noble path and fruition through the Buddha’s teachings

[13] monastery [vihāra + cātuddisa] ≈ dwelling where one is free to move around

[14] Dhamma [dhamma] ≈ teachings of the Buddha that point to the nature of reality, the ultimate truth

[15] settled mind [pasannacitta] ≈ mentally full of confidence, a bright, pure, or pleased mind

[16] mind of loving-kindness [mettacitta] ≈ mind of benevolence, friendly heart

[17] recognition of impermanence [aniccasaññā] ≈ perception of instability, inconsistency

Related Teachings:

• Cultivating a mind of loving-kindness even for a brief moment (SN 20.4) - The Buddha illustrates the immense benefits of cultivating loving-kindness even for a brief moment with a simile.
• Five ways to remove arisen resentment (AN 5.161) - The five ways of removing arisen resentment presented here are by loving-kindness, compassion, equanimity, non-attention, and reflection on kamma.
• Benefits of developing the recognition of impermanence (SN 22.102) - The Buddha shares vivid similes to illustrate the benefits of developing the recognition of impermanence. This practice gradually exhausts all passion for sensual pleasure, materiality, becoming, ignorance, and uproots the conceit ‘I am.’