Greetings,

This month we are moving into the topic of Dana. Dana is a complex thing to talk about, so it has to be framed in the context of practice and exploration. Dana is translated in English as generosity and it's mostly talked about in relation to giving money. This contextual framing is in keeping with the definition of Dana, but it is so flat that it takes away from the fullness unless you practice with the word itself. In fact the Buddha spent the beginning of his discourses talking about generosity and metta. It was only when he felt that the practitioners understood the meaning of generosity and metta, that he would move onto more complex subjects like renunciation and suffering. In this tradition we kind of do this backwards. We talk primarily about suffering and renunciation and then end with a Dana talk. Often, Western practitioners over emphasize suffering as the foundation of Dhamma practice. In truth, however, the foundation of Dhamma practice is generosity and metta. Without it, you can't even broach the subject of suffering. You end up wallowing in suffering rather than bearing it.

Generosity is what enables us to bear suffering, but if you look up the word in English the definition points to the quality or fact of being generous and/or abundance. It uses words like big heartedness, bountiful, philanthropic, unselfishness, etc. This definition and words are not pointing to Dana. Dana points to something far more intimate and personal. Dana is the first Parami. If you remember from last month, the Paramis are commonly called the Ten Perfections and what they are perfecting is our heart-mind capacity. This is not about how open-hearted you are and it is not about how open-minded you are. This is about perfecting your zone of tolerance for being with discomfort. The Paramis prepare the mind to be liberated. They create the field for our hearts to be open. The more our practice is grounded in the Paramis, the more we can appreciate, connect to and understand all of the instructions and wisdom around suffering.

Generosity as a Parami is about cultivating a view that can perceive all of the triangles we've been talking about all year. You can understand things like anatta, or non-self, when your view is generous. You can understand things like the refuges when your view is expansive. And you can see the limitations of the three poisons when your view is grounded in generosity. The practice of generosity as the Parami of Dana enables us to see the larger world. We get out of the limited view of our own perceptions. We think we're looking at the world, but we're only looking from our own perspectives. An exploration of generosity or Dana is the practice of getting intimate with a world outside of ourselves.

We cultivate this shift in view through the two aspects of Dana, giving and receiving. Let's look at the giving. There are three types of giving in the word "Dana." The first is the giving of gifts. This is the idea of giving away material things. We acquire things to give us a sense of protection, safety and wealth. The giving away of material things supports the loosening of our possessiveness. The second level of giving is giving up our attachments to the things that create a sense of self or of "me-ness." Learning to give up our attachments is how we practice non-harm. It's like giving the gift of fearlessness. In other words, the rest of the world has nothing to fear from you. The third level of giving is giving up our defilements of mind which include our thoughts, cravings, clingings, and/or habitual attitudes. This is like the gift of Dhamma and learning to understand the nature of mind and suffering.

Then there is the receiving aspect. The receiving aspect of Dana is as difficult as the giving. When giving is done freely without pressure or expectation, receiving is actually hard to bear. It is as if we are being given something we didn't actually earn. It's why teachers have a hard time asking for Dana, because you're not always sure your offering of the Dhamma is good enough. There's always this self-criticism that says, "I should do better, I should do more." Teachers, and those who share the Dhamma, have to practice with and explore having the ability to just accept what's freely offered. This is why Dana talks are difficult to give and difficult to hear. It's in that moment that we see our capacity for giving and receiving. We practice with Dana by exploring what happens to us internally and externally when faced with the prospect of giving or receiving something.

I think it is remarkable that the Dhamma has remained strong in the world through this Parami of Dana. I like that Dhamma continues in this culture to be offered freely and yet we as practitioners give sufficient financial support. I will forever support Dharmaseed.org, AccessToInsight.org, IMS, Spirit Rock, Cloud Mountain, and SIMS. These organizations and resources are the reason I am as happy as I am today. I've gone through periods of having very little income to times of financial surplus. Regardless of my financial situation, these organizations were always available to me. I always had the Dhamma to practice with. I just don't think you can put a price tag on that, so instead, I give whatever I can to ensure they will continue to be there for anyone else looking for the Dhamma.

You may be interested in listening to these two talks I gave in 2017 on Generosity at SIMS.

• The Paramis: Practicing with Generosity
• The Paramis: The Nature of Generosity

With a deep bow,

Tuere