Generosity is the enlightened quality of giving, charity, and offering. The essence of generosity is unconditional love – a boundless openness of heart and mind, a selfless giving which is completely free from attachment and expectation. From the very depths of our heart, we practice generously offering our love, compassion, time, energy, and resources to serve the highest welfare of all beings.
Our giving should always be unconditional and selfless – completely free of any selfish desire for gratitude, recognition, advantage, reputation, or any worldly reward.
The excellence of generosity is not accomplished simply by the action of giving, nor by the actual gift itself. Rather, the true essence of generosity is our pure motivation of genuine concern for others – the truly generous motivation of the awakened heart of compassion, wisdom, and love.
In addition, our practice of giving should be free of discrimination regarding who is worthy and who is unworthy to receive.
To cultivate generosity, it is wise to contemplate the enormous benefits of this practice, the disadvantages of being miserly, as well as the obvious fact that our body and our wealth are impermanent. With this in mind, we will certainly be encouraged to use both our body and wealth to practice generosity while we still have them.
Generosity is a cure for the afflictions of greed, miserliness, and possessiveness. In this practice of giving, we may offer our time, energy, money, food, clothing, or gifts so as to assist others.
To the best of our ability, we may offer the priceless treasure of authentic spiritual instruction, giving explanations of spiritual principles. This offering serves to free others from misperceptions that cause confusion, pain, and suffering.
We can offer fearless giving and protection by delivering living beings (insects, animals, and people) from harm, distress, fear, and terror. In this way, we offer care and comfort, helping others to feel safe and peaceful. We do this selflessly, without counting the cost to ourselves.
We practice generosity in an especially powerful way when we embrace all living beings continually in the radiant love of our heart.
(Source: Based on http://sourcepointglobaloutreach.org/what-we-offer/ The Heart of Dharma Collection)
In summary, our financial scam setback made us reflect on generosity. Had we slipped into becoming too isolated and sheltered in our retirement years – as well as unconcerned, and even miserly, toward others? We renewed our determination to practice generosity as we are able to.
The following quotations touched our hearts:
“The mindfulness and compassion that helps you be present for yourself also helps you connect more fully with others. When you feel connected to someone, your concern and generosity grows. Not as an onerous responsibility, or because you’re supposed to be generous, but because with growing mindfulness and compassion, you feel a natural relatedness. You’re sensitive to their happiness and struggles, and it’s natural to help.” (Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield)
“Generosity is not about saintly behaviour, but simple human caring. Our way of being generous and serving doesn’t mean just giving money, but offering time, concern, help, sympathetic support. The most successful manager in a software company and the aid cleaning hospital rooms with a spirit of good cheer both spread wellbeing wherever they go. A growing body of research points to something we each intuitively understand. Generosity goes hand in hand with happiness. In acts of giving, parts of the brain associated with happiness light up. Spending money on others makes us happier than spending it on ourselves.” (Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield)
Finally, the Sacred Word clearly encourages each of us to be generous:
- “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: ‘He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.’ Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.” (2 Corinthians 9:6–12)
- “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35)
Alexander and Eva Peck