In whatsoever village or district there is a woman or a man who has taken refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and the Order . . . who dwells at home with heart free from the taint of stinginess, who is open-handed, pure-handed, delighting in giving up, one to ask a favour of, one who delights in sharing gifts with others,--of such an one recluses and hermits sing the praises in all quarters.1

--Anguttara Nikaya

By contrast the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. . . . If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not be conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.2

--Galatians 5:22-26

In this article I will explore what Christianity and Buddhism, particularly Theravada Buddhism, say about generosity and self-giving. I will do this in the light of our current global crisis, which is worsening because of our inability to share resources equitably.

Christianity and Generosity

The two quotations above suggest that the ability to give is praised in both Christianity and Theravada Buddhism. Christianity grew from Judaism and shares with Judaism the Hebrew Bible, which Christians usually call the Old Testament. One theme that runs throughout the entire Hebrew Bible is concern that each person in society should have the means to live. This is often linked with generosity, particularly to the stranger and to the poor. So one of the commandments of God in the early history of the Jewish people is, "You shall love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt."3 To ease the plight of widows, orphans, and foreigners resident in the land, the Jewish people were also commanded, every third year, to make available a tenth of their agricultural produce for people in need, and, every seventh year, to grant remission of debts. The text goes on:

Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. Since there will never cease to be need on the earth, I therefore command you, "Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbour in your land."

Prophets arose in the history of the Jewish people to call them back to these commandments, when they were in danger of forgetting them. The prophet Amos, for instance, speaking in the eighth century BCE, accused the people of Israel of "trampling the head of the poor into the dust of the earth" and of pushing the "afflicted out of the way."4 In other words, the people were guilty of a lack of generosity, a lack of the ability to give.

Christians look not only to the Hebrew Bible, but also to what they call the New Testament, which concentrates on the life and meaning of Jesus. Jesus's teaching diverged little from traditional Jewish teaching on the question of giving, but there were differences in emphasis. A very radical message is given, for instance, to one idealistic, rich young man, who comes to him asking what he should do to gain eternal life. The young man is unsatisfied when Jesus mentions the usual commandments--not committing murder, adultery, or theft, and loving one's neighbor as oneself. Jesus then goes further and says, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell all your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."5 The young man, according to the story, went away, grieving, because he had many possessions, which he was not willing to give away.

At another point in the records of Jesus's life, he tells the story of a rich man, who lives in luxury, ignoring a poor man, Lazarus, who lies at his gate and longs to satisfy his hunger with what falls from the rich man's table. "Even the dogs would come and lick his sores," we are told. The poor man dies and is taken to heaven. When the rich man dies, he is taken to hell, from where he sees Lazarus and pleads for Lazarus to come and give him some water to cool his tongue. But he is told, in short, that there is a great chasm between heaven and hell and that, if he had listened to the prophets and their message about giving, he would not be in hell.6 One message of the New Testament is that we will be judged on whether we are able to give to those who are hungry, thirsty, naked, or in need of a welcome and on whether we can see the holy in every person.7

Giving forgiveness is also an important aspect of giving in the New Testament. "How many times shall I forgive if a member of the church sins against me--seven times?" one of the disciples asks Jesus at one point. The reply is, "Not seven times, but I tell you, seventy seven times."8

The New Testament also speaks of what could be called the ultimate in giving--the giving of one's very self. Jesus was killed by the Roman authorities in one of the most barbaric forms of torture that existed at the time--crucifixion. Christian theology sees this not as a random punishment but as an act of voluntary self-giving for the good of humanity by Jesus, a person who was both human and divine. So, Paul, one of the leaders of the early Christian communities, could say that Jesus "emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death--even death on a cross."9 This example was, for the early Christians, an invitation to imitate Jesus's humility and not to regard others as better than themselves.

Buddhism and Generosity

Buddhism does not speak of God or of punishment, but it certainly speaks of the consequences, for self and others, of deeds that lack compassion and the ability to give. The touching points between the two religions here are remarkable.

In Theravada Buddhism, dana, or giving things away to others, is crucially important, for it is the very first step on the Buddhist path toward having respect and care for all life. It is the first of the ten perfections (paramita) that an aspiring buddha must master and the first of two traditional lists of practices that would be known by many Buddhists in Asia. The first is a threefold practice linked with the gaining of merit: giving, the practice of virtue, meditation (dana, sila, bhavana). The second is a non-canonical list of ten wholesome actions, which begins with the three practices just mentioned and then continues with actions such as rejoicing in another's merit, paying homage, and listening to preaching.

Lying behind the practice of dana in Buddhism is empathy for "the other" rooted in an appreciation that we all yearn for happiness and recoil from pain. To give to others is to increase their happiness and reduce their pain.

In traditional Buddhist contexts, dana is often interpreted as giving to the monastic community. The midday meal given to the monastic community by lay people is popularly called dana. Yet, the Pali texts are adamant that dana as generosity is not restricted to this. Generosity has to be for all, including the animal world. The Buddha is recorded as saying:

If one should throw away pot-scourings or the rinsings of cups into a pool or cesspit, even with the idea of feeding the creatures that live therein, I declare it would be a source of merit for him.10

The fifth-century CE scholar, Buddhaghosa, in his remarkable commentary on the Pali canon, the Visuddhimagga, when explaining the meditative practice of recollecting generosity, wrote:

One who wants to develop the recollection of generosity should be naturally devoted to generosity and the constant practice of giving and sharing. Or alternatively, if he is one who is starting the development of it, he should make the resolution: "From now on, when there is anyone present to receive, I shall not eat a mouthful without having given a gift."11

In Theravada Buddhism as in Christianity, there are examples of radical self-giving. The Buddha in his previous lives, according to the traditional narratives, gave of himself time and time again in order to master the perfection of dana. One story shows the Buddha-to-be as an elephant who jumps to his death to feed a hungry tigress. In other stories, he sacrifices his hands, his feet, or other parts of his body. One of the early British converts to Buddhism, Allan Bennett, who became Venerable Ananda Metteyya in Myanmar in 1901, wrote that this self-sacrifice was, "so great, so utterly beyond our ken, that we can only try to dimly represent it in terms of human life and thought and action."12 For Bennett, it was the ability to give up his life or his organs for the good of others that ultimately equipped the Buddha-to-be to become a buddha.

The Other Side of Generosity: Refraining

In both Christianity and Buddhism, the emphasis on giving or generosity is intricately linked to other, equally important, qualities. Supreme among them are renunciation and refraining--refraining from selfish reactions, refraining from greed, and refraining from worry about personal security. Unless our own desires and wants are curbed, generosity is impossible. For me, this is exceptionally important in our global crisis. Among the most significant inhibitors of the generosity that could help the world today are fear for self and personal greed.

What has come to be known as the Sermon on the Mount in Christianity--probably an amalgam of teachings given by Jesus at different times--addresses both fear for self and consumerism, with a message that places trust and faith first. Jesus is recorded as saying these words:

If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.13

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.14

Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? . . . But strive first for the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.15

The Kingdom of God, in Christianity, is a state of society in which no one lives in deprivation. Right relationships prevail. There is both justice and compassion. The sick are healed and the despairing are made whole. No one is involved in activities that hurt others. People are able to give healing, forgiveness, and freedom from fear to one another. It is to this ideal that Jesus called people. His message was--if you work for these things, then you will receive all that you need, in this life and in the next. Within this, the forgetting of self was most important, as this recorded saying of Jesus shows:

If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life.16

In Theravada Buddhism, the practice of dana is intimately linked with the eradication of greed and hatred from the mind, non-retaliation and the overcoming of any clinging to the self. The links between this and what I have just said about Christian giving and non-consumerism is plain. In Buddhism, however, there is a greater emphasis on training the mind so that a point is reached where fear for self is absent and compassion for the "other" takes over, a compassion that is willing to give all. There is a story in the Pali Canon of a monk called Punnovada who comes to the Buddha saying that he is to travel to a place where the people are known to be hostile. The Buddha asks him what he would do if the people of that place attack him. The possible violence he might receive is listed, from verbal abuse to physical harm. After each one, Punnovada responds by saying that he would be thankful that the abuse was not even more serious. When the Buddha eventually mentions murder, Punnovada says:

If the people of Sunaparanta deprive me of life with a sharp knife, revered sir, it will be thus for me there; I will say, "There are disciples of the Lord, who, disgusted by the body and the life-principle and ashamed of them, look about for a knife. I have come to this knife without having looked for it."17

Venerable Punnovada in his wish to give the teachings to a new community is willing to give his own life as well.

Concluding Thoughts

In our current global crisis, how do we interpret this? Can Buddhism and Christianity help the world take a new course? What now needs to be given? And what now needs to be given up? There are no easy answers here.

Certainly, the world must take seriously the message of both Buddhism and Christianity that accumulation of material goods will never bring the world happiness. If I went further and said that we should emulate the fearlessness spoken about in the Buddhist and Christian texts, I might be told that there are very real reasons for fear in the world because the threats coming to us from terrorism and political destabilization are too great for us to ignore. Yet, courage and fearlessness born of trust in the teachings of Jesus or the Buddha are most important, I believe, in our age. We who are followers of these two great figures must be willing to speak out against the consumerism and greed that is tearing our world apart, even if this goes against current economic and political theory. We also must be willing to declare that affluent nations have a duty of generosity to help the poor meet their needs for food, shelter, health care, and education, and that this must come before expenditure on arms or space exploration, and before producing ever more sophisticated methods of communication. In short, our message should be that generosity and renunciation must go hand in hand.

Notes

1. Anguttara Nikaya, i 225 (all translations of the Pali texts are taken from the versions published by the Pali Text Society).
2. The Bible with Apocrypha, New Revised Standard Version (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), Galatians 5:22-26. All subsequent quotations from the Bible will be taken from this version.
3. The Bible, Deuteronomy 10:19.
4. The Bible, Amos 2:6-7.
5. The Bible, Matthew 19:21.
6. The Bible, Luke 16:19-31.
7. See also The Bible, Matthew 25:31-46, which carries another parable on this subject.
8. The Bible, Matthew 18:21-22.
9. The Bible, Philippians 2:7-8.
10. Anguttara Nikaya, i 161.
11. The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga), Bhikkhu Nanamoli, trans. (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1979), 220; Visuddhimagga VII. 115.
12. Allan Bennett, The Wisdom of the Aryas (London: Kegan, Paul, Trench and Trubner, 1923), 111, quoted in Elizabeth J. Harris, Ananda Metteyya: The First British Emissary of Buddhism (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1998), 27.
13. The Bible, Luke 6:29-31.
14. The Bible, Matthew 6:19-21.
15. The Bible, Matthew 6:25-33.
16. The Bible, Matthew 16:24-26.
17. Punnovadasutta, Majjhima Nikaya, III 269.

Elizabeth J. Harris is a senior lecturer in the comparative study of religion at Liverpool Hope University. She has been involved in Buddhist-Christian encounter for over twenty years and has written extensively. Her latest book is Theravada Buddhism and the British Encounter: Religious, Missionary and Colonial Experience in Nineteenth Century Sri Lanka (London: Routledge, 2006).

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