Before the Thanks: A Buddhist Reflection on Giving

By Rev. Dr. Grace G. Burford
Quad City Interfaith Council annual Celebration of Thanks
Nov. 21, 2024


One time a student asked her Zen teacher, “What is the gate of Zen?”
The teacher replied, “Generosity.”

The early Buddhist scriptures are full of accounts of the Buddha teaching his followers about giving [dāna]. He teaches them when, where, what, and how to give, so that the giving benefits the giver as well as the receiver. For example, he says one who gives beneficially is “joyful before giving”; “has a calm, confident mind in the act of giving”; and “is elated after giving.” [Anguttara Nikāya III, 336]

Why is giving so important in Buddhist practice?

To give something, we have to let go of it. It’s not really giving if we give and then try hold on to what we gave.

This connection between giving and letting go is embedded in the early Buddhist word for generosity [cāga]. This term has two meanings: in some contexts, it refers to the attitude that leads us to give, in other words, what we would call “generosity.” In other places, it means to “let go.” Letting go of clinging to things and people and experiences—to anything, really—is a central aim of Buddhist practice, because clinging leads to suffering for ourselves and others.

So, for Buddhist practitioners, giving beneficially and often, cultivating generosity, contributes directly to the reduction of suffering for all.

Just as we can enter through a gate, we can also go out through it. We enter the gate of spiritual practice by being generous, and we emerge back out into the world being generous.

May we spread generosity to all beings as we move through the world.
May all beings be put at ease by our generosity.
May all beings feel safe in our generosity.
May all beings be happy, experiencing our generosity.



Rev. Dr. Grace G. Burford

Quad City Interfaith Council annual Celebration of Thanks

Nov. 21, 2024