Hey everyone,
It's Judy Cohen and this is Wake Up Call 435.
We are nearing the end of Pema Chodron's book,
The Places That Scare You,
And she's talking about the six qualities of a true warrior or the paramitas or perfections of mind.
And the first of those is generosity or dana in the Pali.
And before I say anything about dana,
One thing I find really helpful to remember in working with generosity and all of the paramitas is that they're practices,
Not commandments,
Right?
So the teachings of mindfulness don't command or require us to practice generosity or anything else,
But they do say generosity is one of the most important qualities of mind and heart to cultivate and that we should cultivate it.
So generosity is the practice of letting go.
So it's letting go of the things that we hold on to,
The things we grasp for,
The things we're afraid to lose,
And includes letting go of the images we have of ourselves.
The opposites of generosity show up when we're feeling fearful or that's when they show up for me anyway.
And Pema also says they tend to show up when we feel unhappy,
When we feel inadequate.
And that when we feel those ways,
She says,
We get stingy and we kind of tend to hold on tight.
And generosity is an activity,
She says,
That loosens us up.
So by offering whatever we can,
A dollar,
A flower,
A word of encouragement,
She says,
We are training in letting go.
And she mentions this traditional practice to cultivate generosity.
And it's the practice of offering an object that we cherish from one hand to the other.
So I find this exercise surprisingly powerful.
And if you have anything nearby that you cherish,
Like a favorite mug or a photograph or a dollar bill,
Just try it right now.
And if there's nothing at hand,
Then try it in your imagination.
Imagine putting something you cherish in one hand and then passing it to the other hand and then back again and then again.
And how does it feel?
What comes up for you when you do this?
I mean,
I can tell you when I do it,
I notice how much I want to hold on and I'm not giving anything away.
It's just going from one of my hands to the other,
But it feels like I'm giving it away.
And then I feel this kind of graspiness in my chest and across my arms and into my hands.
So in case you notice anything like that,
You can take heart that you're not alone.
And it's also not just you and me.
Lily de Silva,
Who's a Sri Lankan Buddhist scholar,
Has this beautiful quote.
She says,
One has to fight the evil forces of greed before one can make up one's mind to give away something dear and useful.
So yeah,
That's one perspective.
And then on the other hand,
There's Norman Fisher's invitation in his book,
The World Could Be Otherwise,
Which is completely different.
Norman invites us to imagine that we are already 100% fully generous and also ethical and patient and enthusiastic and meditating all the time and brimming with wisdom because those are the other five paramitas.
So he invites us to imagine that we are already fully 100%.
And to do that while knowing all along that not only is it not true,
But that it's not even possible.
But he says it's a powerful way of imagining ourselves moving in that direction and so moving ourselves in that direction.
William Arthur Ward's inspirational quote,
Everybody's probably heard,
If you can dream it,
You can be it.
There are three traditional types of generosity,
Giving material things like food,
Money,
Clothing,
Medicine,
Shelter,
Giving the gift of the Dharma or the teachings of mindfulness,
And giving the gift of fearlessness.
In terms of material things,
Gil Fransdell writes that an act of generosity entails giving more than is required,
Customary or expected relative to one's resources and circumstances and entails relinquishing some aspect of one's self-interest and thus is a giving of oneself.
The efficacy of a gift is dependent not on the amount given,
But rather on the attitude with which it is given.
A small donation that stretches a person of little means is considered of greater consequence than a larger but personally insignificant donation from a wealthy person.
Morally just acquisition of wealth and financial security is considered to be a skillful source of happiness in the mindfulness teachings,
But not an end in itself.
Its value lays in the uses to which it is put.
And then Gil continues,
The Buddha likened a person who enjoyed wealth without sharing it with others to someone digging their own grave.
So the teachings say that we should enjoy generosity before,
During,
And after it happens.
So I don't know,
Maybe it's an easy one.
Think about giving somebody a raise.
You know,
You realize you're able to do it and that's a joyful moment.
And then you give them the raise and there's a lot of joy in the room.
And then after you think about how wonderful it is that you can improve someone's material circumstances.
So that's giving of material things.
Giving the gift of the Dharma or the teachings doesn't need to be a formal thing at all.
Whenever you bring compassion into a room full of contention,
For example,
You're giving the gift of the teachings.
Our youngest teacher training student back in 2016,
Who was a law student during the training,
Observed that only one person in the room has to be practicing mindfulness and everything changes.
And then these days I'm especially committed to working as best I can with the gift of giving the gift of fearlessness.
You know,
So practicing stepping back in groups where I'm someone with privilege and making space for those whose voices are not traditionally welcomed or doing whatever I can to enable everyone in the room to feel comfortable and invited and like they belong.
So these feel fundamental to me right now.
And as with all of the work of mindfulness,
We're mainly conditioning our own hearts and minds,
Right?
That's what we're doing.
And that points to the question of what the benefits are to us,
Like what happens when we practice generosity.
And the first is this immediate feeling of goodness in the moment.
And so the next time that you have an opportunity to be generous in one of these ways,
Just see how it feels.
See if you experience joy in the moment.
In the teachings,
There's a list of the long-term benefits of generosity.
And the ancient texts say,
One who is generous,
A master of giving,
Is dear and charming to people at large.
Good people,
People of integrity,
Admire one who is generous.
The fine reputation of one who is generous is spread far and wide.
When one who is generous approaches an assembly of people,
Noble warriors,
Brahmins,
Householders,
Or contemplatives,
Or maybe just a courtroom full of people,
They do so confidently and without embarrassment.
After death,
One who is generous reappears in a heavenly world.
So I don't know about that last one,
But the rest of them sound good to me.
They sound like good incentive to me.
All right.
So with that,
Let's sit.
So taking a comfortable posture,
The posture that would most,
That would best support your practice today,
Right now,
Letting the words go,
Relaxing into the present moment,
Sensing into the connection to the earth,
To yourself,
To one another,
And then just taking this time together to be generous to yourself,
Giving yourself the gift of the teachings,
The gift of silence,
And the gift of not having anything that you have to do,
Or anyone that you have to be right now,
And just breathing.
And in case the mind is busy or you're wandering into the day,
Worrying,
Planning,
Just being generous to yourself and saying,
I don't need to do that right now.
I can just breathe.
And also being generous to the wandering mind by being kind to yourself,
Knowing that's just what the mind does.
And so when you notice the wandering mind,
Can you smile?
Just being kind to this mind that we all have that is busy,
Occupied,
And then let go of whatever occupation it seems to have conjured up right now,
Giving yourself the gift of this time in silence and feeling the joy of it,
Of the decision to sit quietly for just 10 minutes today,
Maybe even having a sense of how much benefit this practice will bring to the world,
To your world,
And maybe sensing some joy in anticipation of that.
The Buddha is said to have said,
If beings knew,
As I know,
The results of giving and sharing,
They would not eat without having given,
Nor would the stain of selfishness overcome their minds.
Even if it were their last bite,
Their last mouthful,
They would not eat without having shared if there were someone to receive their gift.
Thank you so much,
Everyone,
For being on the wake-up call today.
It's really lovely to be with you and to sit with you.
Take good care.
Be safe out there.
I'll see you next Thursday.
