The Second Treatise on the Perfections – 2631
19. Offerings Made to Individuals and to the Saṅgha
There is an offering made to one or two separate individual persons (
puggalika-
dāna
); and an offering made to the whole Saṅgha (
Saṅghika-dāna
). Saṅgha
means a group, an assemblage or community; here, the whole community of the
noble disciples of the Buddha is meant. In making an offering intended for the
Saṅgha, the supporter must have in his mind not the individual from the noble
disciples that constitute the Saṅgha, but the community of the noble disciples as
a whole. Then only will his offering be an offering made to the whole Saṅgha
(
Saṅghika-dāna
).
Fourteen Kinds of Gift to Individuals
The Discourse giving an Analysis of Offerings (
Dakkhiṇā-vibhaṅga-sutta
, MN
142) gives an enumeration of the 14 kinds of gifts to individuals (
puggalika-
dāna
), and the 7 kinds of gifts to the Saṅgha (
Saṅghika-dāna
). It is useful to
know them, and so I will list them here.
1. An offering made to a Buddha.
2. An offering made to a Paccekabuddha, a Buddha who does not teach
ultimate reality.
3. An offering made to an Arahat, one who has attained the fruition stage
of an Arahat (
Arahatta-phala
).
4. An offering made to one who is striving to realise the fruition stage of
an Arahat, one who has attained the path to being an Arahat (
Arahatta-
magga
).
5. An offering made to Non-returners (
Anāgāmī
), one who has attained
the fruition stage of a Non-returner (
Anāgāmi-phala
).
6. An offering made to one who is striving to realise the fruition stage of a
Non-returner (
Anāgāmi
), one who has attained the path stage of a Non-
returner (
Anāgāmi-magga
).
7. An offering made to Once-returners (
Sakadāgāmī
), one who has
attained the fruition stage of a Once-Returner (
Sakadāgāmī-phala
).
8. An offering made to one who is striving to realise the fruition stage of a
Once-returner (
Sakadāgāmī
), one who has attained the path stage of a
Once-returner (
Sakadāgāmi-magga
).