THE GREAT CHRONICLE OF BUDDHAS
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wheels; of his hands, as he wishes to extend the helping hand of the true Dhamma to get
beings across the four wild floods
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; of ears, nose, etc., to be endowed with faculties of
faiths, etc.; of eyes, to be endowed with the All-seeing Eye (
Samanta-cakkhu
of a Buddha),
that is, Omniscience; of the gift of flesh and blood with the wishful thought: "May my
body bring welfare and happiness to all-beings, at all times, even when I am seeing,
hearing, recollecting or helping myself. May it be the means for sustaining all the world";
of the gift of the head, the top-most part of the body, in order to become a supreme one in
all the world.
In making such gifts, the Bodhisatta does so not by seeking wrong means nor by ill-
treating others; nor through fear or shame; nor by causing vexation to the recipient; nor
does he give inferior objects when he has superior ones to offer; nor does he extol himself
while disparaging others; nor does he wish any fruit other than Buddhahood in making his
gifts; nor does he give with loathing, disgust, detestation, contempt or despise. As a matter
of fact, he gives after careful preparation of materials with his own hands, at the proper
time, with due reverence to the recipient, without discrimination, filled with joy at all three
moments (that is, before, while and after giving.)
Therefore, there is no feeling of remorse after making the gift. He does not become
haughty or disdainful towards recipients but speaks endearingly to them. Understanding the
speech of the recipient, he is accessible to them. When he makes an offering, he does so
together with additional materials along with it.
For example, when he wishes to offer alms-food, he thinks: ‚I will make this offer of
alms-food along with suitable accompaniments.‛ and makes an offer of drinks, robes etc.,
as well. And when he wishes to offer robes, he thinks: ‚I will make this offer of robes
along with suitable accompaniments.‛ and makes an offer of food, etc., as well. The same
method is followed with regard to gifts of vehicles, etc.
Whenever he wishes to make a gift of visible forms (
r|pa-dÈna
), he makes a gift of
sound (
sadda-dÈna
), etc., as accessories to accompany it. The same method is followed
with regard to gift of sound, etc.
In making ten kinds of offering of food, drink etc., following the Suttanta way of giving,
the materials offered are tangible and easily intelligible. In the Abhidhamma way of
making gifts, which are objects of senses, such as form, sound, etc., It is not perceptible
also, as to what constitutes a
r|pa-dÈna
, or how one should be mentally disposed, to effect
a gift of
r|pa
. How such gifts should be made is explained below.
Abhidhamma Classification of DÈna into Six Kinds
R|pa-dÈna
According to six kinds of offering following the Abhidhamma classifications, the gift of
colour (
r|pa-dÈna
) should be understood thus: Having acquired a gift of material, such as
flowers, garments or mineral elements of blue, yellow, red, white colour etc., one regards
them only as colour and thinking: ‚I shall make a gift of colour; this is my gift of colour‛,
and offers the flower, the garment, etc., which has the colour intended as a gift. This kind
of offering is known as gift of colour (
r|pa-dÈna
).
If it is not possible for a person, who wants to make a gift of a particular colour, by
separating it out from the material of that colour, he can make an offer of a flower,
garment or mineral element which has the colour of his choice, thinking: ‚I shall make a
gift of colour, this is my gift of colour.‛ This is how an offer of colour (
r|pa-dÈna
) is
made.
Sadda-dÈna
The gift of sound (
sadda-dÈna
) should be understood by way of sound of drums, etc.
When making such a gift, it is not possible to give sound the way one gives lotus bulbs and
25. Four floods: Ohga: The four floods of desires for sensuality, existence, wrong views and
ignorance.