Fourteen Kinds of Gift to Individuals

Dakkhināvibhanga Sutta (of Majjhima Nikāya Pāli Canon) give an enumeration of the 14 kinds of gifts to individuals (puggalika-dāna) and 7 kinds of gifts to the Sangha (saṅghikadāna). It is useful to know them.

(1) Offering made to a Buddha.

(2) Offering made to a Paccekabuddha, a non-teaching Buddha.

(3) Offering made to an arahat or to one who has attained the arahatta-phala stage.

(4) Offering made to one who is striving to realise arahatta-phala or one who has attained the arahatta-magga stage.

(5) Offering made to an anāgāmin or to one who has attained the anāgāmī-phala stage.

(6) Offering made to one who is striving to realise anāgāmī-phala or one who has attained the anāgāmī-magga stage.

(7) Offering made to a sakadāgāmin or to one who has attained the sakadāgāmī-phala stage.

(8) Offering made to one who is striving to realise sakadāgāmī-phala or one who has attained sakadāgāmī-magga stage.

(9) Offering made to a sotāpanna or to one who has attained the sotāpatti stage.

(10) Offering made to one who is striving to realise sotāpatti-phala or one who has attained sotāpatti-magga.

(11) Offering made to recluses (outside the Teaching of the Buddha or when the Teaching is not in existence) who are accomplished in jhāna or Supernormal Power attainment.

(12) Offering made to ordinary lay person who possesses morality.

(13) Offering made to ordinary lay person who is devoid of morality.

(14) Offering made to an animal.

Of these 14 kinds of offering made to individuals, giving one full meal to an animal will bring wholesome results of long life, good looks, physical wellbeing, strength, and intelligence for one hundred lives. Then in an ascending order, giving one full meal to a lay person of poor morality will bring these wholesome results for one thousand lives; to lay person of good morality at a time when the Buddha’s Teaching is not in existence and he has no opportunity to take refuge in the Triple Gem, for a hundred thousand lives; to recluses and ascetics accomplished in jhāna attainment, for ten billion lives; to lay men and novitiates (during a period when the Teachings of Buddhas are extant) who take refuge in the Triple Gem, and up to the Noble person who has attained the sotāpatti-magga, for an innumerable period (asaṅkhyeyya) of lives; and to persons of higher attainment up to the Buddha, for countless periods of lives. (According to the Commentary, even one who only takes refuge in the Triple Gem may be considered as a person who is practising for realisation of sotāpatti-phala).

There is no mention of bhikkhus of loose morality in the above list of 14 kinds of recipient of offerings made to individuals. The Buddha’s enumeration of offering made to a person devoid of morality concerns only the period when the Buddha’s Teaching is not in existence. For these reasons, there is a tendency to consider that offerings made to bhikkhus of impure morality while the Buddha’s Teaching are still not in existence are blameworthy. But one should remember that anyone, who has become a Buddhist, at the very least, takes refuge in the Triple Gem; and the Commentary says that whoever takes refuge in the Triple Gem is a person who is practising for realisation of sotāpatti-phala. Furthermore, when an offering made to an ordinary lay person, who is devoid of morality (while the Teaching of Buddha is not in existence), could be of much benefit, there is no doubt that offerings made to an ordinary lay person devoid of morality while the Teaching of the Buddha is still existing could be beneficial too.

Again, the Milinda-Pañha Text, Nāgasena Thera explains that an immoral bhikkhu is superior to an immoral lay person in ten respects, such as reverence shown to the Buddha, reverence shown to the Dhamma, reverence shown to the Sangha, etc. Thus, according to the Milinda Pañha, an immoral bhikkhu is superior to an immoral lay person;and since he is listed by the Commentary as one who is practising for realisation of sotāpatti-phala, one should not say that it is blameworthy and fruitless to make an offering to a bhikkhu who is devoid of morality.