Fund Raising For the Poor and Needy

According to the Nipata Sutta has stated that “To have much wealth and ample gold and food, but to enjoy one’s luxuries alone this is a cause of one’s downfall.” This teaching can be seen as a Buddhist dictate towards charity and to not accumulating wealth. This may be viewed as a critique of avarice, and we can confidently say that the Buddha discouraged large accumulation of wealth, simply, this is one of the Buddhas social teaching.

The need for global solidarity may seem like a modern concept, but it is not. More than 2,500 years ago, the Buddha taught that nothing exists in isolation, and that all phenomena are interdependent.

Just as profoundly, he taught that we cannot be happy as long as others suffer, and that when we do reach out, we discover the best in ourselves.

"Once there is seeing, there must be acting
We must be aware of the real problems of the world.
Then, with mindfulness, we will know what to do,
And what not to do, to be of help".^[1]

All of us can learn from the Buddha's spirit of compassion. His timeless teachings can help us to navigate the many global problems we face today.

Giving is one of the first six paramita in Buddhism. Giving of any kind is unquestionably good. The Buddha encourages us to give generously whenever anyone asks for help. And even the smallest of gifts, when offered with a generous heart, has tremendous value: "Even if a person throws the risings of a bowl or a cup into a village pool or pond, thinking, 'May whatever animals live here feed on this,' that would be a source of merit". But the actual rewards of giving depend strongly on the climate in which the giving occurs. The giver and the recipient—the donor and the organization—share an equal responsibility in fostering a climate that makes the most of generosity. If both are serious about putting the Buddha's teachings into practice, they would do well to consider the following points:

First, the benefits of giving multiply in accordance with the purity of the giver's motives. A gift we give half-heartedly yields modest rewards for all concerned, whereas a gift given with genuine open-handedness, "not seeking [our] own profit, not with a mind attached [to the reward]," is of far greater value. If we give with an expectation of receiving something from the recipient in return—membership benefits, a certificate of appreciation, a book, a meditation course, etc.—we shortchange ourselves, and dilute the power of our generosity. Buddhist organizations should therefore be cautious about rewarding gifts with these sorts of perquisites.

Second, the Buddha does not encourage us to ask for gifts. In fact, he says quite the opposite: he encourages us to make do with what little we already have. This theme of contentment-with-little echoes throughout the Buddha's teachings. To my mind, a fundraiser's long "wish list"of needed items conveys a sense of dissatisfaction, and thus seems at odds with this message. Donors most enjoy giving when they know that their gift—no matter how humble it may be—is truly appreciated by the recipient. If I have only a small gift to give, I wonder if it will be appreciated—or even noticed—by an organization with ambitious fundraising goals or a long and expensive list of needs. An organization can promote the Buddha's teachings most effectively, and inspire the greatest confidence among its supporters, by keeping its needs modest and its requests rare.

Third, the purity of the recipient also matters. When we give to virtuous people—those who, at the very least, abide by the five precept—we not only acknowledge their intention to develop virtue, but we also reinforce our own resolve. Giving to virtuous people is thus a powerful karmic force whose benefits extend far beyond the moment of giving itself. Generosity and virtue are deeply intertwined; when we learn to exercise our generous impulses skillfully, and give where the gift reaps the greatest fruit, we make the most of them both. Whether we are giver or recipient, we stand to benefit most from generosity when we take virtue seriously.

Finally, an appeal to fledgling Buddhist groups and organizations: please be very, very patient, and resist the temptation to make your organization grow. The success of a Buddhist organization should never be measured in conventional commercial terms: number of members, number of downloads, number of courses taught, amount of money raised, etc. Its success can only be measured by how well it embodies the Buddha's teachings. If it does good work that is rooted firmly in the principles of virtue, people who recognize virtue when they see it will inevitably take notice and be inspired to lend a hand with unbounded generosity. Any organization that can do this much passes on to others, in the most direct way possible, the priceless tradition of generosity, which is the heart and soul of Dhamma—the greatest gift of all.

Event hough, it’s very difficult to have a case in which the right Dharma is heard while the stomach of hearer is empty. It means that the mercifulness must show the status of oneself firstly.

Charitable work of Buddhism could be place the first foundation of the six paramitta and the 11^th great vow of Healing Buddha which carries two major sides in this vow. First major side is “I take vow that after I attain enlightenment, I will give food and water to people who are hungry and thirsty, I will give clothing to people who are cold; I will give happiness to people who are in sorrow. Second, after their matter life and basic demands of life are enough, I will give them the magic right Dharma in order to be free from long suffering. The first side is only a span of bridge lead to the great important of second side. In other word, socially engaged Buddhism is not simply sharing the food, clothing, and all such kinds of material things to poor people, if we just do so, we will make poor people to rely on us, and we will never have enough material needs to help them in whole their life. So suffering will continue happen^[2] .

Therefore, whenever we do the charity work remember to attach along a short Buddha’s sentences with the gift. The sentence that we feel suitable and favorable for the person needs. It will save them from suffering and poorness. For example, a person sorrowed in old scores of underworld, now understand thoroughly the Buddha’s saying in the Dharmapada, “Hatred never solve by hatred but by love and compassion, this truth forever” or the other short example “Health is the most precious heritage of everybody, please do blessing and serve living beings because it’s an offering to Buddha practically”. So the receiver will have a precious heritage of spirit besides the gifts of matter. To pay the homage to all Buddha and Healing Buddha we try to do both side as much as possible in order to help other sentient beings to relief suffering in both mental and material needs, which socially engage Buddhist are use to contribute. The Buddha had taught that when one lights a candle from the flame of another candle, the flame of the first candle does not lose its light. Instead, the two lights glow more brightly together. So be surely to contributing all our effort to other needs.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Queen, Christopher. (Ed). Engaged Buddhism in the West. Boston. Wisdom Publication. 2000

[2]:

Le. M. That & Thich. N. Tu. Engaged Buddhism and Development. Workshop 3. Vietnam Buddhist University. 2008. p. 37.