It is the new year and Roshi put out the call for anyone in the Sangha who has not taken Bodhisattva vows to consider doing Jukai this year.  To get this started, we will be studying the six Paramitas over the next few weeks.  This week we started with Dana or Generosity.  Fundamentally, the Paramitas are not actions or rules to follow, rather they describe a mindset which we should assume in order to alleviate suffering and bring joy into the world.  

 

Roshi asked the group to consider what “Dana” means.  We may think, superficially, it means charity or giving.  This is true, but there the concept of Dana goes so much deeper.  Normally, when we give charity, our mind is performing a calculation.  How much should I give?  If I give too much, will it affect my ability to pay other bills?  How will giving this charity improve my standing in the community?  Will people think I gave too little?  Roshi pointed out that this thinking centers on the ‘I’ and is antithetical to our practice.  One may then think that we should give mindlessly.  Roshi described an example where his young son emptied everything he had in his wallet for a restaurant tip.  Is this Dana? – no because it is done mindlessly – there is no intentionally.  Roshi called this “dum dum charity”

 

So, what is the correct mind frame for giving Dana?  At the first level, it is giving material support when there is a genuine need.  Roshi talked about having a mindset of limitlessness.  There should be no calculation of prestige or worrying about what others think.  In this way of seeing things – the universe is limitless and material items simply pass through you to where they are needed the most.  Now, again, we need to be intentional.  The universe is boundless, but only so much can pass thorough you at a time.  Giving away everything is not skillful here as it destroys your ability to be giving in the future.  That is simply the ego looking to make a splash or looking to victimize itself.  This is definitely not Dana!

 

Roshi invited us to go even deeper with Dana.  There is a second level in Dana – namely sharing the Dharma.  This can be talks, sutras, wisdom, etc.  It is important to note that this Dana is open for all of us, not just teachers.  You may ask, what right would a simple student have in sharing the teachings.  This is wrong thinking!  It is the Sangha who is in the best position to share this type of Dana.  We do this by our day-to-day behavior in the world.  We do this by embodying the bodhisattva vows.  We do this by our actions to alleviate suffering for all beings at all times.  In this way, the ego is not sharing knowledge, rather the Dharma is simply passing through us out into the wider world.  

 

However, there is even a deeper level of Dana we can do.  This is the Dana of Fearlessness.  How can we teach fearlessness when we hold so much fear in our own heart?  Roshi noted that authenticity is the key here.  Fear holds us back in everything which is important to us.  Teaching fearlessness is striving to be authentic in every moment and in everything you do.  Roshi noted that most of the time we are acting in a “performative” manner.  We do things for “show”.  We are so afraid about how we are perceived that we lose focus on the actual action in and of itself.  Circling back to giving material charity – it would be like donating money and making sure everyone knows you did it and you donated the most of your circle of friends.  This is not authentic Dana!  It is exactly the same in Zen practice.  How many “Serious Zen” students have you met with totally empty hearts?  Roshi always talks about Zen being light and even “funny.”  Is the overly stern practitioner authentic or are they performing a role?  Check them – how often do they laugh.

 

Roshi wrapped up by describing his time as a monk in Japan.  One job was gathering alms from people in the community.  He noted that people in the south of Japan tended to be “stingier” than northerners.  He would be amazed that someone would contribute only one Yen (less than a US penny)  Why even bother?  He would ask his teacher, why even bother with alms – it is not even going to cover the running costs of the temple.  His teacher noted that the alms round was not done to raise money for the temple.  It is done in order to provide people a chance to really search their heart.  If you give only 1 Yen you know that you are being stingy and you are forced for that single minute to face yourself.  What is holding you back?  What are you afraid of?  The alms round is the monks providing this opportunity of introspection to the wider population.  THIS is real Dana flowing though the monks and out into the world.