| 33. The Bhagava
was at Savatthi. . .During that time, soon after the middle watch of the night,
many devas of exceeding beauty, who became devas by (practising and) imparting
the doctrine of the virtuous, approached the Bhagava, illuminating the entire
Jatavana monastery. They made their obeisance to the Bhagava and stood at a
suitable place. Having stood thus, one of them uttered this expression of joy
in the presence of the Bhagava:
"Excellent
indeed, Sir, is the practice of charity.
Due either to
stinginess or to remissness one fails to give in charity.
One who wishes to do
good and who understands the merit of good deeds should give in charity."
Then another deva
uttered this expression of joy in the presence of the Bhagava:
"Excellent
indeed, Sir, is the practice of charity.
In truth, giving in
charity out of what little one has is also a good thing.
"Some, though
they have very little, share with others.
(On the other hand.)
some even though well-off do not give in charity.
A gift made out of
slender means is worth a thousand (gifts)."
Then another deva
uttered this expression of joy in the presence of the Bhagava:
"Excellent
indeed, Sir, is the practice of charity.
Giving in charity out
of what little one has is also a good thing.
In truth, it is also
good to give with ardent conviction." 2
It is said, that
giving is like warfare. 3
Good people, though
few in number, conquer a host.4
Even if one gives just
a little, if he does so' with ardent conviction, he enjoys happiness in his
future existence because of that."
Then, another deva
uttered this expression of joy in the presence of the Bhagava:
"Excellent
indeed, Sir, is the practice of charity. Giving in charity out of what little
one has is also a good thing.
It, is also good to
give with ardent conviction. In truth, it is also good to give what has been
obtained righteously.5
"He who gives in
charity what he has obtained his strenuous efforts and thorough righteous means
escapes from the Niraya realms of King Yama., and reaches the realms of the
devas."
Then another deva
uttered this expression of joy in the presence of the Bhagava:
"Excellent
indeed, Sir, is the practice of charity. Giving in charity out of what little
one has is also a good thing, It is also good to give with ardent conviction.
It is also good to give, what has been obtained righteously, In truth it' is
also good to give with discrimination as to the object of giving and the donee.
"Discrimination6 in making gifts is praised by the Buddha.
Just as seeds sown on
fertile soil yield bumper crops, so also in this world of sentient life,
offerings made to certain persons who are worthy of receiving offerings yield
great benefit." Then another deva uttered ithis expression of joy
in the presence of the Bhagava:
"Excellent
indeed, Sir, is the practice of charity. Giving in charity out of What little
one has is also a good thing.
It' is also good to
give with ardent conviction It is also good to give what has been obtained
righteously.
It is also good to
give with discrimination as to the object of giving and the donee.
In truth, restraint
form hurting all living things is also good.
He who 'practises
nonviolence' towards all living beings and who fears criticism does not do
evil. He who fears (to do evil) is praised (by the virtuous); (but) he who
dares (to do evil) is not praised. Indeed, the virtuous, fearing criticism, do
not do evil.''
Then another deva
said to the Bhagava thus Bhagava, whose words are well-spoken?" (And
the Bhagava said)
"Each of these
statements is well-spoken in its own way. However, listen to mine also:
"Indeed, giving
with conviction7 is commendable in many way. Yet, even more
'commendable and nobler is Nibbana.8.
Indeed, in the past or
even in the long long past the wise and virtuous ones had reached Nibbana which
is their 'only goal."
End of the Sadhu Sutta,
the third in this vaga.
Footnotes on Sadhu
Sutta
1. expression of joy:
udana: This shows the speaker's intense joy over something. Here it is over
the. meritoriousness of giving. The utterance signifies the swell of emotion
that can not be contained.
2. conviction:
saddha: Here means the unshakable belief that there are good deeds and bad
deeds, and that a good deed brings good results and a bad deed brings bad
results.
3. giving is like
warfare: One joins battle risking one's own life. When a donor gives he gives
up his attachment to the thing he gives. A coward who fears loss of his own
life does not dare to fight. So also a stingy person who fears loss of his
property does not dare to give. Giving obviously 'entails sacrifice. There can
be no giving when this spirit of self- sacrifice is wanting. Both warfare and
giving have the spirit of sacrifice in common.
4. Good people,
though few in number, conquer a host: In war fare it is not numbers that count
but valour. Similarly, in giving, the amount or value of the gift does not
matter; it is the donor's ardent conviction that conquers the forces of
stinginess even though the gift may be of little value.
5. what has been
obtained righteously: dhammaladdha:
The Commentary gives
a second interpretation of this phrase: It can be also good to give to an
ariya.
6. Discrimination:
Discrimination as to the object of giving means a gift should not be inferior
where better ones are available. As regards the donee it is highly meritorious
if he is a noble disciple or a bhikkhu rather than a person of doubtful virtue
or one who is of alien creed (to the Buddha's Teaching). Such discrimination as
to object and as to donee, the Buddhas say, are praiseworthy.
7. with conviction:
This is a rendering of saddha as printed in the Synod text. However, in the
nissaya published by the Religious Affairs Department after the Synod,
the word accepted is addha which means certainly.
8. Nibbana: In the
Pali text, dhammapada, interpreted by the Commentary directly as Nibbana.
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