Dana (Generosity principle)
“If beings knew, as I know, the results of giving and sharing, they would not eat without having given, nor would the stain of miserliness overcome their minds. Even if it were their last bite, their last mouthful, they would not eat without having shared, if there were someone to receive their gift”
The Buddha itivuttaka 26
Dharmagiri Runs on Dana (Free Will Offering)
The guideline of R275 – R400 a day to support each guest reflects an approximation of the income required to make our retreats viable.
This does not include remuneration for those who teach at Dharmagiri or the managers who live and work here. Please note this is information in response to frequent requests for a guideline. Everything at Dharmagiri is offered which means there is no fixed charge. In response, we invite you to contribute what you can to help support the sustainability of Dharmagiri.
We are committed to the Dana (generosity) and encourage you to offer what you can according to your economic means. For our longer retreats please adjust your offering according to what is truly sustainable for you.
The range of what it approximately costs Dharmagiri to host each retreatant is from the most basic of R275.The higher range of R400 is a more accurate cost of what supports the overall running of Dharmagiri. We appreciate you considering this guideline in terms of your own contribution in response to your stay here. Any offering over and above this range is deeply appreciated as there are always numerous costs which the hermitage has to meet, including helping us support those who would otherwise not be able to afford a retreat.
We appreciate whatever you can offer, including your meditation practice and work service in support of the daily routine. All of this contributes to the stability and continuity of the hermitage, and the flourishing of the Dharma in South Africa.
During each retreat there will be a talk on the principle of Dana and baskets are made available for offerings to the hermitage, the teachers and the managers. Dharmagiri bank details are also available from the office, including details on how to make a Standing Order should you wish to support Dharmagiri in an on going way.
Dana and Ubuntu – The Principle - A New Economic Paradigm Rooted in an Ancient Principle
Dana means ‘generosity’ or ‘free will offering’ Dharmagiri runs on the principle of Dana following the ancient practice of the Buddhist lineage where teachings are offered freely. It also follows the guidelines of Buddhist monastic practice which makes no set charge of those who visit and stay. Those who stay at Dharmagiri do so through the generosity of others and likewise the gifts of retreatants make it possible for future practitioners to benefit from their time at Dharmagiri. In this way Dana allows those who have few resources access to the teachings and practice at Dharmagiri. This is sustainable when those who have more or a greater amount of resources offer more, so that people with less can participate.
Dana is rooted in the practice of wisdom and compassion. Wisdom informs us that nothing ultimately belongs to us and that we are all deeply interconnected. It also informs us that without the gifts of others, we would not have life, education and the resources we enjoy. Compassion encourages us to act on this understanding by striving for a more equitable society based on sharing and generosity. This understanding is also within the ancient African principle of Ubuntu which states ‘we are who we are through others.’ As the consciousness with which we engage society conditions the societies we live within, the spiritual practice at Dharmagiri encourages the overcoming the mindset that seeks self benefit at the expense of others.
Ethics of Sharing
The ethical practice of generosity expresses the transcendence of separate self-hood and constitutes a wholesome and caring ethos at the heart of community. The economic forms of consumerism and capitalism highly conditions our relationships in the world thereby encouraging us to experience ourselves as discrete subjective entities, producers and consumers, insulated from responsive engagement with others. Rather than emulate this, it is our intention to support economic relationships which contribute towards a culture of sharing of resources.
Fundamental Spirit of Dharmagiri - One of Offering
Dharmagiri enters a relationship with our guests and fellow practitioners, not as providers of a service for a consumer, but as a wholehearted human relationship as collaborators in the transformation of the heart, mind and society in order to bring about a greater well being for the whole. And so the fundamental spirit at Dharmagiri is one of offering.
According to the Buddha sharing whatever we have, whether it be money, time, work, nurture or resources, is one of the central pillars of a spiritual life. In the act of giving we develop our ability to let go and cultivate a culture of caring. An act of generosity can be a spontaneous outpouring due the heart or a more considered practice of supporting that which we are aligned to. Generosity is also a practice that undermines grasping and helps us move beyond self preoccupation in ways the enable connection, abundance and mutual support. On a larger scale generosity enables a stable and cohesive family, society and world.
Offering Dharma Teachings
Dating back to the time of the Buddha the teachings are given freely since they are considered beyond monetary value. There has always existed an inter-dependence between those who offer teachings and those who receive them which is symbolized in the daily alms round of Buddhist monks and nuns who rely on the generosity of lay people for support in continuing their spiritual life. In kind the monastics devote their time to preserving and practicing the teaching. This relationship of mutual giving embodies a ‘sacred contract’ that enlivens the teachings and keeps their transmission pure.
At Dharmagiri we hold faith to this principle which offers an opportunity to connect with a 2,550 year tradition of transmission that is deeply bedded in a web of devotion, offering, and commitment. Dana also supports the teachers who give their time, expertise, and experience freely and supports those who live at Dharmagiri as community members and as managers, (who are unwaged or stipended) without whom the hermitage could not operate.
Support Dharmagiri and its Outreach Work - by Making a Standing Order
Another way of supporting the hermitage and work of Dharmagiri is by making a monthly standing order. Even if it is for a small amount, the accumulated support of standing orders enables constancy. For more details of how to set up a standing order, please contact us in the office which can furnish details for making a standing order through affiliated bank accounts in the UK and US as well as S.Africa.
The practice of wise giving and its results
According to the Buddha sharing whatever we have, whether it be money, time, work, nurture or resources, is one of the central pillars of a spiritual life. In the act of giving we develop our ability to let go and cultivate a spirit of caring. An act of generosity can be a spontaneous outpouring due the heart being touched or the desire to support that which we are aligned to. However generosity is also a practice that undermines grasping and helps us move beyond self centered-ness. On a larger scale generosity enables a stable and cohesive family, society and world.
When you make an offering it is encouraged to do so with mindfulness, with a heart that lets go, with a heart of loving kindness and with no manipulation or agenda regards the result. This doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be careful monitoring of the results of sharing our resources and consideration of wise gifts, but in the moment of actually offering, free the heart from grasping and wish for the welfare of the other.
The karmic result of generosity is to live with abundance, to live fearlessly and to live open hearted with a strong sense of kinship and interconnectedness within the web of life. May it be so for you!
A Way of Life for a Sustainable Planet - 'Give what you can and take only what you need.'
A general guideline of the Dana / Ubuntu Economy is ‘Give what you can and only take what you need.’ The direct practice of generosity transforms greed and supports an inner attitude of letting go or renunciation. In these times when global resources are severely challenged, we face the reality that our collective sustainability is under threat. A direct remedy is therefore for each of us to learn to live more simply. The Dharma teaches us that endlessly seeking the fulfillment of desires can never bring about peace. Peace and deep contentment arises with the letting go of desire. May all beings dwell in peace, abundance, fearlessness and open hearted-ness.
A Teaching From Master Hua
Giving cures greed, if you are unable to let go, practice giving. Only through giving can you gain. If you don't give you can't gain anything. Giving and Receiving. You have to give to receive.
There is the giving of wealth, of Dharma and the giving of fearlessness.
1. The Giving of Wealth - This means giving money, goods and resources, including sharing the wealth of your blessings and virtue. When you give you should empty three aspect of giving: 'there is no giver, no receiver and nothing that is given or received.'
2. The Giving of Dharma - This means bestowing teachings that awaken, encourage and transform (the Buddha-Dharma) upon living beings who request it. Speak the Dharma to help those who are hungry and thirsty for it.
3. The Giving of Fearlessness - This means that when living beings are in fear, you comfort them and help them not to be afraid. In fearlessly standing by others you protect and support them.