Wonderful Blessedness of Donation.

The Buddha once resided in the Savatthi, the garden of Anathapindika. Sumana, the princess, and 500 escorting young women came to pay homage and asked the Buddha:

“World’s Homered One! There are two disciples with the equality\r\nof belief, precepts, wisdom, but one has almsgiving and the other doesn’t.\r\nAfter death, those people will be reborn in Heavenly World or Human One. Are\r\nthere any differences between them??

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“There is a difference, Sumana!

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For those who had donation, whether those people will be\r\nreborn as devas or human beings, will always have advantages comparing to those\r\nwho had no donation in five aspects: longevity, beauty, peace and happiness,\r\nstatuses, and superior. Sumanà! Ones who had donation, whether they\r\nwill be devas or human beings, will always surpass anyone who had no donation\r\nin these five aspects.

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(Angutara Nikaya II, Chapter Sumanà, Section Tha\r\nPrincess, published by VNCPHVN, 1996, page.351)

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COMMENT

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In life there is often a case happening that at the same\r\nwork and time, people doing those jobs that have the same talent, but some\r\nachieve a brilliant success and some gain little success, even failure. To\r\nunsuccessful people, most of them will console themselves by giving the reason\r\nthat the opportunity hasn’t come yet or “Man propose, god dispose”.  Not\r\nmany people recognize that the hidden factors controlling each people’ success\r\nor failure is their self-blessedness, which has been formed by practising donation\r\nin the past and right in the present.

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According to the insight of the Buddha, if two people\r\ncultivate with the same belief in Triple Gem, virtue and wisdom, but their\r\namount of practice donation is at different level, obviously people practising\r\ndonation will gain  more blessedness than people who seldom or have no\r\npractice of donation. Surpassing occurs in five aspects: lifespan,\r\nbeauty, peace and happiness, status and promotion. Hence, ones who\r\npractice Discipline, Meditatio, Wisdom must balance them and bring more\r\ninto virtues of donation. The peak of donation is giving Paramita, equal,\r\nunconditional and selfless. Practising donation will have practical\r\ncontribution in bringing happiness, peace to others and self blessedness\r\nadornment.

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 Blessedness of longevity, health, easy-looking\r\nand likeable appearance, secure and joyful life, honour and brilliant position,\r\nbetter things, which is the dream of everybody. Thus, the Buddhists living and\r\ncultivating the Buddha’s teachings always practice doing charity and making\r\noffering to make expectedly happy and peaceful life at present and in the\r\nfuture.

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Translated into English by Huynh Vo Cao Tri.