FAQs - DĀNA
1. How is dāna different from donation?
Dāna should not be looked upon as a business transaction or simply a payment for services or goods rendered.
It is a gift given from the heart, expressing one’s gratitude and appreciation for the teachings, considered priceless by the ancient tradition of Buddhism.
2. How does dāna work?
It is vital to understand that dāna is the practice of generosity. Although we all have the innate, generous capacity to give and support one another, the conditions of our system have obscured this quality of the heart. Just as we practice loving-kindness and mindfulness to help reawaken those innate qualities of the heart-mind, so too we have the practice of dāna to reawaken the gift of generosity.
3. Why dāna?
The Buddha taught about three poisons of the mind: greed, hatred and delusion. In the words of Burmese meditation master and the head of Whit’s primary lineage, Mahāsi Sayadaw, these three mind-states are the roots of all evil and suffering in the world. The Buddha provided practices designed to directly counter these mental afflictions and it is dāna (giving) that is his antidote to greed. Without incorporating dāna as part of our practice, it is very difficult to proceed beyond a certain point on the Buddha’s path.
4. How does my dāna benefit my meditation practice?
From one perspective the practice of dāna is primarily designed to benefit ourselves. Although we help countless others by way of our generosity, our acts of giving are crucial to freeing our own mind from suffering. By giving and letting go of the mind’s attachment to money, greed and the concomitant mind-states which give rise to greed, such as fear and insecurity, gradually ease within the mind. As a result the mind gains greater trust in the refuge of itself, finding the security it seeks not by accumulating more material wealth, but by letting go.
5. How does my dāna support others?
Your gift of dāna honours and supports the teachings of a 2600 year old tradition that has survived until to this point as a result of the generosity of the human heart. Your dāna supports the livelihood of the teachers who are working to keep the teachings accessible in this way. Your dāna supports the community of practitioners to practice by dāna and in-turn their dāna supports you to practice in this way. Our dāna supports people from all levels of society to access and benefit from the teachings, and this re-awakening of our collective interconnectedness is one of the most powerful benefits we receive from our practice of dāna.
6. How do I give dāna and how much do I give?
It is very important to treat dāna as part of your spiritual practice and not a purchase transaction.
It is encouraged to take your time with this process. Consider what it means to you to receive the teachings, guidance and support in this way? What does it mean to you to support a model of living based on generosity? What does it mean to be part of an ancient lineage brought together by our shared primordial instinct to be free of suffering? Do we feel that it’s possible to create ripples of social change by working together in this way?
If one prefers, you are welcome to make an initial donation that reflects and respects the traditional practice of dāna and the extensive offering you are about to receive, donating a second time once you have immersed yourself in the program and teachings.
When we take the time to sit down, close our eyes and read the heart, attuned with respect and in proper alignment with what we truly can afford to give, our answer as to how much to give will be revealed.
