Gifts of Teachings Is More Superior Than Gifts of Material Things

Monks, there are these two kinds of gifts: a gift of material things and a gift of The Teachings.

Of these two kinds of gifts, this is supreme: a gift of The Teachings.

There are these two kinds of sharing: sharing of material things and sharing of The Teachings.

Of these two kinds of sharing, this is supreme: sharing of The Teachings.

There are these two kinds of assistance: assistance with material things and assistance with The Teachings.

Of these two kinds of assistance, this is supreme: assistance with The Teachings.

(Reference: ITI 100)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares how giving the gift of these Teachings, sharing these Teachings, or providing assistance in these Teachings is more supreme than any material object that could be given.

A Practitioner being willing to politely, kindly, friendly, and respectfully share these Teachings, when asked, is the most supreme gift, sharing, and assistance one could provide. It is through revealing these Teachings that a Practitioner is able to help others to experience the Enlightened mind - peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy. In doing so, it is important that a Practitioner does not force these Teachings onto others but instead, provides the opportunity for others to learn and then share when asked questions.

There is no way to force someone to attain Enlightenment. Forcing someone to do something would be the opposite of how an Enlightened being would practice these Teachings.

If someone is forcing these Teachings onto others, there is craving/desire in the mind and it will produce unwholesome results. If someone attempts to force you to do something, what do you do and how do you feel? Typically, an individual will turn away from that situation and/or dig their heels into the earth more deeply not being interested to move forward.

This is exactly what occurs if one attempts to force these Teachings onto others and thus, this approach should always be avoided.

Instead, we can welcome and invite others to learn, reflect, and practice these Teachings through making them available in polite and respectful ways. Then, allow an individual to either choose to step forward to learn or not.

Making these Teachings available without any expectation of what will or will not occur allows one’s mind to remain peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy regardless of the outcome. If there is craving/desire for others to learn, reflect, and practice, the mind will experience discontentedness. Additionally, when one is being forceful in their approach attempting to get others to learn, reflect, and practice these Teachings, it will dissuade others from being interested to investigate The Teachings and benefit from The Teachings.

Therefore, by allowing each individual to make the choice to step forward based on their own decisions, they will feel more comfortable and be more willing to investigate The Teachings to receive the benefit of The Teachings.

It is normal to be interested to share with others, especially when you discover something as wonderful as The Teachings that liberate the mind from discontentedness - permanently. However, if one allows craving/desire/attachment to obsess the mind, it would be counterproductive in helping others to learn, reflect, and practice The Path to Enlightenment.

Through each individual remaining determined, dedicated, and diligent towards the development of their own life practice, others will observe the peacefulness, calmness, serenity, and contentedness with joy that emanates from the Enlightened mind. While others may not fully understand the Enlightened mind, they will be intrigued and notice how peaceful an individual is which is more of a motivating factor to learn, reflect, and practice than someone who is forcefully attempting to get others to investigate The Path to Enlightenment.

Through wise Practitioners practicing The Three Wholesome Roots of generosity, loving-kindness, and wisdom, these Teachings will naturally be shared far and wide as each individual has the opportunity to step forward to develop their life practice. That may be in this life or some subsequent life. While you may have the interest for others to learn and practice these Teachings, one needs to maintain that as an interest and not a craving/desire/expectation/want, etc. If one allows craving/desire/attachment to pollute the mind as it relates to sharing these Teachings, there would only be unwholesome results as the outcome.

With that said, if you choose to give books or other resources to family, friends, or associates as gifts, that would be the most supreme gift you could give. But in doing so, you will need to practice in such a way that there is no craving/desire/attachment/wants/expectations/clinging, etc. for a specific outcome. To practice pure generosity, a Practitioner needs to give and share without any expectations of anything in return. If there is an expectation of acquiring something in return, there is still craving/desire/attachment, therefore, one is not practicing pure generosity but instead, craving.

Craving is an unwholesome root, and this will only produce discontentedness in the mind and other unwholesome outcomes.

It takes an enormous amount of time, effort, energy, resources, and patience to share these Teachings with others as a Teacher. Having these Teachings come into a community is the absolute best opportunity for people to receive the help they need in this life. Therefore, supporting Teachers with gifts, hospitality, offerings, and respectful salutations is highly important to ensure these Teachings continue to be shared into the world.

If we disparage and denigrate those who are sharing these Teachings or otherwise not provide support of time, effort, energy, and resources to help them, then this is causing harm in that these Teachings will not be able to make their way into the hearts and minds of individual Practitioners - including you. But, through providing support and encouragement, a Teacher can focus on sharing these Teachings with a community to help them learn and practice The Path to Enlightenment to eliminate discontentedness and improve their life.

The accumulation of wisdom is the highest beneficial quality of mind and is highly beneficial for any community of people. Through supporting and encouraging Teachers in a community, it helps to ensure the long term success and prosperity of the individuals in that community. If we disparage or denigrate those who are interested in sharing wisdom, this will only serve to cause harm within a community as there will be a lack of individuals who would be willing to share their wisdom.

This is The Natural Law of Kamma of “cause and effect” or “action and result” - essentially, the results of our decisions.

Through providing support by making generous offerings, there will be Teachers who are willing and able to provide these Teachings to support a Community of Practitioners. By practicing The Wholesome Root of generosity, there is a direct beneficial result through these Teachings being available for a community of Practitioners which benefits the mind and life of each individual including you.

A Teacher is not sharing these Teachings for their own benefit but instead, for the benefit of others. So by providing generous offerings, you are supporting your own development on The Path to Enlightenment by eliminating craving/desire/attachment but also, through providing the ability for Teachers to continue to share these Teachings with you.

Sharing these Teachings with you is the highest and most supreme gift one could give you. As a result, it would be wise for you to also share with the Teachers who are sharing with you. Your offerings would only benefit you through the elimination of craving/desire/attachment and by making these Teachings available to you and countless others within our communities.

Our Life —> Our Decisions —> Our Results