The Eight Gifts

Monks, there are these eight gifts.

What eight?

(1) Having insulted [the recipient], one gives a gift.

(2) One gives a gift from fear.

(3) One gives a gift, [thinking]: He gave to me.

(4) One gives a gift, [thinking]: He will give to me.

(5) One gives a gift, [thinking]: Giving is good.

(6) One gives a gift, [thinking]: I cook; these people do not cook. It isn’t right that I who cook should not give to those who do not cook.

(7) One gives a gift, [thinking]: Because I have given this gift, I will gain a good reputation.

(8) One gives a gift for the purpose of enhancing the mind, equipping the mind.

(Reference: AN 8.31)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares eight situations when one might choose to give a gift.

1.) If one has insulted another person, it would be wise to clean up one’s Kamma by giving a gift. This can help to eliminate any harsh feelings from the other person and maintain one’s wholesome Kamma.

2.) If one has fear, giving a gift can seem to be a way for that individual to eradicate their fear. If there is fear of an individual, giving a gift may seem to be a way to eradicate the fear, but it will not.

3.) An individual might choose to give a gift because an individual gave a gift to you, therefore, you feel obligated to give a gift to the person who gave you a gift.

4.) An individual might choose to give a gift thinking that they are interested in receiving a gift, therefore, they give a gift in order to receive.

5.) An individual might choose to give a gift with the feeling that “giving is good” craving the pleasant feeling of giving a gift.

6.) An individual might choose to give the gift of food because they are good at cooking and feel it is important to feed others. Being able to acquire food during the lifetime of The Buddha was a significant challenge. Having the ability to acquire, cook, and provide food to others was highly beneficial.

7.) An individual might choose to give a gift feeling as if they are looking to appear wholesome or develop a good reputation.

8.) The ultimate reason for giving a gift and one that is of pure generosity would be to give a gift to train the mind to eliminate craving/desire/attachment. The Buddha described this as “for the purpose of enhancing the mind, equipping the mind”.

To practice pure generosity the gift needs to be given without having any expectations to receive anything in return. With 1-7, the donor is still having expectations to receive something and the motivation to give the gift is out of one’s own interest to acquire something beneficial for themselves.

However, if one understands that giving a gift is for the sole purpose of the elimination of selfishness and to accomplish that goal, one needs to ensure they are giving without any expectation of anything in return. Then, a donor is giving a gift with pure generosity.