True giving away
hopes for no takeaway.
Being able to give [to help]
is itself the ‘takeaway’.— Stonepeace | Get Books
Sariputra: What is the worldly, and what is the supramundane perfection of giving?
Subhuti: The worldly perfection of giving consists in this: The Bodhisattva gives liberally to all those who ask, all the while thinking in terms of real things [that are unchanging and substantial]. It occurs to him: “I [who is unchanging and substantial] give, that one [who is unchanging and substantial] receives, this is the gift [that is unchanging and substantial]. I renounce all my possessions without stint. I act as one who knows the Buddha. I practice the perfection of giving. I, having made this gift into the common property of all beings, dedicate it to supreme enlightenment, and that without apprehending anything [that is unchanging and substantial]. By means of this gift, and its fruits may all beings in this very life be at ease, and may they one day enter Nirvana!” Tied by three ties he gives a gift. Which three? A perception of self, a perception of others, a perception of the gift.
The supramundane perfection of giving, on the other hand, consists in the threefold purity. What is the threefold purity? Here a Bodhisattva gives a gift, and he does not apprehend a self [who is unchanging and substantial], nor a recipient [who is unchanging and substantial], nor a gift [that is unchanging and substantial]; also no reward of his giving [that is unchanging and substantial]. He surrenders that gift to all beings, but he apprehends neither beings nor self [who are unchanging and substantial]. He dedicates that gift to supreme enlightenment, but he does not apprehend any enlightenment [due t non-attachment to it, thus truly attaining it]. This is called the supramundane perfection of giving.
Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā, 263-64
Buddhist Texts Through The Ages
Translated & Edited By Edward Conze, I.B. Horner, David Snellgrove & Arthur Waley
