Generosity: A Path to Freedom – Part 2: The Gift of Dharma – By DHN

The second generosity is the gift of the Dharma (spiritual teachings), or the gift of spiritual support.  When a teacher or a practitioner learned the teachings of the Buddha and practiced these teachings, he or she will have some transformations and experiences.  As a result, they can share these teachings with other people to help them suffer less. 

When we can be mindful of bringing more awareness in our daily lives, we can cultivate the energies of mindfulness, concentration, and insight.  With these energies, we can help ourselves, and others suffer less.  We can become more serene and happy and can share our joy with others.

Most mornings, when I wake up ( I said this because there are times, I tend to forget to do it), I recite this verse taught by Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh for myself:

“Waking up this morning, I smile

Twenty-four brand new hours are before me

I vow to live each moment fully

And to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.”

Oftentimes, we tend to wake up and rush to the day.  By being able to remember that we can smile at our day and knowing that these 24 brand new hours are precious, we can start our day with more ease.  And when we can put on a smile in the mirror (even if you might not feel like smiling because you haven’t slept well or for whatever reasons), we can accept things that come to our ways much easier.  This is just one example.

Another way is to begin the day with mindful breathing.  If we can afford to, we can sit quietly on a sofa cushion or the chair for five or more minutes.  If not, while drinking our water, tea, or coffee, we can drink it with awareness and follow our breathing.

“Breathing in, I know that I’m alive

Breathing out, I smile to life.”

or

“Breathing in, I know that my health is still in good condition

Breathing out, I smile to my health.”

You can be creative in how you want to cultivate mindfulness.  The key is to be aware of our breathing, body, and surroundings (our loved ones, our pets, or things in front of us or around us).

When we can eat, walk, speak or listen with mindfulness, we are watering the seed of Buddha-hood within us.  This energy is the holy spirit or the energy of awakening.  Whether it’s Christianity, Hinduism, Jewish, or Buddhist, we can all touch this energy in ourselves regardless of your faith.  When we’re able to cultivate this energy, we can share this gift with other people.  When we know how to meditate, breathe mindfully, and handle our own emotions and perceptions, it’s easier for us to explain the mindfulness methods to others.   It’s like when you know to master a skill, and you can share your skill with others.  Similarly, when we know how to live a mindful, healthy life, we can become an example for others to follow.  This is one way to offer our gift of spirituality.

Sharing the gift of the Dharma also means offering spiritual support to our family, friends, and relations in need. However, we always have to start with ourselves.  We need to love and care for ourselves before we can support others.  This is called “self-care” or “self-compassion.”  The term “compassion” means to suffer from others, but in the Buddhist sense, we don’t have to suffer from other people’s distress.  If we are also in distress, then who is helping who?  We simply lack the energy to help.  Therefore, we need to make ourselves fresh, strong, and lucid in order to help our loved ones or our friends.  Just think of a doctor who is sick cannot heal a sick patient.  We need to take care of ourselves first before we can help others.  It’s like the instruction of the steward or stewardess on the plane, “Put on your own oxygen mask before helping others to put it on.”  Therefore, practice coming back to yourself, taking care of yourself, and having the spiritual gift to offer to yourself and others in need.

Please follow us for Generosity: A Path to Freedom- Part 3: the Gift of Non-Fear by DHN