广修供养 – To make abundant offerings
The first thing
that struck my mind when Master talked on this topic was an incident that
happened way back in 1997. The company that I worked for organised a charity
drive to help the famine victims in North Korea. I was very excited and happy
to be part of the charity drive as I felt that I could do my little part to
help other people on other side of the globe. One weekend, we were stationed at
the main entrance of the Sunway Pyramid. Back then, RM500 and RM1,000 notes
were still legal tenders. There were a lot of generous people who chipped in
the big notes together with some cheques with face value more than RM5,000. All
the staff were very happy with the generosity of Malaysians. But, what happened
behind the scene was not so good. Transparency and accountability were
literally not in existence those days. Did the money collected really channeled
into buying food items to be shipped over to the famine victims? We, at the
middle management, were in the dark. No announcement was made by the directors.
We do also come
across the path of some handicapped beggars at the night markets. Amazingly,
those not so mobile people can be seen at many places, which are not so
reachable with our poor Malaysian public transportation system. These
syndicates target the generosity of Malaysian to support their operations by
putting those handicapped people on the streets. I, for one, never wanted to
donate to these syndicates. But, the problem is, every time I said ‘No’ to
these handicapped people / beggars, I experience some sort of discomfort. I was
in a dilemma every time I turned them down. At the back of my head, I would
think that if they do not reach the targeted ‘collection’, they will be
reprimanded. But, if I give, I am supporting/contributing to the cause of these
syndicates.
As Master says,
when we give/offer, we have to do it with wisdom. The intention at the point of
offering is very important. Whatever happens after that, just leave it. We have
no control over it.
When I was
younger, I really have that kind of temptation that whenever I ‘give’, I really
‘hope’ someone with notice it so that the ‘merit’ is known. But now, the
offerings that we made with sincere intentions really generate the
satisfactions that can’t be described in words. This feeling is so warm from
inside expanding outwards, generating that ‘feel good’ factor. I experienced
this when I contribute to the cause of temple, the Sangha and its events. After
attending this class, I want to do more for this good cause and I know I will.
智洪合十
[Let’s fill
offering into every moment of our life, and experience the joy of Dhamma.
“I offer this gift,
to the Buddhas of ten directions,
to all wise people
and sages,
and to all beings
throughout the six realms;
may each one,
without distinction, receive nourishment;
and may the givers
and receivers of today’s offering,
obtain unlimited
perfection in virtue.”
You may recite this
when you make offering, it’s a teaching from Kwan Um Zen School. ]
