another day another dana because...
"Love people and feed them"--Neem Karoli Baba
I coined the phrase "another day another dana" standing in the kitchen of the Abhayagiri monastery after we had prepared and offered yet another meal (at that point it had been a number of years since we made a commitment to come once a month with a meal offering for the community).
It was all so simple -- cooking a meal is the stuff of everyday life -- and yet the commitment to this practice proved profound.
The qualities of mind that developed (happiness, contentment, gratitude) have been the rewards.
The practice of generosity is a touchstone: how much to give? when to give? when not to give? on and on...
I learned I could practice this fundamental teaching of Buddhism, generosity, within my life as a householder.
no special teacher -
no secret teaching -
no travel to a foreign setting -
"so simple you can't believe it"
