So many buns in the kitchen and all nicely packed too! Doing dāna tomorrow?, I asked. I wouldn't be surprised if the food were for the monks in the Buddhist monastery up the hill or for monks from elsewhere. Food had been prepared before for monks both before and during the recent MCO Movement Restriction Order where people stayed indoors to avoid the COVID-19 virus. That day however, the food were for the poor and needy. Many people, I understand were out of work during the MCO and some good Samaritans here had helped by looking for food sponsors to sponsor food; and the buns, I then learned were made for them. For a long time, I have come to associate dāna with providing food for the monks. In Buddhism and many other Indian religions; Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism included; dāna is the practice of cultivating generosity and It can take the form of giving to a needy individual and also the form of philanthropic public projects for the masses; not necessarily just food for monks.
Comments