The Giving of One's Self and Possessions

To counter react our craving, we can practice generosity. Think again of giving away that treasured possession. Do you think that you might miss it and wish that you had not given it away?

Ideally, when we give something to others, we want to do so without a lengthy analysis, including such thoughts as to whether or not we like the receivers of the gift or whether they may or may not deserve getting it. Upon seeing somebody needing an object that we have, we can simply offer the object to the person.

Genuine generosity is to spontaneously and unconditionally offer what we have when we believe that it will make the recipient happy. We do it without having a second or remorseful thoughts. After such giving, we strive to let go of the thought that we had given and that of the object given.

When we practice generosity, we can start out with something that is not a favorite item and from that we continue giving. We live in an affluent world and many of us have more than we need. We only need a modest amount of clothes to keep us comfortable and to protect us from inclement weather.

We only need a reasonable size of home. We can live very healthily on simple, wholesome foods, we really do not need a lot. Instead of clinging to every item that we have, we can practice generosity.

Initially, if we find generosity difficult, start by giving something that you have not used for a while, say a year or two. Doing so, most people will realize they do not have any regrets or feel sense of loss. On contrary, most of us will instead feel god because we have helped another person. We have given away an article of not much use to us and in doing so, helped someone else.

Eventually, we will unconditionally and spontaneously offer the things that we do use and treasure when we feel that the other persons needs it more than we do. Afterwards, if we happen to think about the object, we will still feel happy and glad that we had given it to another.

Even if the recipient use the item for only a short while, we will gradually accept that we have practiced genuine generosity and had made an offering of happiness. From the giving we can be contented. And even if they never use it again or pass it to another, we can remain happy knowing that we have begun to reduce our clinging, that we are one tiny step closer to severing all of our attachments, one tiny step closer to awakening to the innate goodness within each of us.

What about those who are unable to give possessions because they have very little? For those who may just have enough to provide food, shelter and basic necessities for their families, what can they do if there is nothing extra to give to others?

Not having excess material resources does not preclude us from giving, for we can also give our abilities and time. All forms of giving allow us to counteract our craving - this is just another way to do so. How many times has somebody asked us for help to do something? And how many times have we excused ourselves by saying that we were very tired, but in reality, we just wanted to stay home and relax, or maybe watch television?

And what if we had helped? How many of us had thought, "I wonder how soon I can leave. This work is very difficult and when I am finally finished, I am going to be exhausted and won't have time for myself. I wish I had stayed home".

This is a form of greed. This is the thinking that this body - our body is important, that keeping our body comfortable is important, perhaps more important than helping someone else.

To counteract this kind of greed, we can practice generosity, We all probably know excellent examples of people who do this, people whom we admire and whom we wish e were like. Upon seeing that somebody needs assistance, these people automatically help the other person. It just seems so natural for them to do so, an effortless act.

When we spend some time to think about it, we will realize this kind of person was probably even more than we did or wanted to and seemingly without getting tired or disgruntled. They looked happy doing exactly what they are doing, which was helping someone else. This is genuine generosity.

We too will be overcoming our greed when we can help others spontaneously. If we persevere, the day will arrive when we will be able to help people without waiting to be asked to do so, when we will just do it without any second thought. This practice takes time to develop, but gradually we will improve.

We can also practice giving when upon seeing somebody who is upset, we walk up and simply smile at them or say a few thoughtful words. Doing so, we instinctively provide them with what they need to feel better. And it might be at a moment when we ourselves, very honestly might not have felt smiling or being insightful and perhaps even felt like we were the ones needing a smile or kind words. but frankly, helping others will be more beneficial than being helped - always.

When we are able to give in this way, when we learn to give as caring and generous people give, we no longer feel tired. And even if we feel tired will no longer feel tired. And even if we feel tired when we begin helping, after a while we will find that giving makes us feel more alert, happy and energetic. We will no longer be worried by what had been troubling us before.

By concentrating on helping others, we will no longer be upset by negative feelings that seem to be constantly bombarding us. This is the result of sincerely giving to others.