Theme

Generosity

Dana — the first perfection and the first practice. The Buddha said the giver, the receiver, and the gift are all empty — and yet the giving is the door.

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Knowledge

Monks on their morning alms round (pindacāra) carrying alms bowls

Practices

Dana — The Practice of Generosity

The cultivation of generosity. The first of the six paramitas, the first of the ten paramis. The practice the Buddha taught laypeople before any other. The economic foundation of the sangha for 2,500 years.

Archival photograph of a Borobudur relief panel depicting the Mahisa Jataka, a past-life tale of the Buddha illustrating the perfections

Core TeachingsMahayana

The Six Paramitas

Six perfections that the bodhisattva cultivates across countless lifetimes: generosity, ethical conduct, patience, joyous effort, meditative concentration, and wisdom. The structural curriculum of the Mahayana.

Tibetan thangka of Buddha Shakyamuni surrounded by scenes of his previous lives (Jataka Tales), Metropolitan Museum of Art

Core TeachingsTheravada

The Ten Pāramī

The ten perfections of the Theravada tradition — generosity, virtue, renunciation, wisdom, energy, patience, truthfulness, determination, loving-kindness, and equanimity. The qualities a bodhisatta cultivates across countless lifetimes on the path to buddhahood.

Teachings

Danavati Guruma

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Awakening9 Compassion14 Concentration4 Death8 Dependent Origination6 Devotion7 Doubt2 Effort3