When I sit down to meditate, I like to set the intention that I am not doing it just for myself, but instead I am offering my meditation practices to my family, friends, and all sentient beings. Meditation helps me to be less reactive, calmer and wiser and this doesn’t just help me – it helps everyone I come into contact with.
“By disarming my own anger within meditation, I offer peace to the world.”
Another type of giving is ‘non-dual’ giving, in which no one is given. The duality of two people is not considered; it’s just what you give to you. The One universe helps itself. There is no thought of passing on reward or recognition.
You can practice self-examination meditation while giving to see exactly “who” is the giver and “who” is the receiver. This is difficult to understand without the experience of no-self or no-mind that you encounter in meditation, but you can come to realize that there is no separate ‘ego-self’ at the core of your being and that in this Reflecting in the way you give is a powerful reminder of this meditative insight.
Then there is the Zen idea that meditation is an expression of enlightenment. You could say that being overtly generous with your possessions and attention is simply the natural expression of an enlightened essence. Without any effort or thought, you act spontaneously and take care of yourself selflessly at every moment.
Even deeper than that, Buddha suggested that if you cling to things, you are the loser and things own you and cause you pain, and that becoming stingy and selfish is the worst suffering of all. Attachment to things is indeed a root cause of suffering, as taught in the Buddhist tradition. This is why monks took a vow to live a simple and humble life. When you give things away, you develop a virtuous mind and generate love and kindness, which actually benefits you immeasurably.
“What you hold, you lose, what you give away is yours forever.”
Meditation can be described as an opening of contraction into an expansive way of being. Being generous means not being afraid to come out of this spacious and transparent place. Not being afraid to give your presence away because you understand that presence is abundant. At this point, your openness is an act of non-judgmental to people.
Allowing others to be as they are, without trying to change them, is an act of kindness, which some say is the highest act of all. It is generous and kind to simply let others be in your space. It helps others to relax and be themselves. By staying in an open, non-judgmental presence, you give space and generously accept people as you find them.
Chad Foreman is the founder of The Way of Meditation and has been teaching meditation since 2003, determined to bring authentic meditation practices into the lives of millions of people in the modern world. Chad is a former Buddhist monk who lived in a retreat hut for six years and studied and practiced meditation full-time. He now has over twenty years of experience teaching meditation. Chad likes regularly
Meditation retreats on the Sunshine Coast, Australia
Online meditation coachingprovides three online programs – The 21 Day Meditation Challenge to gradually guide people from the basic principles of mindfulness and relaxation to profound states of consciousness.
Breathwork to help manage stress and go deeper into meditation and
The bliss of inner fire This is a Buddhist tantric method to clear energy blockages and connect with the clear light of bliss. You can also get Chad’s free ebook now Insights on the go.