4.
The Chapter on Gifts
1.
Commentary on the First Giving Discourse
31. In the first of the fourth, "gives a gift having approached" means having reached, one gives a gift. Having seen one who has come, having caused him to sit down for just a moment, having shown honour, one gives a gift; one does not weary him thinking "I shall give." "Out of fear" means out of fear of reproach, thinking "this one is a non-giver, a non-doer," or out of fear of the realms of misery. "He gave to me" means one gives thinking "formerly this person gave such and such a thing to me." "He will give to me" means one gives thinking "in the future he will give such and such a thing." "Giving is good" means one gives thinking "giving is indeed good, beautiful, praised by wise persons such as the Buddha and others." "Gives a gift for the purpose of adorning and equipping the mind" means one gives for the purpose of adorning and as a requisite for the mind of serenity and insight meditation. For giving makes the mind soft. The one by whom it is received, he becomes soft-minded thinking "it was received by me." The one by whom it is given, he too becomes soft-minded thinking "it was given by me." Thus it makes the mind of both soft. Therefore it is said "the taming of the untamed." As he said -
By giving and by dear speech, they rise up and they bow down."
But among these eight kinds of giving, the giving for adorning the mind alone is the highest.
2.
Commentary on the Second Giving Discourse
32. In the second, "faith" means the faith by which one gives a gift - that is faith. "Shame" means the shame by which one gives a gift - that itself is what is intended. "And wholesome giving" means faultless giving. "Divine" means going to heaven.
3.
Commentary on the Things to Be Given Discourse
33. In the third, "grounds for giving" means reasons for giving. "One gives a gift out of desire" means one gives a gift out of affection. "Out of hate" means having become angry through hate, whatever there is, having grabbed that impulsively, one gives. "Out of delusion" means being confused through delusion, one gives. "Out of fear" means one gives out of fear of reproach or out of fear of the realms of misery, or else out of fear of this or that. "Family lineage" means family tradition.
4.
Commentary on the Field Discourse
34. "Is not of great fruit" means it is not of great fruit in terms of harvest. "Not of great gratification" means whatever fruit there is of it, its gratification is not great - of slight gratification, not sweet. "Not of great increase" means even its increase does not exist as growth; the meaning is that it does not have a great settlement of rice stalks. "Uneven with high and low ground" means uneven ground by way of high and low terrain. Therein, on the high ground water does not remain, in the low ground too much stands. "Full of stones and gravel" means possessed of flat rocks spread out, and small stones, and gravel. "Saline" means with salt sprung up. "Not deeply ploughed" means due to the hardness of the ground it is not deeply penetrated; it is not possible to plough making a plough-furrow, there is only a shallow plough-furrow. "Not accomplished with water inflow" means not accomplished with the inflow of water. "Not accomplished with water outflow" means it is not accomplished with a path for the outflow of water at the rear. "Not accomplished with channels" means it is not accomplished with small and large water channels. "Not accomplished with boundaries" means not accomplished with field boundaries. "Not of great fruit" and so on - all should be understood in terms of resultant fruit.
"Accomplished" means complete, endowed with success. "When an accomplished seed is sown" means an accomplished seed is planted. "When the sky provides rain" means when the sky rains properly. "There is accomplishment of freedom from calamity" means the absence of calamity from insects, worms, and other creatures is one accomplishment. "Increase" means growth is the second accomplishment. "Expansion" means the state of being extensive is the third accomplishment. "Fruit" means complete fruit is the fourth accomplishment. "To those accomplished in virtue" means to those of complete morality. "Accomplishment of food" means accomplished, various food. "Accomplishments" means the threefold wholesome accomplishment. "Leads to" means that accomplishment of food leads to. Why? "For that deed of his is accomplished" - because that deed done by him is accomplished, complete - this is the meaning. "Wishing for accomplishment here" means may there be accomplishment here. "Accomplished in true knowledge and conduct" means endowed with the three true knowledges and the fifteen qualities of conduct. "Having obtained" means such a person, having obtained the accomplishment of mind - the state of being complete without deficiency. "Performs accomplishment of action" means one performs complete action. "Obtains accomplishment of welfare" means one obtains welfare that is complete. "Accomplishment in view" means insight view. "Accomplishment of the path" means the path of stream-entry. "Goes with an accomplished mind" means having become one of complete mind, one goes to arahantship. "That is the accomplishment of all" means that liberation from all suffering is called the accomplishment of all.
5.
Commentary on the Giving and Rebirth Discourse
35. In the fifth, "rebirths through giving" means rebirths by reason of giving. "Fixes" means establishes. "Determines" is a synonym for that very thing. "Develops" means increases. "Liberated in what is inferior" means liberated in the inferior five types of sensual pleasure. "Not developed further" means not developed further for the purpose of the path and its fruition. "Leads to rebirth there" means having aspired to whatever state where wholesome action was done, it leads to the purpose of being reborn there. "For one without lust" means for one whose lust has been utterly cut off by the path, or for one whose lust has been suppressed by meditative attainment. For by mere giving alone it is not possible to be reborn in the Brahma world, but giving is an ornament and a retinue for the mind of concentration and insight. Then, with a mind made soft through giving, having developed the divine abidings, one is reborn in the Brahma world. Therefore it was said - "For one without lust, not for one with lust."
6.
Commentary on the Way of Making Merit Sutta
36. In the sixth, they are meritorious actions and they are the bases for those various benefits - thus they are ways of making merit. For having fixed the mind on the characteristic of giving and so on, beings make merit thinking "Such giving should be given by us, morality should be guarded, meditation should be developed." Giving itself is that consisting of giving, or among the volitions of giving, the decisive volition produced from the prior volition is that consisting of giving, just as those consisting of morality and so on are from morality and so on. In the remaining two also, the same method applies. "Done to a limited extent" means done slightly and feebly. "Does not attain" means it is not produced. "Has not been done" means the exertion in meditation itself has not been undertaken - this is the meaning. "Human misfortune" means the fivefold low family devoid of success among human beings. "Is reborn" means approaches by way of conception; the meaning is that one is reborn there. "Done to a moderate extent" means done in measure, a little, not much. "Human good fortune" means the state of being fortunate among human beings, the threefold family success. "Exceeding" means of exceeding measure or powerful. "Surpass" means having overcome, they take hold; the meaning is that they are more distinguished and foremost.
7.
Commentary on the Good Person's Giving Discourse
37. In the seventh, "what is pure" means one gives what is completely pure and endowed with colour. "What is superior" means possessed of flavour. "At the proper time" means at the fitting and appropriate time. "What is allowable" means whatever is allowable, that one gives. "One gives with discrimination" means having discriminated by way of seeking a recipient, thinking "what is given to this one will be of great fruit, what is given to this one will not be of great fruit," or by way of having the intention of giving, one gives.
8.
Commentary on the Good Person Discourse
38. In the eighth, "for the benefit" means for the sake of purpose. "For the welfare and happiness" means for the sake of welfare and for the sake of happiness. "Deceased spirits" means relatives who have gone to the world beyond. In this discourse, when a Buddha has not arisen, wheel-turning monarchs, Bodhisattas, and Individually Enlightened Ones are found; in the time of the Buddha, Buddhas themselves and disciples of the Buddha. For indeed they lead to the benefit, welfare, and happiness of those as aforesaid. "Indeed for the benefit of many, the wise one dwelling in a house" means the wise one living in a house is indeed for the benefit of many. "First" means beforehand. "Recollecting what was done before" means recollecting the virtues of the prior services of mother and father. "With reason" means he venerates with cause, by the veneration of offering requisites. "He honours the practitioners of the holy life" means he pays homage to the practitioners of the holy life, he conducts himself humbly towards them. "Well-behaved" means of amiable nature.
9.
Commentary on the Outflow Discourse
39. In the ninth, "gifts" means gifts of volition. The meaning of "primordial" and so on has been stated above.
10.
Commentary on the Result of Misconduct Discourse
40. In the tenth, "killing living beings" means the volition of killing living beings. "The very lightest" means the very lightest. "Conducive to a short life span" means by that insignificant result of action one is short-lived, or one perishes at the mere granting of conception, or just upon emerging from the mother's womb. For such is not the outcome of anything else whatsoever; this is the path gone by killing living beings itself. "Conducive to disaster of wealth" means just as not even a farthing's worth remains in the hand, thus it leads to disaster of wealth. "It is conducive to enmity with rivals" means it leads to enmity together with rivals. For he has many rivals. And whoever sees him, produces only enmity towards him; it does not cease. For such is the outcome of an offence against another's guarded and protected goods.
"It is conducive to false accusation" means it leads to accusation with what is untrue; whatever is done by anyone whatsoever falls upon him alone. "Conducive to breaking with friends" means it leads to breaking with friends. Whatever friend he makes, each one breaks away. "Conducive to disagreeable sounds" means it leads to disagreeable sounds. Whatever speech is thorny, rough, bitter, offensive, cutting to the vital spots - in whatever place he goes, he hears only that; he does not obtain the hearing of agreeable sounds. Such is the path gone by harsh speech. "Conducive to speech not to be heeded" means it leads to the state of one's words not being taken up; one comes to the point where one must be told "Why do you speak? Who indeed will accept your word?" This is the path gone by idle chatter. "It is conducive to madness" means it leads to the state of madness. For by that a human being becomes either mad or mentally deranged or an idiot. This is the outcome of drinking liquor. In this discourse only the round of rebirths has been spoken of.
The Chapter on Giving is the fourth.