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buddhism
October 2009 
Zen giving, giver, gift
Posted on Dec 24th, 2008
by 
Ted Biringer
Ted Biringer
Someone said, “I have read in Buddhist scriptures that dana, or giving, contains all practices. Is that true?”
Louie Wing said, “Yes.”
The person asked, “I don’t understand. How can giving contain all practices?”
Louie Wing said, “True giving is giving everything. If you hold onto anything at all, it is not true giving. You do not hold onto notions of giving, giver, or gift, self or other, right or wrong, delusion or enlightenment.
Louie Wing said, “Yes.”
The person asked, “I don’t understand. How can giving contain all practices?”
Louie Wing said, “True giving is giving everything. If you hold onto anything at all, it is not true giving. You do not hold onto notions of giving, giver, or gift, self or other, right or wrong, delusion or enlightenment.
From The Flatbed Sutra of Louie Wing
by Ted Biringer
Access: Public
We are at basic love, understanding and attention. To put one’s attention outward therefore is love because attention expresses one’s love outward into the universe. To the degree one looks inward at one’s own viewpoint something less than complete love is expressed outward.
If one constantly looked outward one could attain oneself as a part of God, because one would work through all the inward attention one has had over time.
In practice,as a body, this is pretty tough to accomplish unless you are a saint. A suggestion is to make being a saint the first step if you want to pursue this line. That means love, understand, and keep your attention outward as best you can, and let the chips fall where they may. And be patient. Sainthood can take a while.
Hello Kevino,
Thank you for your thought provoking comments.
Peace,
Ted Biringer
Hey Ted,
FYI my goal is to bring a Western understanding to Eastern philosophy. I think that the crosshairs center best for US people when they have a solid engineering solution to what ails them. This is not necessarily the case with all, and certainly not wih eastern cultures familiar with dialect and methodology centered in Buddhist and Hindi lifestyle. But we are a couple thousand years behind over here.