The Venerable Miaozang is currently the Superintendent of Hsi Fang Temple and the President of San Diego Buddhist Association. She started her service in San Diego since October 2014.

She is born and raised in Malaysia. She joined Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order, based in Kaohsiung Taiwan in 2003 and made lifetime vow in renouncing as a Buddhist Monastic in Jan. 2006.

She was given the renounced name of Venerable Miaozang (Chinese name which means auspicious treasures). After four years’ Buddhist training, she graduated with distinction in Master of Arts in Buddhist Studies in Fo Guang Shan Tsung Lin University. After graduation, she was assigned in different Buddhist temples in Taiwan, serving the community by leading meditation and Buddhist practices. Then, she was assigned to serve at Hsi Lai Temple, Hacienda Heights, in 2009 to 2014 in teaching Buddhist studies and leading meditation retreats there. Also, there were consistent outreach to different educational institutions in sharing a few significant Buddhist celebrations, like Chinese New Year, Buddha’s Birthday, Sangha Day and etc. At the same time, she also volunteered in administration at the University of the West, located in Rosemead, Los Angeles, which is an affiliated higher education institution of Fo Guang Shan.

Full Transcript

Thank you, Lenzon and also Rebecca for introducing and inviting me to share the Dharma with your Sangha. It is an honor for me to come and join this peaceful and wonderful Sangha. Today I'm going to share with everyone on the suggested topic of the practice of giving. If any of you have comments or questions, feel free to put them in the chat box. We will have some time after my sharing to discuss and interact with each other.

For today's topic, the practice of giving, it is a very important practice in Buddhism. This giving is sometimes referred to by the Sanskrit word "dana" and it is also one of the main practices of the Paramita in Buddhist practice. Sometimes we come across the perfection of giving or the perfection of dana or dana paramita. Giving is a fundamental practice as a Buddhist, whether as a monastic or as a layperson. The Buddha shared with us the practice of giving as a way for us to understand the importance of sharing and to overcome the greediness that we might have in our mind.

Before we look into giving, let me talk a little bit about receiving. Giving is something that people give to us, but it's very important for us to recognize receiving or receive anything that we're given. By recognizing receiving or being a recipient, we cultivate a mind of appreciation and gratitude for what we receive. If we look at our whole life, starting from the day we are born into this world, we have been receiving the best from our parents, receiving the most care from those around us. As we grow up, we learn along the way, receiving education in many different ways, receiving nurture from our parents, grandparents, relatives, friends, everyone. Throughout our whole life, we have been receiving, but sometimes if we don't recognize the act of being a recipient, we might take for granted what we're receiving.

As part of the main highlight of our practice in giving, it's very important for us to recognize being a recipient so that we can give rise to the mind of appreciating and cherishing the things that we're given. When we cherish the things that we were given, only then can we reflect upon our ability to share in return and thus practice giving.

As part of our practice, transitioning from receiving to giving, we look at the whole life of the Buddha. Before the Buddha's enlightenment, Siddhartha was sitting under a tree, today we call it the Bodhi tree, but in India it's also known as the Peepal tree. When Siddhartha was struggling with the practice of Ascetic practice, where he spent six years taking only a grain a day and almost lost his life, he eventually realized the importance of practicing the middle way. That's when Sujata, a lady who was offering a bowl of fresh milk to the tree god, came across Siddhartha meditating under a tree. Siddhartha accepted the offering by Sujata, regained energy, cleansed himself, and continued his practice. Eventually, he realized full enlightenment. Without Sujata and that bowl of fresh milk, we might not have the opportunity to listen to the Dharma given by the Buddha or to learn about his realization.

When it comes to types of giving, there are three main common types. The first is giving of wealth, like donors or philanthropists who are willing to donate to support nonprofit organizations. The second type is giving of fearlessness. As we grow up, we reflect upon the words we say and how they might affect others. Instead of giving words of fear, we can try to give words of encouragement. The third type is sharing the Dharma, which is what we're doing here when we gather weekly to share our experiences and reflections on the Buddha's teachings.

Giving is the basic relation between ourselves and others. As recipients, we receive from others. As givers, we share whatever we have. This cultivates affinity between ourselves and others. We might start by sharing things we no longer need, but eventually, we learn to share things we benefit from and are attached to. Through this practice, we can slowly gain insight into our own greediness and learn to let go.

Why giving? It's a very important practice to build more positive affinities with others, to slowly detach ourselves from things we like, and to show our care for others.

So that's the reason why the more that we practice giving, slowly we will give rise to the mind of the perfection of giving, where there's no giver and there's no attachment to the recipient and there's no attachment to the gift that we give. For example, sometimes when we give something to a certain person or to an organization, like here in the temple, we might come across devotees giving us something for us to use, such as a rice cooker. We accept the gift. And then from time to time, we might discover that the devotee is kind of concerned a little bit and asking, "Oh, how do you find the rice cooker? Is it useful? And then where do you put the rice cooker?" So in some ways, there are strings attached to the giving. But to us, we look at it as this is a start in practicing dana. It is a good start in practicing giving.

The practice of giving can actually trace all the way back, like as a start, when the Buddha first came across the first lay Buddhist. You can see the attached photo that I found on the website. There are two merchants, Tapasu and Balika. Those are the two first lay Buddhists that offered something to the Buddha. And the Buddha shared with them the practice of giving.

As a lady, being in the sangha, when we practice the practice of giving, it is one way for us to understand the slight hint of greed that we might have. And sometimes if we give the things that we don't want, that's a slight hint of hate in our self or dislike in our mind. So it is true, the practice of giving. We learn to understand ourselves better. And the more that we practice, eventually we will come to the stage where we can really practice the perfection of giving, where we have gone beyond attachment and detachment of our giving.

So before I continue further, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you a very short video that I found that is very meaningful and insightful.

[Video description omitted for brevity]

So in this video, we can see that this little boy, this was Flynn in India. There was a poor boy that one side of his flippers, the flip-flops, is like broken, wearing here. And then when he was like feeling sad about the pair of flip-flops that he had, and then he saw another boy with a shiny leather shoes that he had on, he was wearing on it. But because, you know, in India, like when it comes to train, like there's always like packed with people. So eventually this boy with this new pair of shoes, he dropped one side of his shoe. And then this poor boy, even though the moment that he held on that one side of the shoe, that might be a lot of thoughts going on in his mind. It could be that maybe he was like thinking and doubting whether to give this side of the shoe back to the boy that is on the train. But eventually he decided to run after the train and try to give back this side of the shoe to the boy. And then he tried to run after, but because the train is like going faster and faster, he couldn't catch up. And eventually the boy on the train removed the other side of the shoe and he decided to give this pair of shoes to the boy who need this pair of shoes more than he does.

So this was a real life story of Mohammed Gandhi. The one on the train is actually Gandhi at a very young age. So with this story, we can tell that Gandhi, starting at a very young age, he learned how to share, he learned how to give, he learned how to care for others. So whenever I watch this, look at this video, it's very inspiring. And also it reminds us that in our life, there are many things as long as we can give and share. It is one good start for us in this practice of giving.

And another story of during the Buddha's time is we all know who is King Ashoka. King Ashoka was the one that helped to spread Buddhism to Sri Lanka, to the northeast of different countries outside of India. So King Ashoka, in one of his lives when he was still a boy, when the Buddha was still around, he actually came across the Buddha while playing sand castle. During that time, he was still a boy and then doing sand castle. And then here comes the Buddha and Ananda going around for alms round. And out of the purity mind of King Ashoka in that life, without doubt, he was thinking of giving the best to the Buddha. So the best is what? A pile of dirt, a pile of sand that he and the rest of the kids were playing. And then to him, that this is a beautiful castle that he had built. Even though it is made of sand, but in the boy's mind, he would like to offer the best to the Buddha when he got this opportunity.

So without thinking, without doubting, he used both hands, scoop up the castle that he has, and then gently put it in the alms bowl of the Buddha. And you can see the monk that is standing next to the Buddha, that is actually Ananda. When he observed the whole thing, he was just thinking in his mind, oh no, that is a pile of dirt. How could a boy put dirt in the Buddha's alms bowl? The bowl will need to continue to fill up with food. How is the Buddha going to eat the bowl of sand? And then afterwards, Ananda eventually spoke out what was in his mind. And then the Buddha said that this little boy, his name was Jaya during that time, when he offered he offered fully the sincerity within his mind. He gives with fully whatever that he has. This is the wealth. This is the most that he can give and share.

So because of this act of giving and offering to the Buddha, when the Buddha enters into Parinirvana, eventually this boy was actually born as a king in his following life. And because of the private action, he has cultivated the merit. And because of the karma that he has created in the past life, eventually he had built the connection with Buddhism. And today, even if you go to India, you will see different sites where you can find King Ashoka's pillar. You can find different Buddhist inscriptions that were erected by King Ashoka like more than 1500 years ago, long time ago. It is because of this act of giving. It is because of the affinity that he has bonded with the Buddha during that time. So this reminds us of the importance of giving and sharing.

So as part of the teachings continues in Anguttara Nikaya, it's also part of the Nikaya Pitaka. The Buddha also shared on a sutra called Dhanasutra, or the Sutra of Giving, the teachings of giving. Like the Buddha mentioned in terms of donation, in terms of giving, there are six main factors. Of course, three factors are coming from the donors, the one who is giving. As a donor, as a giver, before giving, of course, we feel glad, we feel happy. So during while we are doing the action of giving, our mind shouldn't be attached to the things that we are giving. So at that point of giving, our mind should be bright and clear. And after giving in our mind, we should feel gratified. We feel grateful that someone is there to receive our gift, someone who is there to benefit from the gift that we give.

The three factors as a recipient, as a receiver, is when we receive the things from others, we have to remind ourselves to have a mind free of passion, okay, not attached to the things that we like, or free of aversion, giving rise to like, oh, why did this person give me this? That sense of dislike, that sense of hatred. And of course, the most important thing is free of delusions. So when we look at these three factors of recipients, we can actually relate to the three poisons that the Buddha mentioned on the greed, hatred, and ignorance that we might give rise to every day, every single moment.

So in this context, the Buddha is focusing on dana, he's focusing on giving. So I know like, we are all still practicing, so we can always start with giving something small, giving something that we might not need. And then eventually, the more that we give, the more that we practice in giving. In our mind, we should always remind ourselves when we give, we try to give the things that is useful to us others. We try to give things that are, we feel that this is the best, and we would like to share with others. And eventually, the more that we practice, our mind will not be attached to the giver, the recipient, and the gift that we give. So this is the main message from the Dana Sutra.

So moving on, looking at, let me see the time. Okay, so moving on to look at another types of giving that I would like to share with everyone. My master, therefore Master Xing Yun, he is also the founder of our Buddhist order for Guangshan, which means Buddha Light Mountain. Okay, so he renounced at the age of 12 years old. He is a Chinese and born and raised in traditional Buddhist training in the temples in China. Eventually, he went to Taiwan, and is established for Guangshan. And today we have many temples around the world. It is because of the four giving that he always practiced throughout his whole life. And this year, he is already 95 years old. And in his mind, he's always thinking of giving, what to give to others. Take for example, a few years ago, so it's less than five years ago, he had a brain surgery where the doctor removed a blood clot almost as big as our fist, but slightly smaller. And to many of us, we might be afraid that he might lost his memories, lost some capabilities in movements.

But right after the surgery, which was successful, when the verbal monster woke up and opened his eyes, the first word he spoke was "thank you" to the doctor. He felt so grateful for all the help he had received throughout the whole process of the treatment. The second sentence he said was, "Is there anything I can do to help you?" Even though he was still laying on the hospital bed, having just finished a major brain surgery, in his mind, he was always thinking of others, what he could give, and also recognizing appreciation for the things that others had done for him.

Out of the giving that he practiced throughout his whole life, there are four types of giving that he always reminded us to practice: give others confidence, give others joy, give others hope, and give others convenience.

Giving others confidence is very similar to one of the three types of giving, giving fearlessness. When we give others fearlessness, we give others confidence, we give others encouragement. It acts as a way to remind ourselves to be aware of what we say to others. We always need to remind ourselves to try to give others confidence in whatever they are doing.

Always give others joy by smiling to others. When it comes to hope, there's always a better future. When the Buddha shared with us the teachings on the reality of impermanence, impermanence is not something good or bad. It is just the truth of life. We recognize there are changes in life. When there are changes in life, there's always hope. There's always hope for changing to the better. Right now we're still in the pandemic, but we all know that there are always changes. There's always impermanence in this life. It's just a matter of time when all this will be over, and then we will start anew again.

Venerable Master Hsing Yun always reminded us to give others hope in whatever we do, in whatever we say, and whatever we think in our mind. We always need to think of a way that is brightness, give others hope in a way. And of course, the last one is to give others convenience. It is again a way for us to reflect upon our action. When we put a thing in a certain place, are we giving others convenience, or are we obstructing the way of others? When we are saying a thing, a word, a phrase to others, are we giving others convenience or making trouble for others?

The four givings practiced by Venerable Master can also be reflected in my own experience. When I was still in my second year of studies at Trinidad University, we had many opportunities to interact with our master. There was one time that I was asked to come here to the United States. In my mind, because I was just in my second year of practice, I didn't feel confident enough. I always thought there were still so many things for me to learn from the Buddha, so many things that I hadn't read in the Buddhist texts, in the Buddhist canon. I felt I wasn't ready.

But every time Venerable Master had the opportunity to talk to me, he always gave me confidence. He always gave me joy, saying that people in the United States are very friendly. He'd been to different states in the United States many times, and he said that no matter how bad your English is, Americans are very patient. They're always there to just listen, trying to understand what you're trying to say, what you're trying to convey. So in many ways, Venerable Master gave me a lot of encouragement and confidence.

Most importantly, he mentioned one phrase that I always remember throughout my whole practice. He said, "I will know it when I try it." This reflects upon everything that we do throughout our whole life. There's nothing that we know from the start. We don't know how to walk, we don't know how to eat since day one, but we learn throughout our whole life. We learn throughout the whole process. Venerable Master always gave me confidence and joy, saying, "Don't worry. When you do it, you will learn how to do it." Along the way we learn; the more that we do, the more we know how to do it. Or as another phrase goes, "Practice makes perfect."

If it wasn't for the encouragement from Venerable Master, I wouldn't be here today sharing what I know on the topic of giving. I wouldn't be here, renounced and practicing the Buddhist teachings in this way. Giving is one of the ways for us to form affinities with others. This practice also helps us to cultivate universal loving-kindness and compassion, as well as learning the perfection of giving in the Buddhist bodhisattva path.

So that is the conclusion I would like to make for my sharing today. We have a little bit of time for questions. I hope that our affinity will continue no matter where we are. As long as we have this affinity or connection, we can easily connect with each other via internet, via Zoom, or even if you have the opportunity to come and visit San Diego one day, please let me know. Thank you.