Friday 11 January 2008

The Practice of Dana



A dana was held at the Setenang Buddhist Society for monks from the Sri Jeyanthi Temple in Sentul on the 1st day of 2008. What is dana? Dana means "giving" in Pali language. It is the Buddhist cultivation of generosity ~ where one practises the act of giving. A dana can be in the form of food, medicine, robes, monetary donation, free publication of Buddhist books, blood donation and etc. Dana is widely practised by Buddhists in Malaysia.

In this photo, the devotees are seen offering food to the monks. This is highly encouraged as this practice helps in the sustainance of the monk community.

Read more about Dana from a talk given on this topic.

Have you done any act of giving lately?

4 comments:

alicesg said...

Oh yes, I remembered when I was young, I used to follow my mom to Thai Embassy in Singapore and offer food to the buddhist monks. My last act of giving was last christmas donating some groceries for unfortunate families through the boys' brigade sharity gift box. Nice blog of yours. :)

kostas said...

Very good and polite action, in my own religion him they say alms.
You are very lucky that you visited these monks.
In the country me them we consider wise men persons, with big patience and art in the martial arts.

Unknown said...

Thank you for posting about Dana. It warms my heart to see this photo as I am Buddhist also. :) Thank you for visiting Seguin, Texas. Please come back anytime. I am enjoying your photos very much and can't believe how many wonderful blogs there are around the world I still need to visit! I will check back on you! :)

Web-OJ said...

That's such a nice thing to do. Yes, we call them alms too. The food looks yummy!

"Use your first smile, your first form of generosity, of love, of kindness—use it at home; start at home. And if there is something left over—if … your plate is just full of abundance of patience and goodness and smiles and joy, then by all means, you should go … and offer that to others. But we must begin at home." by Dr Robin Smith