The Story of Anāthapiṇḍada
We have named our Matching Funds program after the story of Anāthapiṇḍada (“one who gives alms to the unprotected”).
As an offering to the Buddha, the wealthy merchant Anāthapiṇḍada sought to buy a beautiful park owned by Prince Jeta. However, the prince did not yet wish to sell, and would only do so if Anāthapiṇḍada covered the entire property with gold coins. Undeterred by the effort, and fueled by his love for giving, Anāthapiṇḍada complied by covering almost the entire property. The prince was so moved by Anāthapiṇḍada’s generosity that he then matched the offering, expanding the size of the park and building an entrance gate to the park before it was offered to the Buddha.
The park was renamed as Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, and became the setting for many of the Buddha’s discourses, including Toh 44-45: The Stem Array and Toh 116: The Basket’s Display.
