This short discourse was taught to an audience of monks in Śrāvastī, in the Jetavana. The Buddha details thirty-seven ways in which the wise give gifts, how those gifts are properly given, and the positive results that ripen from giving such gifts. The Buddha makes clear that the result that ripens is similar to the gift that was given or the manner in which the gift was given.
This sūtra was translated from Tibetan into English by Khenpo Kalsang Gyaltsen and Chodrungma Kunga Chodron. Venerable Bhiksuni Heng-Ching Shih kindly assisted with comparison to the Chinese version. The sūtra was then edited and introduced by the 84000 editorial team.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The setting for this discourse is the Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, where the Buddha spent many rainy-season retreats and where many of the Buddha’s discourses are said to have been delivered. In this particular discourse, the Buddha succinctly describes thirty-seven ways in which the wise give gifts, as well as the results that ripen from their gift giving. More specifically, the first five ways in which the wise give gifts that the Buddha enumerates are relatively general and pertain primarily to the manner in which gifts are given and the purpose for which gifts are given. The wise are said, for example, to give gifts with faith in order to dispel stinginess, or respectfully in order to dispel mental agitation. For each of the remaining thirty-two ways in which gifts are given, the Buddha describes the result that ripens from the particular act, and in each case the result that ripens is similar to the gift that was its cause. For example, giving a gift of food ripens as the elimination of hunger in all one’s future lives. The discourse concludes with the Buddha proclaiming the thirty-seventh and final way in which the wise give gifts, namely, without any expectation of reward, the full ripening of which is the unsurpassed and perfect awakening of a buddha.
No Sanskrit text that completely matches the content of this sūtra is known to be extant, but a version in Sanskrit known as the Dānādhikaraṇa is preserved in the Nepalese manuscripts of the Divyāvadāna, a collection of avadāna narratives drawn mostly from the Mūlasarvāstivāda vinaya that may have been compiled from earlier sources in late medieval times (although no manuscripts exist from earlier than the seventeenth century). The text, like the version of the sūtra translated here, contains thirty-seven ways of giving gifts, although some differ to a varying degree in their detail. A much earlier Sanskrit text that probably resembled the present version more closely is represented by a fragment identified among the manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection by Matsuda in 2003. It is written on a piece of leather, in a Gupta Brāhmī script that allows it to be dated to the fifth or sixth centuries, but the fragment includes only the last seven ways of giving.1
The Tibetan translation of this sūtra, the colophon tells us, was made by the Indian preceptor Surendrabodhi and the Tibetan translator-editor Yeshé Dé. It is also listed in the Denkarma (ldan dkar ma)2 and Phangthangma (’phang thang ma)3 imperial catalogs, so we can infer that this sūtra was translated from Sanskrit sometime during the late eighth- to early ninth-century. In the Degé Kangyur, this sūtra is placed after The Perfection of Generosity,4 a longer, explicitly Mahāyāna sūtra, also translated by Yeshé Dé during the imperial period, that also treats the topic of generosity. Not only is the present sūtra significantly shorter than The Perfection of Generosity, but its content, apart from a small number of references to the result of buddhahood, is not in the same way explicitly or exclusively concerned with the bodhisattva path.
A version of the sūtra is also included in the Chinese Buddhist canon (Taishō 705, 佛說布施經), translated in the tenth century by Faxian. The opening section, which describes the circumstances under which the discourse was delivered, is the same in the Tibetan and Chinese versions, as is the closing section. However, the enumerated gifts, the descriptions of how these gifts should be given, and the ripened results are a close match only in just over half of the stanzas.5
The Divyāvadāna version of the sūtra was translated from the Sanskrit into English by James Ware in 1929 (along with passages from the Tibetan version), and more recently by Andy Rotman in the second volume of his translations from that collection.6 An abbreviated translation of the sūtra made by Kalpana Upreti appeared in 1989, and the most recent version in English is Peter Skilling’s translation, with helpful notes, in his 2021 anthology Questioning the Buddha: A Selection of Twenty-Five Sutras.7
The present translation is based on the version in the Degé Kangyur, with reference to the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma).
[F.95.b]Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in Śrāvastī, in the Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park. Then the Blessed One said to the monks, “Monks, the wise give gifts in thirty-seven ways. What are those thirty-seven? They are as follows:
“They give gifts with faith in order to rid themselves of stinginess.
“They give gifts at the right time.
“They give gifts, in a pure manner, of the three things suitable to be given by the Thus-Gone One.8
“They give gifts respectfully in order to rid themselves of all the faults of mental agitation.
“They give gifts with their own hands in order to take hold of the essence from the essenceless body.
“When they have given a gift that does not harm others, the ripening is that they will acquire great generosity.
“When they have given a gift with exquisite colors, the ripening is that they will acquire a beautiful complexion.
“When they have given a gift with an exquisite scent, the ripening is that they will acquire the scent of fame.
“When they have given a gift with an exquisite taste, the ripening is that they will acquire the excellent marks of supreme taste.
“When they have given a gift that is abundant, the ripening is that they will acquire abundant wealth.
“When they have given a gift that is vast, the ripening is that they will acquire vast wealth.
“When they have given a gift of food, the ripening is that they will acquire the elimination of hunger in all future lives.
“When they have given a gift of drink,[F.96.a] the ripening is that they will acquire the elimination of thirst in all future lives.
“When they have given a gift of clothing, the ripening is that they will acquire a manifold wealth of clothing.
“When they have given the gift of a dwelling, the ripening is that they will acquire houses with parapets and multiple stories, and they will acquire courtyards, mansions, palaces, gardens, parks, and land.
“When they have given a gift of bedding, the ripening is that they will acquire a higher caste-status.
“When they have given the gift of a conveyance, the ripening is that they will acquire the four bases9 of miraculous power.
“When they have given a gift of medicine, the ripening is that they will acquire the nirvāṇa that is free from aging and death and is the cessation of sorrow and defilement.
“When they have given a gift of Dharma, the ripening is that they will acquire the recollection of former lives.
“When they have given a gift of flowers, the ripening is that they will acquire the flowers that are the branches of awakening.
“When they have given a gift of garlands, the ripening is that they will acquire the purification of the stains of attachment, aversion, and ignorance.
“When they have given a gift of incense, the ripening is that they will acquire total freedom from the stench of the defilements.
“When they have given a gift of a parasol, the ripening is that they will acquire sovereign mastery of the Dharma.
“When they have given a gift of a bell, the ripening is that they will acquire a pleasing voice.
“When they have given a gift of cymbals, the ripening is that they will acquire a voice like Brahmā’s.
“When they have given a gift of a lamp, the ripening is that they will acquire the divine eye, unobscured and pure.
“When they have given a gift of silk, the ripening is that they will acquire the silken bond of liberation among gods and humans.
“When they have made an offering of fragrant oil or perfumed bathing water to a stūpa of the Thus-Gone One or an image of the Thus-Gone One, the ripening is that they will acquire the thirty-two marks[F.96.b] and eighty excellent signs of a great being.
“When they have given a gift of bathing necessities, the ripening is that in all their future lives they will acquire few illnesses, birth in the highest caste, and great beauty.
“When they have given a gift of the five essential substances,10 the ripening is that in all future lives they will acquire great power and irrepressible great joy.
“When they have given a gift while abiding in loving kindness, the ripening is that they will acquire freedom from ill will.
“When they have given a gift while abiding in compassion, the ripening is that they will acquire harmlessness.
“When they have given a gift while abiding in joy, the ripening is that they will acquire the ability to bestow fearlessness.
“When they have given a gift while abiding in equanimity, the ripening is that they will rid themselves of sadness.
“When they have given gifts of various kinds, the ripening is that they will acquire various riches.
“When they have given a gift while abiding with no expectation of reward, the ripening is that they will acquire unsurpassed and perfect awakening.
“Monks, the wise give gifts in these thirty-seven ways.”
The Blessed One having spoken thus, the monks rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One said.
This completes the noble “Teaching the Benefits of Generosity.”
This was translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptor Surendrabodhi and the translator-editor Bandé Yeshé Dé.
This short discourse was taught to an audience of monks in Śrāvastī, in the Jetavana. The Buddha details thirty-seven ways in which the wise give gifts, how those gifts are properly given, and the positive results that ripen from giving such gifts. The Buddha makes clear that the result that ripens is similar to the gift that was given or the manner in which the gift was given.
This sūtra was translated from Tibetan into English by Khenpo Kalsang Gyaltsen and Chodrungma Kunga Chodron. Venerable Bhiksuni Heng-Ching Shih kindly assisted with comparison to the Chinese version. The sūtra was then edited and introduced by the 84000 editorial team.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The setting for this discourse is the Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, where the Buddha spent many rainy-season retreats and where many of the Buddha’s discourses are said to have been delivered. In this particular discourse, the Buddha succinctly describes thirty-seven ways in which the wise give gifts, as well as the results that ripen from their gift giving. More specifically, the first five ways in which the wise give gifts that the Buddha enumerates are relatively general and pertain primarily to the manner in which gifts are given and the purpose for which gifts are given. The wise are said, for example, to give gifts with faith in order to dispel stinginess, or respectfully in order to dispel mental agitation. For each of the remaining thirty-two ways in which gifts are given, the Buddha describes the result that ripens from the particular act, and in each case the result that ripens is similar to the gift that was its cause. For example, giving a gift of food ripens as the elimination of hunger in all one’s future lives. The discourse concludes with the Buddha proclaiming the thirty-seventh and final way in which the wise give gifts, namely, without any expectation of reward, the full ripening of which is the unsurpassed and perfect awakening of a buddha.
No Sanskrit text that completely matches the content of this sūtra is known to be extant, but a version in Sanskrit known as the Dānādhikaraṇa is preserved in the Nepalese manuscripts of the Divyāvadāna, a collection of avadāna narratives drawn mostly from the Mūlasarvāstivāda vinaya that may have been compiled from earlier sources in late medieval times (although no manuscripts exist from earlier than the seventeenth century). The text, like the version of the sūtra translated here, contains thirty-seven ways of giving gifts, although some differ to a varying degree in their detail. A much earlier Sanskrit text that probably resembled the present version more closely is represented by a fragment identified among the manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection by Matsuda in 2003. It is written on a piece of leather, in a Gupta Brāhmī script that allows it to be dated to the fifth or sixth centuries, but the fragment includes only the last seven ways of giving.1
The Tibetan translation of this sūtra, the colophon tells us, was made by the Indian preceptor Surendrabodhi and the Tibetan translator-editor Yeshé Dé. It is also listed in the Denkarma (ldan dkar ma)2 and Phangthangma (’phang thang ma)3 imperial catalogs, so we can infer that this sūtra was translated from Sanskrit sometime during the late eighth- to early ninth-century. In the Degé Kangyur, this sūtra is placed after The Perfection of Generosity,4 a longer, explicitly Mahāyāna sūtra, also translated by Yeshé Dé during the imperial period, that also treats the topic of generosity. Not only is the present sūtra significantly shorter than The Perfection of Generosity, but its content, apart from a small number of references to the result of buddhahood, is not in the same way explicitly or exclusively concerned with the bodhisattva path.
A version of the sūtra is also included in the Chinese Buddhist canon (Taishō 705, 佛說布施經), translated in the tenth century by Faxian. The opening section, which describes the circumstances under which the discourse was delivered, is the same in the Tibetan and Chinese versions, as is the closing section. However, the enumerated gifts, the descriptions of how these gifts should be given, and the ripened results are a close match only in just over half of the stanzas.5
The Divyāvadāna version of the sūtra was translated from the Sanskrit into English by James Ware in 1929 (along with passages from the Tibetan version), and more recently by Andy Rotman in the second volume of his translations from that collection.6 An abbreviated translation of the sūtra made by Kalpana Upreti appeared in 1989, and the most recent version in English is Peter Skilling’s translation, with helpful notes, in his 2021 anthology Questioning the Buddha: A Selection of Twenty-Five Sutras.7
The present translation is based on the version in the Degé Kangyur, with reference to the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma).
[F.95.b]Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in Śrāvastī, in the Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park. Then the Blessed One said to the monks, “Monks, the wise give gifts in thirty-seven ways. What are those thirty-seven? They are as follows:
“They give gifts with faith in order to rid themselves of stinginess.
“They give gifts at the right time.
“They give gifts, in a pure manner, of the three things suitable to be given by the Thus-Gone One.8
“They give gifts respectfully in order to rid themselves of all the faults of mental agitation.
“They give gifts with their own hands in order to take hold of the essence from the essenceless body.
“When they have given a gift that does not harm others, the ripening is that they will acquire great generosity.
“When they have given a gift with exquisite colors, the ripening is that they will acquire a beautiful complexion.
“When they have given a gift with an exquisite scent, the ripening is that they will acquire the scent of fame.
“When they have given a gift with an exquisite taste, the ripening is that they will acquire the excellent marks of supreme taste.
“When they have given a gift that is abundant, the ripening is that they will acquire abundant wealth.
“When they have given a gift that is vast, the ripening is that they will acquire vast wealth.
“When they have given a gift of food, the ripening is that they will acquire the elimination of hunger in all future lives.
“When they have given a gift of drink,[F.96.a] the ripening is that they will acquire the elimination of thirst in all future lives.
“When they have given a gift of clothing, the ripening is that they will acquire a manifold wealth of clothing.
“When they have given the gift of a dwelling, the ripening is that they will acquire houses with parapets and multiple stories, and they will acquire courtyards, mansions, palaces, gardens, parks, and land.
“When they have given a gift of bedding, the ripening is that they will acquire a higher caste-status.
“When they have given the gift of a conveyance, the ripening is that they will acquire the four bases9 of miraculous power.
“When they have given a gift of medicine, the ripening is that they will acquire the nirvāṇa that is free from aging and death and is the cessation of sorrow and defilement.
“When they have given a gift of Dharma, the ripening is that they will acquire the recollection of former lives.
“When they have given a gift of flowers, the ripening is that they will acquire the flowers that are the branches of awakening.
“When they have given a gift of garlands, the ripening is that they will acquire the purification of the stains of attachment, aversion, and ignorance.
“When they have given a gift of incense, the ripening is that they will acquire total freedom from the stench of the defilements.
“When they have given a gift of a parasol, the ripening is that they will acquire sovereign mastery of the Dharma.
“When they have given a gift of a bell, the ripening is that they will acquire a pleasing voice.
“When they have given a gift of cymbals, the ripening is that they will acquire a voice like Brahmā’s.
“When they have given a gift of a lamp, the ripening is that they will acquire the divine eye, unobscured and pure.
“When they have given a gift of silk, the ripening is that they will acquire the silken bond of liberation among gods and humans.
“When they have made an offering of fragrant oil or perfumed bathing water to a stūpa of the Thus-Gone One or an image of the Thus-Gone One, the ripening is that they will acquire the thirty-two marks[F.96.b] and eighty excellent signs of a great being.
“When they have given a gift of bathing necessities, the ripening is that in all their future lives they will acquire few illnesses, birth in the highest caste, and great beauty.
“When they have given a gift of the five essential substances,10 the ripening is that in all future lives they will acquire great power and irrepressible great joy.
“When they have given a gift while abiding in loving kindness, the ripening is that they will acquire freedom from ill will.
“When they have given a gift while abiding in compassion, the ripening is that they will acquire harmlessness.
“When they have given a gift while abiding in joy, the ripening is that they will acquire the ability to bestow fearlessness.
“When they have given a gift while abiding in equanimity, the ripening is that they will rid themselves of sadness.
“When they have given gifts of various kinds, the ripening is that they will acquire various riches.
“When they have given a gift while abiding with no expectation of reward, the ripening is that they will acquire unsurpassed and perfect awakening.
“Monks, the wise give gifts in these thirty-seven ways.”
The Blessed One having spoken thus, the monks rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One said.
This completes the noble “Teaching the Benefits of Generosity.”
This was translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptor Surendrabodhi and the translator-editor Bandé Yeshé Dé.
See Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., The Perfection of Generosity, Toh 182 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2019).
Both the gifts and their results are identical in nineteen of the thirty-seven stanzas. Interestingly, where there are differences, they are usually in the result rather than the gift itself. An example is where the Tibetan reads, “When they have given a gift while abiding in loving kindness, the result is that they will acquire freedom from ill will.” The corresponding verse appears in Chinese as “If a gift is given in loving kindness, your appearance will be benevolent and without anger.”
Translation tentative. Tib: de bzhin gshegs pas gnang ba’i rung ba dngos po gsum yongs su dag par sbyin par sbyin no.
In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).
A high-ranking deity presiding over a divine world; he is also considered to be the lord of the Sahā world (our universe). Though not considered a creator god in Buddhism, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two gods (the other being Indra/Śakra) said to have first exhorted the Buddha Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought-after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are many universes or world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them. His most frequent epithets are “Lord of the Sahā World” (sahāṃpati) and Great Brahmā (mahābrahman).
Mindfulness, discrimination, diligence, joy, pliability, absorption, and equanimity.
A set of eighty bodily characteristics and insignia borne by both buddhas and universal emperors. They are considered “minor” in terms of being secondary to the thirty-two marks of a great being.
Determination, discernment, diligence, and concentration.
See “Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park.”
One of the first Buddhist monasteries, located in a park outside Śrāvastī, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kośala in northern India. This park was originally owned by Prince Jeta, hence the name Jetavana, meaning Jeta’s grove. The wealthy merchant Anāthapiṇḍada, wishing to offer it to the Buddha, sought to buy it from him, but the prince, not wishing to sell, said he would only do so if Anāthapiṇḍada covered the entire property with gold coins. Anāthapiṇḍada agreed, and managed to cover all of the park except the entrance, hence the name Anāthapiṇḍadasyārāmaḥ, meaning Anāthapiṇḍada’s park. The place is usually referred to in the sūtras as “Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park,” and according to the Saṃghabhedavastu the Buddha used Prince Jeta’s name in first place because that was Prince Jeta’s own unspoken wish while Anāthapiṇḍada was offering the park. Inspired by the occasion and the Buddha’s use of his name, Prince Jeta then offered the rest of the property and had an entrance gate built. The Buddha specifically instructed those who recite the sūtras to use Prince Jeta’s name in first place to commemorate the mutual effort of both benefactors.
Anāthapiṇḍada built residences for the monks, to house them during the monsoon season, thus creating the first Buddhist monastery. It was one of the Buddha’s main residences, where he spent around nineteen rainy season retreats, and it was therefore the setting for many of the Buddha’s discourses and events. According to the travel accounts of Chinese monks, it was still in use as a Buddhist monastery in the early fifth century ᴄᴇ, but by the sixth century it had been reduced to ruins.
The manifest result of a former action.
During the life of the Buddha, Śrāvastī was the capital city of the powerful kingdom of Kośala, ruled by King Prasenajit, who became a follower and patron of the Buddha. It was also the hometown of Anāthapiṇḍada, the wealthy patron who first invited the Buddha there, and then offered him a park known as Jetavana, Prince Jeta’s Grove, which became one of the first Buddhist monasteries. The Buddha is said to have spent about twenty-five rainy seasons with his disciples in Śrāvastī, thus it is named as the setting of numerous events and teachings. It is located in present-day Uttar Pradesh in northern India.
One of the Indian teachers invited to Tibet at the time of the emperor Ralpacan (early ninth century). He was one of the great Indian pandits who assisted the Tibetan translators such as Yeshé Dé with the translation of Buddhist texts from Sanskrit.
The main identifying physical characteristics of both buddhas and universal monarchs, to which are added the eighty excellent signs.
A frequently used synonym for buddha. According to different explanations, it can be read as tathā-gata, literally meaning “one who has thus gone,” or as tathā-āgata, “one who has thus come.” Gata, though literally meaning “gone,” is a past passive participle used to describe a state or condition of existence. Tatha(tā), often rendered as “suchness” or “thusness,” is the quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms. Therefore, this epithet is interpreted in different ways, but in general it implies one who has departed in the wake of the buddhas of the past, or one who has manifested the supreme awakening dependent on the reality that does not abide in the two extremes of existence and quiescence. It is also often used as a specific epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.
Yeshé Dé (late eighth to early ninth century) was the most prolific translator of sūtras into Tibetan. Altogether he is credited with the translation of more than one hundred sixty sūtra translations and more than one hundred additional translations, mostly on tantric topics. In spite of Yeshé Dé’s great importance for the propagation of Buddhism in Tibet during the imperial era, only a few biographical details about this figure are known. Later sources describe him as a student of the Indian teacher Padmasambhava, and he is also credited with teaching both sūtra and tantra widely to students of his own. He was also known as Nanam Yeshé Dé, from the Nanam (sna nam) clan.
sbyin pa’i phan yon bstan pa (Dānānuśaṃsānirdeśa). Toh 183, Degé Kangyur vol. 61 (mdo sde, tsa), folios 95.b–96.b.
sbyin pa’i phan yon bstan pa. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006-9, vol. 61, pp. 279–82.
sbyin pa’i pha rol tu phyin pa (Dānapāramitā). Toh 182, Degé Kangyur vol. 61 (mdo sde, tsa), folios 77.a–95.b. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee (2019).
Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan [/ lhan] dkar gyi chos ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 299.b–300.a.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Perfection of Generosity (Dānapāramitā, Toh 182). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2019.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Phangthangma (dkar chag ’phang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
Rotman, Andy. Divine Stories: Divyāvadāna Part 2. Somerville: Wisdom Publications, 2017.
Skilling, Peter. Questioning the Buddha: A Selection of Twenty-Five Sutras. Somerville: Wisdom Publications, 2021.
Upreti, Kalpana. “The Rationale of the Mahāyāna Sūtra Dānādhikāraṇa-nāma-Mahāyāna-Sūtra in the Hīnayāna Text Divyāvadāna.” In Buddhist Studies 13, pp. 89–93 (1989).
Ware, James. “Studies in the Divyāvadāna II: Dānādhikāramahāyānasūtra.” In Journal of the American Oriental Society 49, pp. 40–51 (1929).
