In the old days, there was a rich Brahmin elder named Landa in the kingdom of Shawei. In order to show his reputation, for five consecutive years, he spared no expense of his family wealth to set up Lent and give alms to more than 5,000 Brahmins countless precious treasures, medicines, food and clothing. During these five years, the brahmins who received the offerings also offered sacrifices to the gods of the heavens, mountains, and stars for the elderly, and practiced mantras in the hope of praying for immeasurable blessings for the elderly.
On the last day of the five-year offering, the elders of Landa gave a large number of almsgiving, in addition to the delicate food utensils made of gold and silver filled with gold and silver millet, they also prepared 7000 clothing, deerskin coats, oxen, horses, sheep carts, slaves and maids, and daily necessities, a total of 84,000 items to support the public. The solemn venue made the ghosts, kings, ministers, ministers, nobles, etc., all happy.
At this time, the Buddha was in the ashram to speak the Dharma for the celestial beings, and when he saw such a scene, he sighed: "What a poor fool Landa is! Giving so much precious money can only get a small blessing. If you don't teach it immediately, you will never leave the Dharma, and you won't be able to get the real benefits. So the World-Honored One went to enlighten the elder Landa, and poured out from the earth with his divine power, magnifying the light and illuminating the people present.
Landa elders and the public immediately bowed to the Buddha with sincerity. Seeing that everyone was respectful, the Lord introduced the four levels of giving, just as there is a difference between fertile and barren farmland, and the harvest will naturally be different:
- 1. Giving more and getting less blessings, that is, foolish people spend a lot of money, but they sacrifice to ghosts and gods by killing, and they also drink and dance, not only can not increase their good fortune, but also have no wisdom. 2. Giving less is less blessing, that is, giving to practitioners who seek the Tao outside their hearts by saving greed and disgust. Since both are foolish people, there is no good fortune.
- 3. Giving less and receiving more blessings means offering to diligent and virtuous cultivators with kindness. Although the charity is small, the blessing is great.
- Fourth, Shi Duo and Fu Duo refer to the sages who are aware of the impermanence of the world, and donate money with a pure heart to build pagodas and temples, and provide for the Three Treasures of food, clothing, bedding, medicine, etc. This kind of pure and perfect generosity is of supreme merit, like five rivers flowing into the sea, flowing from generation to generation.
When the elders of Landa and the audience heard the Buddha's teachings, they were all happy. More than 5,000 brahmins set out to follow the Buddha's monastic practice, corresponding to the Tao. The whole family of the elder Landa also took the five precepts, and vowed to amend the Dharma diligently and accumulate good fortune. The king and his ministers also happily took the three refuges and understood the truth of the Dharma.