Various Authors

Dana: The Practice of Giving edited by Bhikkhu Bodhi (Buddhist Publication Society "Wheel" No. 367/369; 1990; 114k/38pp.)

Dana — the Pali word means giving, generosity, self-sacrifice: the quality of the heart that moves a person to give away his or her own possessions for the sake of others. Giving in Buddhism is not a mere moral virtue to be randomly engaged in or followed as an obligatory duty. It is, rather, an aspect of training, a means of practice, by which a spiritual aspirant learns to overcome selfishness and attachment and to express a compassionate concern for the welfare of others. In this Wheel booklet four practicing Buddhists of today (Susan Elbaum Jootla, Lily de Silva, M.O'C. Walshe, and Nina van Gorkom), and one classical Buddhist commentator (Acariya Dhammapala), set forth their understanding of giving and examine it in relation to the wider body of Dhamma practice. The writers demonstrate the great range of the Buddhist practice of giving and its vital connections with the quest for enlightenment and final liberation from suffering. [From the back cover.]

Mudita: The Buddha's Teachings on Unselfish Joy, four essays by Nyanaponika Thera, Natasha Jackson, C.F. Knight, and L.R. Oates (Buddhist Publication Society "Wheel" No. 170; 1983; 114k/38pp.)

The Buddha frequently taught the cultivation of the sublime emotions (brahma-vihara) — four skillful qualities that assist in the development of Right Resolve and that, when systematically practiced, can lead to jhana. The short essays in this book explore the role in Buddhist practice of one of the most often overlooked of these qualities: mudita — sympathetic or unselfish joy. Essays unclude "Is Unselfish Joy Practicable?" (by Nyanaponika Thera), "Unselfish Joy: A Neglected Virtue" (Natasha Jackson), "Mudita" (C.F. Knight), "The Nature and Implications of Mudita" (L.R. Oates). Also includes a passage on cultivating mudita from Buddhaghosa's fifth-century commentarial work Visuddhimagga.