Dhamma Principles › Visākhā's Eight Boons: Giving According to Real Needs
Visākhā's Eight Boons: Giving According to Real Needs
Everyday life

Visākhā's Eight Boons: Giving According to Real Needs

Aṭṭhāhaṃ bhante bhagavantaṃ varāni yācāmi

Visākhā asked to give the Saṅgha eight things for life: rains bathing cloths, food for arriving monks, departing monks, sick monks and their nurses, medicine, regular rice gruel, and bathing cloths for the nuns. She gave a reason for every one, making her a model of generosity based on observing real needs.

8 points

The Chapter on Robes of the Mahāvagga in the Vinaya Piṭaka tells that Visākhā, Migāra's Mother, invited the Buddha and the Saṅgha for a meal. That morning heavy rain fell, and the Buddha told the monks to bathe in it. Visākhā sent a servant to announce the meal. Seeing the monks bathing naked in the rain, the servant thought there were no monks in the monastery, only Ājīvaka ascetics. Visākhā understood at once and sent her back again.

After the meal she asked the Buddha for eight boons. He said Tathāgatas have gone beyond granting boons. She said she asked only for what is allowable and blameless: to give the Saṅgha for life rains bathing cloths, food for arriving monks, food for departing monks, food for sick monks, food for those nursing the sick, medicine for the sick, regular rice gruel, and bathing cloths for the nuns. The Buddha asked what benefit she saw. She explained each one, and the benefit she expected in her own mind. He praised her, granted the eight boons, and allowed these things for monks and nuns from then on.

Some of these items are specific to monastics, but Visākhā's way of thinking applies to every kind of giving today.

  1. 1

    Notice the real problem before giving Yāvajīvaṃ vassikasāṭikaṃ dātuṃ

    Visākhā told how her servant saw monks bathing naked in the rain and took them for Ājīvaka ascetics. Seeing nakedness as unseemly, she asked to give the Saṅgha rains bathing cloths for life. Her first request came from something that had happened that very day.

    Applying it in daily life

    When you keep seeing the same inconvenience around you, such as children in your community with nowhere to do homework, treat it as a question of how you can help.

  2. 2

    Helping newcomers Na vīthikusalo na gocarakusalo

    A monk who has just arrived does not know the roads or where to go for alms, so he walks for alms with difficulty. If he first eats the food for arriving monks, then once he knows his way he can walk for alms without difficulty.

    Applying it in daily life

    When there is a new colleague, neighbour or transfer student, show them around or invite them to eat in the first few days. Help at that short stage is worth a great deal.

  3. 3

    Helping those about to travel Gamikabhattaṃ

    A monk preparing to travel who is busy seeking his own food may miss the caravan, or arrive late in the evening and travel in hardship. Food for departing monks lets him leave on time and travel without hardship.

    Applying it in daily life

    When family or friends must set off early on a long journey, prepare food or handle small errands so they can leave without rushing.

  4. 4

    Suitable food and medicine for the sick Sappāyāni bhojanāni alabhantassa

    A sick monk who does not get suitable food or medicine may get worse or even die. With food and medicine for the sick, his illness will not worsen. So she asked to give both food and medicine for sick monks.

    Applying it in daily life

    Before visiting someone who is ill, ask the carer what the patient can eat or really needs, instead of buying gifts they cannot have.

  5. 5

    Caring for the carers Gilānupaṭṭhākabhattaṃ

    A monk nursing the sick who must seek his own food will bring the patient's meal late and may go without eating himself. With food for nurses, he can bring the patient's meal on time and not go hungry. Visākhā saw the people who are easily forgotten: the carers.

    Applying it in daily life

    If a friend is watching over a sick parent in hospital, send them food or offer to take their place for half a day so they can rest. This may help more than just visiting the patient.

  6. 6

    Giving something useful, consistently Dhuvayāguṃ

    She said the Buddha had seen ten benefits in rice gruel and allowed it at Andhakavinda; seeing those benefits, she asked to give regular rice gruel. Every one of her requests was to give for life, not just once.

    Applying it in daily life

    If you support an organisation, consider giving regularly, even a small amount; it is easier to plan with than a one-off sum that comes and goes.

  7. 7

    Protecting the dignity of those mocked Bhikkhunīsaṅghassa yāvajīvaṃ udakasāṭikaṃ dātuṃ

    Nuns bathed without cloths at the same ford as a group of other women on the Aciravatī river, and those women mocked them: why lead the holy life while young? Wait until you are old. The nuns were ashamed. So Visākhā asked to give bathing cloths to the Saṅgha of nuns for life.

    Applying it in daily life

    Notice whether anyone in your group is being teased or embarrassed because they lack some item or privacy, and quietly fix the cause.

  8. 8

    The gladness of the giver Tadanussarantiyā pāmujjaṃ jāyissati

    Asked what benefit she saw, she said: when monks come after the rains and ask about a monk who has died, and the Buddha declares what attainment he reached, she will ask whether that monk had ever come to Sāvatthī. If so, he surely used what she had given. Recollecting this, gladness, joy, bodily tranquillity, happiness and concentration will arise in turn, developing the faculties, powers and factors of awakening. The Buddha said "Good, good" and granted all eight boons.

    Applying it in daily life

    After doing something good, sit quietly for a moment and recall it without telling anyone, and let that gladness help your mind settle.

Try it in daily life

We often give what we want to give, or what others usually give, rather than what the recipient actually lacks. Visākhā started from a real problem she had observed, then thought about when people struggle: arriving somewhere new, setting off on a journey, falling ill, and caring for the ill.

Before donating to a school, foundation or temple, ask first what they need, and give regularly if you can. Giving what is really needed helps more than piles of things nobody uses.

Her last point shows that giving does not end with the recipient. When the giver recalls a good gift, the mind becomes glad and calm, which also supports meditation.

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