True Giving

If you give someone something, give it and forget it. Don't ever regret it, because if you give it and regret it, you lose the business. You also lose the money and the merit and waste your time. So it's better to just give it and forget about it. That's why Jesus says, "If you give someone something from the left hand, don't let the right hand know it." Also, the Buddha says that when you give and it's just like you aren't giving, that is true giving. He means that when you give, don't be attached to the giving. Give just like you never gave anything, just like it never happened. That is true giving, to give without attachment. Otherwise, we still think we are great if we give something. We think we are better than another person because we are in a position of power if we give to him. That's why I always tell you, whatever you do, you must understand that it is for yourself, really, not for the one who receives. That is better, because that means you give for your own growth in compassion and loving kindness.

Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
Taipei, Formosa May 23, 1994
(Originally in English)