Wednesday, April 27, 2005

The Cheerful Giver

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If you invariably take the position of a GIVER, in which everything given by you is a free offering to the world, without any thought of return, then your work will bring you no attachment. Attachment comes only where we expect a return.

[Swami Vivekananda]

2 comments:

JP said...

I like that quote, rings truth. Can one still be labeled a true giver if they have the expectation of something in return?

Trev Diesel said...

JP - I'm not sure if you are asking a question or making a statement with that last sentence, but if you're asking the question...

...then no, expectation of return is exactly what keeps one from being a true giver. What this quote is saying is that if we go into any situation saying to ourselves "What can I give?" instead of "What can I get?" then we're on the right path. This is living as the bodhisattva lives - unselfishly and for the sake of others (with no desire for anything in return).