Product Code Database
Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving.
Generosity towards other sentient beings is also emphasized in Mahayana as one of the perfections (paramita). As shown in Je Tsongkhapa 'The Abbreviated Points of the Graded Path' ():
The giving of alms is the beginning of one's journey to Nirvana (). In practice, one can give anything with or without thought for Nibbana. This would lead to saddha (), one Five Powers () that one should generate within oneself for the Gautama Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha.
According to the Pali canon:
In Theravada Buddhism, nuns (Pāli: ) and monks (Pāli: ) practice Takuhatsu ( pindacara) where they collect food ( piṇḍapāta). This is often perceived as allowing the laypeople to make merit (Pāli: puñña). Money cannot be accepted by a Theravadan Buddhist monk or nun in place of or in addition to food, as the Patimokkha training rules make it an offense worth forfeiture and confession.
In countries that follow Mahayana Buddhism, the practice of Takuhatsu has mostly died out. In China, Korea, and Japan, local cultures resisted the idea of giving food to 'begging' clerics, and there was no tradition of gaining 'merit' by donating to practitioners. After periods of persecution, monasteries were situated in remote mountain areas; the distance between the monastery and the nearest towns made this practice impossible. In Japan, the practice of a weekly or monthly Takuhatsu replaced the daily round. In the Himalayan countries, the large number of bhikkhus would have made an alms round a heavy burden on families. Competition with other religions for support also made daily practice difficult and even dangerous; the first Buddhist monks in the Silla dynasty of Korea were said to be beaten due to their minority at the time.
In nearly all Christian denominations, money is donated to support the church's financial needs and its ministry to the less fortunate. In some churches, the alms are placed near to the altar to symbolize that the offering belongs to God and to represent the unity of the congregation.
For Roman Catholics, alm is a mandatory work of mercy.See 1983 Code of Canon Law, can. 222 §1 and 2: Quote: "Can. 222 §1. The Christian faithful are obliged to assist with the needs of the Church so that the Church has what is necessary for divine worship, for the works of the apostolate and of charity, and for the decent support of ministers. §2. They are also obliged to promote social justice and, mindful of the precept of the Lord, to assist the poor from their own resources."
Jesus places the primary focus on the motives behind the outward and inward giving of alms, which should be love:
Jesus contrasts the giving of the rich and the poor:
Giving should be out of love and not out of duty:
Sharing possessions was practised in the church:
The 11th century Persians historian Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī, who visited and lived in India for 16 years beginning in about 1017 CE, mentions the practice of charity and almsgiving among Hindus as he observed during his stay. He wrote, "It is obligatory with them (Hindus) every day to give alms as much as possible."Alberuni's India (v. 2), Chapter LXVII, On Alms and how a man must spend what he earns , Columbia University Libraries, London : Kegan Paul, Trübner & Co., (1910), pages 149-150
Almsgiving in Hinduism is considered a noble deed to be done without expectation of any return from those who receive the charity. Some texts reason, referring to the nature of social life, that charity is a form of good karma that affects one's future circumstances and environment, and that good charitable deeds leads to good future life because of the reciprocity principle. Other Hindu texts, such as Vyasa Samhita, state that reciprocity may be innate in human nature and social functions but dāna is a virtue in itself, as doing good lifts the nature of one who gives.MN Dutt (1979), , Volumes 3, Cosmo Publishers, pages 20-29 The texts do not recommend charity to unworthy recipients or where charity may harm or encourage injury to or by the recipient. is thus a dharma act, requires an idealistic-normative approach, and has spiritual and philosophical context. Some medieval era authors state that is best done with śraddhā (faith), which is defined as being in good will, cheerful, welcoming the recipient of the charity and giving without anasuya (finding faults in the recipient). Kohler states that these scholars of Hinduism suggest that charity is most effective when it is done with delight, a sense of "unquestioning hospitality", where the dāna ignores the short term weaknesses as well as the circumstances of the recipient and takes a long-term view.P Bilimoria et al. (2007), Dana as a Moral Category, in Indian Ethics: Classical traditions and contemporary challenges, Volume 1, , pages 196-197 with footnotes
Between giving food and giving knowledge, Hindu texts suggest the gift of knowledge is superior.Maria Heim (2004), Theories of the Gift in South Asia: Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain Reflections, Routledge, , pages xv-xxvi, 141-149 and Chapter 2 The Gift of Knowledge Chitrapur Matha, India
The Bhagavata Purana discusses when is proper and when it is improper. In Book 8, Chapter 19, verse 36, it states that charity is inappropriate if it endangers and cripples modest livelihood of one's biological dependents or of one's own. Charity from surplus income above that required for modest living is recommended in the Puranas.
This category of people is defined in At-Tawbah:
The obligatory nature of zakat is firmly established in the Qur'an, the sunnah (or hadith), and the consensus of the companions and the Muslim scholars. Allah states in At-Tawbah:
Muslims of each era have agreed upon the obligatory nature of paying zakat from their gold and silver, and from other kinds of currency.
Zakat is obligatory after the money has been in the control of its owner for the span of one lunar year; a lunar year is approximately 355 days. The owner then needs to pay 2.5% (or 1/40) of the money as zakat. The owner should deduct any amount of money he or she borrowed from others, check if the rest reaches the necessary nisab, then pay zakat for it.
If the owner had enough money to satisfy the nisab at the beginning of the year, but his wealth in any form increased, the owner needs to add the increase to the nisab amount owned at the beginning of the year and then pay zakat, 2.5%, of the total at the end of the lunar year. There are minor differences between fiqh schools on how this is to be calculated. Each Muslim calculates his or her own zakat individually. For most purposes, this involves the payment each year of two and a half percent of one's capital.
In Judaism, tzedakah is seen as one of the greatest deeds that a person can do. Tzedakah, along with prayer and repentance, is regarded as ameliorating the consequences of bad acts. Contemporary tzedakah is regarded as a continuation of the Biblical Maaser Ani, or poor-tithe, as well as Biblical practices including permitting the poor to glean the corners of a field, harvest during the Shmita (sabbatical year), and other practices. Jewish farmers are commanded to leave the corners of their fields for the starving to harvest for food and are forbidden to pick up any grain that has been dropped during harvesting, as such food shall be left for the starving as well.
In the Mishneh Torah, Chapter 10:7–14, Maimonides lists eight "laws about giving to poor people" ( hilkhot matanot aniyim), listed in order from most to least righteous, with the most righteous form being allowing an individual to become self-sustaining and capable of giving others charity:
The Mandaic language term zidqa brika (literally "blessed oblation") refers to a ritual meal blessed by priests. An early self-appellation for Mandaeans is bhiri zidqa, meaning "elect of righteousness".
Institutional dāna
Satrams, also called Dharamsala or Chathrams in parts of India, have been one means of almsgiving in Hinduism. Satrams are shelters (rest houses) for travelers and the poor, with many serving water and free food. These were usually established along the roads connecting major Hindu temple sites in south Asia, as well as near major temples.KN Kumari (1998), History of the Hindu Religious Endowments in Andhra Pradesh, , page 128Kota Neelima (2012), Tirupati, Random House, , pages 50-52; Prabhavati C. Reddy (2014), Hindu Pilgrimage: Shifting Patterns of Worldview of Srisailam in South India, Routledge, , page 190 Sanctuaries of times past The Hindu (June 27, 2010) have also served as institutions for almsgiving.SK Aiyangar, Ancient India: Collected Essays on the Literary and Political History, Asian Educational Services, , pages 158-164 The dāna the temples received from Hindus were used to feed people in distress as well as fund public projects such as irrigation and land reclamation.Burton Stein, The Economic Function of a Medieval South Indian Temple, The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 19 (February, 1960), pp 163-76Burton Stein (February 4, 1961), The state, the temple and agriculture development, The Economic Weekly Annual, pp 179-187
Forms of dāna
Forms of almsgiving in Hinduism include:
In the Vedas
The Rigveda has the earliest discussion of in the Vedas and offers reasons for the virtue of almsgiving.R Hindery, Comparative ethics in Hindu and Buddhist traditions, The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Vol 2, Number 1, page 105
In the Upanishads
The early Upanishads, those composed before 500 BCE, discuss the virtue of almsgiving. For example, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad states in verse 5.2.3 that three characteristics of a good, developed person are self-restraint ( dama), compassion or love for all sentient life ( daya), and charity ( ).PV Kane, Samanya Dharma, History of Dharmasastra, Vol. 2, Part 1, page 5 Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Translator: S Madhavananda, page 816, For discussion: pages 814-821 Chandogya Upanishad, similarly, states in Book III that a virtuous life requires tapas (meditation, asceticism), dāna (charity), arjava (straightforwardness, non-hypocrisy), ahimsa (non-violence, non-injury to all sentient beings) and (truthfulness).अथ यत्तपो दानमार्जवमहिँसा सत्यवचनमिति ता अस्य दक्षिणाः Source: Chandogya Upanishad (Sanskrit) Verse 3.17.4, WikisourceRobert Hume, Chandogya Upanishad 3.17, The Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, pages 212-213 Chandogya Upanishad with Shankara Bhashya Ganganath Jha (Translator), pages 165-166
In Mahabharata and Puranas
Bhagavad Gita describes the right and wrong forms of in verses 17.20 through 17.22.Christopher Key Chapple, The Bhagavad Gita: Twenty-fifth–Anniversary Edition, State University of New York Press, , pages 653-655 The Adi Parva of the Hindu Epic Mahabharata states in Chapter 91 that a person must first acquire wealth by honest means, then embark on charity; be hospitable to those who come to him; never inflict pain on any living being; and share a portion with others whatever he consumes.M.N. Dutt (Translator), Adi Parva, Chapter XCI, verses 3-4, page 132 In the Vana Parva, Chapter 194, the Mahabharata recommends that one must "conquer the mean by charity, the untruthful by truth, the wicked by forgiveness, and dishonesty by honesty".MN Dutt (Translator), Vana Parva, Chapter CXCIV, verse 6, page 291
Islam
In Islam, the concept of Muhsi or Muhsin alms-giver or charitable giving is generally divided into voluntary giving, sadaqah (صدقة), and an obligatory practice, the zakat (الزكاة). Zakāh is governed by a specific set of rules within Fiqh and is intended to fulfill a well-defined set of theological and social requirements. Ṣadaqah is possibly a better translation of Christian influenced formulations of the notion of "alms" for that reason, though zakāh plays a much larger role within Islamic charity.
Zakat
Zakāh is the third of the five pillars of Islam. The literal meaning of the word zakāh is "to purify", "to develop" and "cause to grow". Zakāh is the amount of money that every Muslim, male or female, who is an adult, mentally stable, free, and financially able, has to pay to support specific categories of people. According to shariah, it is an act of worship. Possessions are purified by setting aside a proportion for those in need. This cutting back, like the pruning of plants, balances and encourages new growth. Various rules are attached but, in general terms, it is obligatory to give 2.5% of one's savings and business revenue and 5–10% of one's harvest to the poor. Possible recipients include the destitute, the working poor, those who are unable to pay off their own debts, stranded travelers and others who need assistance, with the general principle of zakat always being that the rich should pay it to the poor. One of the most important principles of Islam is that all things belong to God and wealth is therefore held by human beings in trust.
Nisab
Zakat is obligatory when a certain amount of money, called the nisab (or minimum amount), is reached or exceeded. Zakat is not obligatory if the amount owned is less than this nisab. The nisab of gold and golden currency is 20 mithqal, or approximately 85 grams of pure gold. One mithqal is approximately 4.25 grams. The nisab of silver and silver currency is 200 dirhams, which is approximately 595 grams of pure silver. The nisab of other kinds of money and currency is to be scaled to that of gold; the nisab of money is equivalent to the price of 85 grams of 999-type (pure) gold on the day in which zakat is paid.
Sadaqah
A pious person may also give alms as much as he or she pleases as ṣadaqah, and does so preferably in secret. Although this word can be translated as 'voluntary charity', it has a wider meaning, as illustrated in the :
Judaism
Tzedakah
In Judaism, tzedakah, a Hebrew language term literally meaning righteousness but commonly used to signify "charity", refers to the religious obligation to do what is right and just. Tzedakah vs The Myth of Charity ; by Yanki Tauber; Retrieved 03-11-2012. In the Greek Septuagint tzedakah was sometimes translated as ἐλεημοσύνη, "almsgiving".As per Wilhelm Gesenius Lexicon; "Deuterony 6:25 καὶ ἐλεημοσύνη ἔσται...", "... derived from the Greek ἐλεημοσύνη (mercifulness), used by Greek-speaking Jews to denote almost exclusively the offering of charity to the needy, from a feeling of both compassion and righteousness (ẓedaḳah). (See LXX. (note: Septuagint) on Prov. xxi. 21, and Dan. iv. 24.)"
Mandaeism
Zidqa
In Mandaeism, zidqa refers to alms or almsgiving.Drower, Ethel Stefana. 1937. The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran. Oxford At The Clarendon Press. receive regular financial contributions from laypeople.
See also
Notes
Bibliography
|
|
