ให้ธรรมะเป็นทาน

[DavidHouston]

Friends,

I came across the following sentence:

ไม่มีการให้ทานใดมีอานิสงส์เลิศยิ่งกว่าการให้ธรรมะเป็นทาน

I am trying to figure out its meaning. Might it be " There is no greater charity than to be virtuous"? Or, alternatively, might this sentence be a statement of the "Golden Rule", that is, "There is no greater charity than to be fair and just to others"? In this context, is "ธรรมะ" to be viewed as "the Buddhist dharma" or "morals" in general? Or, might the meaning be something completely different?

Thanks.

[Rikker]

Allow me to suggest:

There is no greater offering than letting virtue be your offering.

Or alternately,

There is no greater offering than virtue.

Or more loosely,

There is no greater offering than living a virtuous life.

One might substitute morality for virtue, or oblation for offering, etc.

[aanon]

I think it should be:

There is no greater gift than the gift of Dharma.

This would include speaking to others about "the truth", donating money for printing of Buddhist texts, demonstrating Dharma through one's actions and so on.

th.wikipedia.org/wiki/ธรรมทาน

[DavidHouston]

Thank you, Aanon; that's a great answer.

[Rikker]

aanon's version is probably correct, but I'm not certain either way.

The Sanskrit word dāna is associated both with the acts of bestowing (giving to someone lower, as in a beggar) and offering (giving to someone higher, as in a monk), but in Thai it's more commonly associated with the former.

The use of the verb ให้ instead of ถวาย also leans towards the former, but isn't conclusive. If it had said ถวายทาน it would unambiguously mean offering, as in ถวายทานแก่พระสงฆ์ (aka สังฆทาน), but ให้ทาน can be either one: it's common parlance for "giving to the needy", as in ให้ทานผู้ยากไร้, but it's also used for offering, as in ให้ทานพระสงฆ์.

ธรรมะ = ธรรม is also Indic, of course -- dharma, and has many meanings -- Buddhist doctrine, religion in general, virtue, morality, good works, justice, nature. It's a pretty pervasive concept in Buddhist societies.

The reason I opted for my translation is that พระธรรม (or just ธรรม) is in my experience usually used in the specific sense of Buddhist doctrine -- e.g. บรรยายธรรม "expound the Dharma", ปฏิบัติธรรม "follow the Dharma", or the great Triple Gem of พระพุทธ พระธรรม พระสงฆ์ (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha). Whereas ธรรมะ is frequently used in a more general sense of virtue or goodness, as in เขาเป็นคนมีธรรมะ "he's a good/virtuous person", and is the opposite of อธรรม "immorality, evil".

So that was my logic. Perhaps more information about the context or another opinion will enlighten us further.