Alms
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.
Etymology
The word alms comes from the Old English ælmesse, ælmes, which comes from Late Latin eleemosyna, from Greek ἐλεημοσύνη eleēmosynē, from ἐλεήμων, eleēmōn, from ἔλεος, eleos, meaning "pity or mercy".Buddhism
''Dāna'' in Buddhism
In Buddhism, both "almsgiving" and "giving" are called "dāna". Such giving is one of the three elements of the path of practice as formulated by the Buddha for laypeople. This path of practice for laypeople is dāna, sīla, and bhāvanā.Generosity towards other sentient beings is also emphasized in Mahayana as one of the perfections. As shown in Lama Tsong Khapa's '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 faith, one key power that one should generate within oneself for the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha.
According to the Pali canon:
Intentions for giving
The intentions behind giving play an important role in developing spiritual qualities. The suttas record various motives for exercising generosity. For example, the Anguttara Nikaya enumerates the following eight motives:- One gives with annoyance, or as a way of offending the recipient, or with the idea of insulting him.
- Fear also can motivate a person to make an offering.
- One gives in return for a favor done to oneself in the past.
- One also may give with the hope of getting a similar favor for oneself in the future.
- One gives because giving is considered good.
- "I cook, they do not cook. It is not proper for me who cooks not to give to those who do not cook."
- Some give alms to gain a good reputation.
- Still others give alms to adorn and beautify the mind.
- Asajja danam deti
- Bhaya danam deti
- Adasi me ti danam deti
- Dassati me ti danam deti
- Sadhu danan ti danam deti
- Aham pacami, ime ne pacanti, na arahami pacanto apacantanam adatun ti danam deti
- Imam me danam dadato kalyano kittisaddo abbhuggacchati ti danam deti
- Cittalankara-cittaparikkarattham danam deti
In support of Buddhist monks
In Theravada Buddhism, nuns and monks practice Takuhatsu where they collect food. This is often perceived as allowing the laypeople to make merit. 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.
Christianity
In Christianity, the giving of alms is viewed as an act of charity. 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.In the New Testament, private acts of charity are a duty and considered virtuous only if not done for others to admire:
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:
In the Apostolic age, Christians were taught that giving alms was an expression of love. Such care for the poor was to be understood as love for God, who, in the person of Jesus Christ, sacrificed himself for the salvation of believers. Sharing possessions was practised in the church:
In Western Christianity
The offertory is the traditional moment in the Roman Catholic Mass, Lutheran Divine Service, and Anglican Eucharist, when alms are collected. Baptists and Methodists, among other denominations, collect tithes and offerings during the offertory in church services. A tithe, the first tenth of one's income, is seen as what is owed to God, while an offering includes anything contributed beyond that. Some fellowships practice regular giving for special purposes called "love offerings" for the poor, destitute or victims of catastrophic loss such as home fires or medical expenses. Traditionally, deacons and deaconesses are responsible for distributing these gifts among widows, orphans, and others in need. Many Christians support a plethora of charitable organizations, not all of which claim a Christian religious affiliation. Many American educational and medical institutions were founded by Christian fellowships giving alms.For Roman Catholics, alm is a mandatory work of mercy. Pope Leo XIV observes that "almsgiving... nowadays is not looked upon favorably even among believers", but "we Christians must not abandon almsgiving. It can be done in different ways, and surely more effectively, but it must continue to be done. It is always better at least to do something rather than nothing."
In Eastern Christianity
In the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches, the collection of alms and tithes has not been formally united to the offertory in any liturgical action. However, either having a collection plate in the narthex or passing it unobtrusively during the service is not uncommon. In Eastern Orthodox theology, almsgiving is an important part of the spiritual life, and fasting should always be accompanied by increased prayer and almsgiving. Almsgiving in the name of the deceased also frequently accompanies prayer for the dead. Those whose financial circumstances do not permit the giving of monetary alms may give alms in other ways, such as intercessory prayer and acts of mercy such as visiting people in prison, clothing the poor or volunteering in soup kitchens.Hinduism
''Dāna'' in Hinduism
In Hinduism, ' is an ancient concept of almsgiving dating to the Vedic period of Hinduism. ' has been defined in traditional texts as any action of relinquishing the ownership of what one considered or identified as one's own, and investing the same in a recipient without expecting anything in return. While ' is typically given to one person or family, Hinduism also discusses charity or giving aimed at public benefit, which is sometimes called utsarga. This aims at larger projects such as building a rest house, school, investing in drinking water or an irrigation well, planting trees, and building care facilities, among others. The practice of begging for alms is called bhiksha.The 11th century Persian 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 every day to give alms as much as possible."
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. 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 dharmic act, requires an idealistic-normative approach, and has spiritual and philosophical context. Some medieval era authors state that is best done with śraddhā, which is defined as being in good will, cheerful, welcoming the recipient of the charity and giving without anasuya. 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.