Letter From An Anonymous Donor
An anonymous donor makes a substantial donation to Khyentse Foundation earmarked for the Buddhist Literary Heritage Project and sends an encouraging letter to the board of directors.
The letter was read during the board meeting.
The donor talked about the practice of ultimate generosity and the responsible use of donation dollars, and urged Khyentse Foundation to have the Bodhisattva’s courage to “…seize the opportunity and provide with urgency.”
An anonymous donor makes a substantial donation to Khyentse Foundation earmarked for the Buddhist Literary Heritage Project and sends an encouraging letter to the board of directors.
The letter was read during the board meeting.
The donor talked about the practice of ultimate generosity and the responsible use of donation dollars, and urged Khyentse Foundation to have the Bodhisattva’s courage to “…seize the opportunity and provide with urgency.”
To the Khyentse Foundation board members,
Compared to all the noble members of Khyentse Foundation, I do not consider myself to be of much worth. I am only someone who has been inspired by the kindness and compassion of the many great lamas and Rinpoches and want to learn how to practice the Dharma. I know very little about the teachings and would like to only focus my practice on generosity. As everyone knows, the act of generosity arises interdependently. There is no ultimate giver, no ultimate receiver, and no ultimate gift. Therefore, the greatest lesson for me is to see that all the donation funds accumulated through my calculating efforts are to be offered as a mandala and at the end be dissolved into emptiness. With this in mind, I assume the only thing to focus on are my own intentions and that everything else should take care itself.
However, these days I have developed a different perspective. There are two points I would like to present:
1. The Dharma is all about karma—cause and effect. Donations given to the foundation are all hard-earned money and should never be wasted. Every penny is meant to be used to benefit beings and cannot be used for oneself. On this note, I would like to applaud everyone on having perfected this particular conduct.
2. Buddha teaches us impermanence. If there are sentient beings that require immediate financial support, then a charitable organization such as this foundation must seize the opportunity and provide with urgency. Of course, money that is donated has to be used with careful consideration. However, the foundation should have a Bodhisattva’s courage to use the money when opportunity arises and not worry if there will be enough saved for future use. A true Bodhisattva should only be concerned for the welfare of beings and not worry about where tomorrow’s income should come from.
These are some thoughts I hope everyone takes into consideration. I sincerely wish everyone on the path become fearless Bodhisattvas.
Sincerely,
Anonymous