{"collection":"Samyutta Nikaya","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/suttacentral_sn1.32/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/suttacentral_sn1.32","id":"suttacentral_sn1.32","license":"CC0","rights_basis":"suttacentral_bilara_data_cc0","source":"suttacentral","source_url":"https://suttacentral.net/sn1.32/en/sujato","summary":null,"tags":["Early Buddhist Texts","Samyutta Nikaya"],"text":"At one time the Buddha was staying near S\u0101vatth\u012b in Jeta\u2019s Grove, An\u0101thapi\u1e47\u1e0dika\u2019s monastery. Then, late at night, several glorious deities of the host of a hundred felicities, lighting up the entire Jeta\u2019s Grove, went up to the Buddha, bowed, and stood to one side. Standing to one side, one deity spoke this verse in the Buddha\u2019s presence: \u201cBecause of stinginess and negligence a gift is not given. Wanting merit, a smart person would give.\u201d Then another deity recited these verses in the Buddha\u2019s presence: \u201cWhen a miser fails to give because of fear, the very thing they\u2019re afraid of comes to pass. The hunger and thirst that a miser fears hurt the fool in this world and the next. So you should dispel stinginess, overcoming that stain, and give a gift. The good deeds of sentient beings support them in the next world.\u201d Then another deity recited these verses in the Buddha\u2019s presence: \u201cAmong the dead they do not die, those who, like fellow travelers on the road, are happy to provide, though they have but little. This is an ancient teaching. Some who have little are happy to provide, while some who have much don\u2019t wish to give. An offering given from little is multiplied a thousand times.\u201d Then another deity recited these verses in the Buddha\u2019s presence: \u201cGiving what\u2019s hard to give, doing what\u2019s hard to do; the wicked don\u2019t act like this, for the teaching of the good is hard to follow. That\u2019s why the virtuous and the wicked have different destinations after here. The wicked go to hell, while the virtuous are bound for heaven.\u201d Then another deity said to the Buddha, \u201cSir, who has spoken well?\u201d \u201cYou\u2019ve all spoken well in your own way. However, listen to me also: A hundred thousand people <j>making a thousand sacrifices isn\u2019t worth a fraction of that sort, who lives rightly, wandering for gleanings, or one who supports their partner <j>with what little they have.\u201d Then another deity addressed the Buddha in verse: \u201cWhy doesn\u2019t that sacrifice of theirs, <j>so abundant and magnificent, equal the value of a moral person\u2019s gift? How is it that a hundred thousand people  <j>making a thousand sacrifices isn\u2019t worth a fraction of what\u2019s offered by that sort?\u201d \u201cSome give based on immorality\u2014 after slaying, killing, and tormenting. Such an offering\u2014tearful, violent\u2014 in no way equals the value of a moral person\u2019s gift. That\u2019s how it is that a hundred thousand people  <j>making a thousand sacrifices isn\u2019t worth a fraction of what\u2019s offered by that sort.\u201d","title":"Stinginess","tradition":"Samyutta Nikaya","translated_text":null,"word_count":423}