Dana Teaching | School Of Gnosis

Principle of Generosity

Spiritual Benefits of Giving

''But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

Everyman according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.''

- 2 Corinthians 9 verse 6 - 8

When the Buddha taught his disciples Dharma (a word that has many levels of meaning: Law or Justice personified, Righteousness, Duty, Merit, Statue, Practice, Religion, Observance, Good works, Ethics, Virtue) - - he always began by explaining the benefits of Dana to them; saying that a true spiritual life is not possible without the practice of generosity.

Dana is a Pali word meaning free will offering or generosity.

Gnostic teachings are given freely to benefit all living beings at whatever level of development they exist in. This is because the gift of Knowledge (Gnosis) is the greatest act of compassion.

When a person gives, the first to receive a reward is the giver himself. The giver experience joy, self-respect, and the consciousness of abundance flourishes in them.

The Gift of Dharma given through Gnostic teachings surpasses all other gifts, because the gift of self-knowledge (Gnosis) is an incorruptible seed from where our divine nature arise. Knowledge is a lamp that liberates the one who receives its divine instructions. This is what the Lord Buddha Shakyamuni taught.

Master Samael said in his teachings:

''Every initiation is a payment that must be given to the human being (motho). Yet, if nothing is owed to the human being, then nothing is given to him.''

''We can rise to the summits of light (Christification) only on the steps of love and sacrifice (for others). We must perform a lot of good deeds for love of humanity. This is how we pay our debts.''

Our School offers Gnostic teachings freely in order to uphold the wishes of Samael Aun Weor. His stance about copyright of his work was clear:

''Now, my dear friends, and forever, I renounce, have renounced and will go on renouncing copyright . My only wish is that these books be sold at a low price, affordable to the poor, affordable to all the children of God.''

Experiencing the Ten Virtues of Generosity

(1) Generosity is the first perfection of Wisdom (Chokmah - related to Christ, The Son), where the bonds of attachment reifying concepts of ''mine''; ''me''; ''others'' and ''object'' are loosened.

(2) The act of giving takes us out of the Wheel of Suffering, because when we give without expectation of reward, the fabric of ego is slowly dissolved by non-attachment to the material modes of nature.

(3) Generosity seeks to help every aspirant on the path of liberation accomplish the aim of enlightenment by overcoming discursive selfish thinking.

(4) Generosity weakens the forces of craving and clinging so that the soul can be free from the delusion of scarcity.

(5) It cultivates an internal sense of abundance that leads to the essential path of true happiness.

(6) Generosity frees others by reducing suffering in the world; and by expanding joy and welfare.

(7) Generosity must be practiced through the soul and by a sincere heart because God lives in the heart of every man. The scripture teaches us: ''And Master Jesus sat over against (opposite) the treasury [of the Temple], and beheld how the people gave money into the treasury: And many rich people put in large sums of money. And a there came a certain poor widow, and she offered two mites [copper coins], which make a farthing [penny]. And he [Master Jesus] called unto his disciples, and said unto them, ''Truly, I say unto you, this poor widow has offered more than all those who contributed [money] to the treasury. For all they did offer out f their [material] abundance, but she out of her poverty has offered everything she had, her whole living.'' - Mark 12 verse 41-44

(8) Karma is a psychological consequence (Wheel of Action) that turns according to the energy of our heart and mind. So when we want to correct our defects we need to start with authentic actions pertaining to our heart and mind.

(9) It is superficial to offer money or any other gift to someone if your heart is still stingy. The virtue of kindness does not appear in a heart that does not have faith in its own purity.

(10) Only when our heart and mind are unimpeded by illusion of separability do we gain power of full awareness. True abundance and everlasting generosity arises when there is no difference in our actions and our thinking.

HOW ARE DONATIONS USED?

School of Gnosis: South Africa offers its teachings free to all who aspire for the realization of their Being.

So, in order to not misconstrued the aim of our work, we do not sell advertising or promotion on any level; this is to avoid psychological misnomer that could be associated with the learning center.