พระอาจารย์ขยายความโอวาทหลวงปู่ว่าผู้มีปัญญาย่อมรู้จักการให้ ให้ของหยาบได้ของละเอียดติดไปนับเท่าไม่ถ้วนดุจปลูกต้นไม้ในใจ ยิ่งดำรงอยู่ในกุศลยิ่งให้ได้ง่าย และการขวนขวายช่วยเหลือผู้อื่นคือรากฐานสำคัญของการเกื้อกูลกันในวัฏสงสารHe expands on a teaching from the late elder: a person of wisdom knows how to give, and giving something coarse returns something refined of incalculable value, like planting a tree in the heart. The more one abides in wholesomeness, the easier giving becomes — and being of active service to others is the foundation of mutual support in the cycle of birth and death.
A student brought up a teaching from the elder: "A wise person can rise as high and as great as they wish, if they know how to give. Working hard to give, to nourish, to sustain others — a person without wisdom can only sustain others so far; a foolish person struggles even more." He was asked to expand on this.
A person of wisdom knows how to give; a fool doesn't know how
He explained that giving is a tradition of the wise, not the foolish. A wise person, wherever they are, becomes prominent there, because they are constantly generous, helping and supporting others. A foolish person, wherever they are, stays sunk in obscurity, unable to give to anyone out of fear of running out, fear of loss, fear of waste — until they end up alone, and when sick, no one comes to visit, because there's no goodwill drawing anyone in. That is a fool killing themselves while still alive. A wise person, by contrast, sustains themselves, builds themselves, and elevates themselves while still alive.
Giving something coarse brings back something refined, of incalculable value
The elder once said that giving something coarse returns something refined carried along within it — and that refined thing carries a value beyond counting compared to the small, coarse thing given. It's like giving a single mango: the refined merit that flows in at that moment can't be used right away — it can only be used once the merit ripens into its result, much like planting a mango seed in the heart, which takes time to grow. A mango tree takes five years before it bears fruit, and once it does, it doesn't bear fruit only once — it bears fruit every season, for as long as the tree keeps growing. So the merit of giving yields results beyond counting. And if we know how to compound merit further — once the mango tree bears a full crop, sharing that fruit with others again — it's like replanting that mango in the heart once more, a field of merit growing ever more fruitful within, so that the more we give, the more we never run out.
The more one abides in wholesomeness, the easier giving becomes — and the more recognition follows
A person of wisdom naturally understands giving, because the knowing presence within constantly tells them: you have it, so give — don't hoard it alone. Be generous, be supportive, because we live within the cycle of birth and death, which requires mutual generosity. When we're generous to others, they become generous to us in turn and remember us; whenever they need help, we're glad to give it. But someone who has never given finds it hard to ask others for help too. The knowing presence within guides us to become a giver of good fortune to others, because everyone in this cycle wants good fortune, yet few are willing to give it to others — we must be that person, listening for whoever is in trouble and needs help, and choosing to help whoever deserves it first.
Even so, giving isn't equally easy for everyone — it depends on the proportion of wholesomeness within us. If we meditate often, giving becomes easy; without meditation, giving is very difficult. Someone who already loves to give, and meditates as well, finds giving easier still, because wealth is drawn in more readily and the joy of giving grows deeper. The more we practice the , the more merit flows in along with inner refinement, clearing away im — and nature guides us toward good projects, drawing in favorable conditions and good news about opportunities to give, inviting us to take part, and it feels easy; inviting others to join feels easy too.
A wise person is one whom the knowing presence within keeps guiding, teaching them to build good conditions. Once we have those good conditions, we gain both goodwill and resources from others. That presence creates favorable circumstances so that recognition and acceptance keep growing — until merely hearing our name creates a good impression, even among people who've never met us. There's a story of a monk who became abbot of a newly built temple that didn't even have a shrine cabinet for the Buddha image — he had to use a box instead. He made a wish that whoever had a shrine cabinet to spare would offer it to the temple. Soon, shrine cabinets began arriving, more and more, until he had to build a warehouse just to store them, and he distributed them onward to other temples in need. The more he gave, the more he received; the more he gave, the more he had.
Being of active service to others is the foundation of mutual support in the cycle of birth and death
A follow-up question came about "active service" (khuan khuai), one of the . He explained that anyone who wants to run a large enterprise must also actively help with others' affairs — helping those in trouble, offering labor when it's needed. When the time comes to run our own affairs, others come to help us in turn — customers come to buy, people come to offer , advice arrives when we're stuck — because our heart isn't narrow or stingy; we give what we can, and it comes back to us. Life in this cycle requires mutual generosity. If we neglect others and don't care, the world will treat us the same way. Eating alone without sharing, using things alone without sharing, unable to offer even a little effort when others are in need — we become someone no one can rely on, and in turn, no one will support us either, since we've never been a support to anyone.
He gave the example of being born to parents who had never known us before, yet who love and cherish us, raise us, send us to school, support us as we grow and start working, care for us in trouble, look after us when we're sick, never abandoning us despite many difficulties, all the way to the end of life. This is what life in the cycle of birth and death looks like: as we move from one family to another across our lives, the amount of care we receive differs, because the amount of support we ourselves once gave differs — this is the background compelling it to be so. We therefore need to be generous — not only with food and goods, but with effort, with moral and physical support, and with material help wherever we're able to give it.