Almsgiving 2024

Ready for the Almsgiving

The rain that was in the forecast for today took place very early in the morning and it had ceased by the time I woke up at 7:15 a.m.  There was bright sunshine during most of the rest of the day and I was very pleased.  

I didn't get a lot of sleep, last night, and I was a little tired when I woke up,  But, I had a cup of tea and started on the almsgiving prep work.  Then, I guess I felt a bit stressed, because I started to feel my heart pounding.  Usually, I start my mornings in a more leisurely way, reading my prayer book for the 20 to 30 minutes it takes me to say my morning prayers.  So, I decided to take a little time to say my prayers and my daughter came to check if I was OK.  I also took one of my medications that is meant to regulate my pressure and heart rate.  By the time I finished my prayers, the medication had taken effect and I felt much better.  The moral of that story is, don't skip saying your morning prayers, Bless, and don't forget to take your medications!  I cut up the fruits and the vegetables for the salad while my daughter dished out the sweets.

Gardener M arrived early to tend to the garden and tidy up the front walkway.  He also brought me another jade plant that one of his other clients wanted him to toss out!  

We had everything prepared by 10:45 a.m. as planned.  The sofa, where the monks will sit, was covered with white sheets to cleanse them.  Two types of rice were cooked, all the various curries were warmed up, a tray with small portions of every food item prepared served into small bowls was readied to be offered to the Buddha at the altar, and a plate with a regular portion of all the food, along with plates of fruits and sweets were set out on the coffee table and covered with a paper napkin or plastic wrap, to be offered, symbolically, to the larger community of monks (comprised of all the monks throughout the world, past, present, and future): 

The Table Set with the Offerings for the Community of Monks

The various dishes were set out on the dining table which acted as a side board.  At some almsgivings, the monks will sit at the table, but, we have always had them sit on the sofas in the living room.

The Almsgiving Food Offerings
(You can see the tray with the offerings for the Buddha)

I am very glad that we had everything ready by 10:45 a.m., because, unexpectedly, the monks arrived early!  My daughter was just checking the list posted on the fridge door with all the steps outlined to make sure everything was done, when I called out to her that the monks had arrived.

They brought with them the reliquary, which transformed my home into a temple for the duration.  The tray of food, the vase of flowers, a lit candle, an incense holder with a stick of burning incense were placed in front of it and offered to the Buddha.

The Reliquary and Offerings to the Buddha

The ceremony began with paying homage to the Buddha, the Dhamma (Dharma in Sanskrit; the teachings of the Buddha), and the Sangha (the community of monks or the disciples of the Buddha) and taking the five precepts that govern the daily lives of Buddhists (to abstain from killing and harming another living being, to abstain from stealing or taking what is not freely given, to abstain from adultery and other sexual misconduct, to abstain from lying and harsh speech, and to abstain from the consumption of alcohol and drugs which induce intoxication).  

The tray of food and other items on the altar in front of the reliquary were offered to the Buddha.  Then, the plates of food set on the coffee table, in front of the monks, were offered to the Community of Monks.  The actual monks who are present at the almsgiving are only a representative few of the Community of Monks.  It doesn't matter how many monks are actually present at an almsgiving; by offering the plates of food to the Community of Monks, we are symbolically offering the alms to all the monks, past, present, and future.

Afterwards, the meal we prepared was served to the monks.  I kept plates on the table, but, they brought their begging bowl with them and we served the food into the bowls.  First, the rice and curries are served.  When they are done with that, then, the desserts are served - a variety of fruits, a variety of sweets, a pudding, yoghurt and treacle.  Then, I asked if they would like tea or coffee and they indicated that they didn't need anything else.  

The Monks Having Their Meal
(photo taken with their consent)

After the meal, the monks chanted pirith or blessings.  We hold a specially wound thread while the blessings are chanted - the thread is a symbol of the connectivity between us and the thread also absorbs some of the vibrations of the chanting.  The ceremony concluded with offering a portion of the accrued merit to the departed family members and loved ones.  The monks spoke very kindly of my mother who taught them English and offered blessings to my daughter and to me.  Finally, we drank some blessed water and a piece of the blessed thread that we held was tied around our right wrists.  It is a visual reminder of the blessings and a symbolic protection.  

Finally, we offered additional donations for the monks to take back to the temple.  

Normally, the monks would leave after that.  However, these monks have known me for about 40 years and they've known my daughter since the day she was born.  So, after the ceremony was over, they inspected the Christmas tree (daughter had insisted on leaving it up for the monks to see) and admired it and admired the garden.  I think that they are amused by the fact that we decorate the house for Christmas even though we are Buddhists.  

They left around 12:30 p.m.  After that, I called neighbor S and offered to bring her a plate of food and daughter took it over.  Then, she and I had lunch and afterwards, daughter put away the food and did most of the washing up (I used some special china which can't be washed in the dishwasher, but we did a load in the dishwasher, too).  Afterwards, I took a long nap!  

It was past 5:30 p.m. when I woke up from my nap!  I guess I was tired.  The rest of the evening passed rather quickly - a cup of tea, some snacks, a light dinner of toast and scrambled eggs for me (daughter had rice and curries), another New Year's gift wrapped, the litter box cleaned, a load of laundry done, phone chats with family and friends, little blogging and it's almost 2:00 a.m. and time to go to bed!

Today, I am grateful for:

- Being able to hold my almsgiving
- Everything went smoothly
- My daughter's help with everything
- M tending to the garden
- Medications!

Today's joyful activity was holding the almsgiving.  It has filled the spiritual area of my life to overflowing and filled me with pure joy.  

Plans for tomorrow include a long overdue visit to see my half-sister and have lunch with her.  Afterwards, I will start the process of putting away the dishes used for the almsgiving and do another load of laundry.  

I've tried to describe the almsgiving as fully as I could without getting too detailed.  But, if you have any questions about it, please let me know and I'll try to answer to the best of my abilities.  One of the words one of the monks said today was "sraddha"  which is Sanskrit for faith.  I wrote about it a few years ago, when I participated in Angela's Pause for Advent, here.  Sraddha was the energy that made today's event possible.