The Offering

The Buddha was meditating on the bank of a river. A brahman performing his worship rituals had some unused cake and wanted to give it away. He went over to the Buddha but was put off when he saw the Buddha's shaven head--a sign he was a nobody.

"What caste are you?" he asked.

"I am not a brahman, a prince, a farmer, or any other caste. I am one who understands how existence comes into being. Your question about caste is irrelevant."

"You are a wise man and so I want to give you this offering of cake," the brahman said. "I like to make offerings, for I feel they will bring me merit. Can you tell me what makes an offering effective for merit?"

"Since you are searching for an understanding, listen carefully," the Buddha replied. "Don't ask about caste or riches but instead ask about conduct. Look at the flames of a fire. Where do they come from? From a piece of wood--and it doesn't matter what wood. In the same way, a wise person can come from wood of any sort. It is through firmness and restraint and a sense of truth that one becomes noble, not through caste.

"I will tell you who is worth offerings. It is one who doesn't cling to life and who has seen where birth and death end. In the fullness of that state he has realized the way things are. His mind no longer seeks resting places. He sees the end of habit-chains. No more does he think of himself in terms of a self, and so there is nothing in him that can lead to bewilderment. He perceives all phenomena with clarity. That is the one who is worthy of offerings. That is where offerings are due."

Overwhelmed, the brahman held out his cake and said, "I have now met a being who understands everything completely, therefore my offering will be true. I ask you to accept my cake."

 "Brahman, I do not accept gifts for telling the truth. This is not the way with people of clear knowledge. Go and find a great saint who is perfect and is able to calm all anxieties. That will be the right place for a man like yourself who is looking for merit. That is how a gift will be effective."

The brahman put away his cake and said, "You are worthy of a gift, for you have given one to me. It is unsurpassable and of immense fruitfulness."

He then went on his way to find a perfect saint.

---Sutta Nipata---