Cattāri Brahmavihārā

I’ve been thinking about dana parami and my practice and have come to the point where random acts of generosity, though fulfilling, don’t seem adequate in my mind. I have played with the idea of not turning down a request ofr charity or help before but, to be honest, I have always considered the sphere of dana to be outside the home. Somehow it just doesn’t seem right that my wife and children be the recipients of my dana since it is my duty to provide for them anyway. I’m not sure what the hang up is but I think some of my resistance is due to the fact that I’m afraid that I will be taken advantage of and end up doing more than “my fair share”of work in the home if I were to seriously try to apply this practice behind closed doors as well as to the world beyond my doorstep. Obviously there is something wrong with this dichotomy so I am making the aditthana to practice dana parami wherever I am despite how physically, emotionally and psychologically taxing it may be. For this entire week I will not turn down any request for anything in my power to give from anyone in my life whether they be a stranger, my first-born or a long-lost friend. I’m sure there will be a lot of mistakes and missteps but I’m interested to see how the mind reacts toi this practice. I’ll try to post again and let you know how it went next Sunday.