In Buddhism, alms or almsgiving is the respect given by a lay Buddhist to a Buddhist monk, nun, spiritually-developed person or other sentient being. It is not charity as presumed by Western interpreters. It is closer to a symbolic connection to the…
In Buddhism, alms or almsgiving is the respect given by a lay Buddhist to a Buddhist monk, nun, spiritually-developed person or other sentient being. It is not charity as presumed by Western interpreters. It is closer to a symbolic connection to the spiritual realm and to show humbleness and respect in the presence of the secular society.[note 1] The act of alms giving assists in connecting the human to the monk or nun and what he/she represents. As the Buddha has stated:
Householders & the homeless or charity [monastics]
in mutual dependence
both reach the true Dhamma....
— Itivuttaka 4.7[7][note 2]
In Theravada Buddhism, nuns (Pāli: bhikkhunis) and monks (Pāli: bhikkhus) go on a daily almsround (pindacara) to collect food (piṇḍapāta). This is often perceived as giving the laypeople the opportunity to make merit (Pāli: puñña). Money cannot be accepted by a Theravadan Buddhist monk or nun in lieu of or in addition to food, as the Patimokkha training rules make it an offence worth forfeiture and confession.[8]
In countries that follow Mahayana Buddhism, the practice of a daily alms round has mostly died out. In China, Korea and Japan, local cultures resisted the idea of giving food to 'begging' clerics, and there was no tradition of gaining 'merit' by donating to practitioners. After periods of persecution, monasteries were situated in remote mountain areas in which the distance between the monastery and the nearest towns would make a daily alms round impossible. In Japan, the practice of a weekly or monthly takuhatsu replaced the daily round. In the Himalayan countries, the large number of bikshus would have made an almsround a heavy burden on families. Competition with other religions for support also made daily almsrounds difficult and even dangerous; the first Buddhist monks in the Silla dynasty of Korea were said to be beaten due to their minority at the time (Source Wikipedia)
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