Iti 98 · uttaka 98
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: “Monks, there are these two kinds of gifts: a gift of material things & a gift of the Dhamma. Of these two kinds of gifts, this is supreme: a gift of the Dhamma. There are these two kinds of sharing: sharing of material things & sharing of the Dhamma. Of these two kinds of sharing, this is supreme: sharing of the Dhamma. There are these two kinds of assistance: assistance with material things & assistance with the Dhamma. Of these two kinds of assistance, this is supreme: assistance with the Dhamma.”
The gift he describes
as supreme
& unsurpassed,
the sharing the Blessed One has extolled:
who–confident in the supreme field of merit,
wise, discerning–
wouldn’t give it at appropriate times?
Both for those who proclaim it
and those who listen,
confident in the message of the One Well-Gone:
it purifies their foremost benefit–
those heeding the message
of the One Well-Gone.
Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu. © 2014 / rev. 2017 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu — released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 licence, for free distribution only. Source: dhammatalks.org (Metta Forest Monastery).
