AN9.20 — Velāmasutta
At one time, the Blessed One was staying in Sāvatthī, in the Jeta's Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika's Park.
Then, the householder Anāthapiṇḍika approached the Blessed One; having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One and sat down to one side. While sitting to one side, the Blessed One said to the householder Anāthapiṇḍika:
Householder, is alms-giving practiced in your family?
Alms-giving is practiced in my family, venerable sir; but it is coarse, with broken rice and second-grade porridge.
Even if one gives coarse or fine alms, if it is given without respect, without consideration, not with one's own hand, carelessly, and without the thought of future consequences, wherever the result of that alms-giving manifests, the mind does not incline towards great enjoyment of food, great enjoyment of clothing, great enjoyment of vehicles, or great enjoyment of the five kinds of sensual pleasures. And those who are sons, daughters, slaves, workers, or servants do not listen, do not lend an ear, and do not apply their minds to understand.
Why is that?
Because this is the result of actions done without respect.
But if one gives coarse or fine alms, if it is given with respect, with consideration, with one's own hand, carefully, and with the thought of future consequences, wherever the result of that alms-giving manifests, the mind inclines towards great enjoyment of food, great enjoyment of clothing, great enjoyment of vehicles, and great enjoyment of the five kinds of sensual pleasures. And those who are sons, daughters, slaves, workers, or servants listen, lend an ear, and apply their minds to understand.
Why is that?
Because this is the result of actions done with respect.
In the past there was a brahmin named Velāma.
He gave a great alms-giving of this kind. He gave eighty-four thousand golden bowls filled with silver, eighty-four thousand silver bowls filled with gold, eighty-four thousand bronze bowls filled with gold, eighty-four thousand elephants adorned with gold ornaments, gold banners, and covered with gold nets, eighty-four thousand chariots covered with lion skins, tiger skins, leopard skins, and blankets, adorned with gold ornaments, gold banners, and covered with gold nets, eighty-four thousand cows with fine cloths and bronze vessels, eighty-four thousand maidens adorned with jewelry, eighty-four thousand couches covered with woolen, cotton, and silk spreads, with fine blankets, with red cushions on both sides, eighty-four thousand pieces of cloth of fine linen, fine silk, fine wool, and fine cotton. What to say of food, drink, snacks, meals, and delicacies, rivers of them seemed to flow.
Then it might occur to you, Was it another person who was Velāma the brahmin at that time, who gave that great alms offering?
It should not be seen in such a way, householder.
I was Velāma the brahmin at that time.
I gave that great alms offering.
But at that alms offering, there was no one worthy of receiving gifts, no one who purified the gift.
Householder, the great alms offering that Velāma the brahmin gave, and one who would feed a single person accomplished in view, this is more fruitful than that.
(...) And one who would feed a hundred persons accomplished in view, and one who would feed a single once-returner, this is more fruitful than that.
(...) And one who would feed a hundred once-returners, and one who would feed a single non-returner ... and so on ...
And one who would feed a hundred non-returners, and one who would feed a single arahant ... and so on ...
And one who would feed a hundred arahants, and one who would feed a single solitary Buddha ... and so on ...
And one who would feed a hundred solitary Buddhas, and one who would feed a Tathāgata, an arahant, a fully awakened Buddha ... and so on ...
And one who would feed the Sangha of disciples headed by the Buddha ... and so on ...
And one who would build a monastery for the Sangha of the four quarters ... and so on ...
And one who, with a confident mind, would go for refuge to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha ... and so on ...
And one who, with a confident mind, would undertake the training rules:
abstaining from killing living beings, abstaining from taking what is not given, abstaining from sexual misconduct, abstaining from false speech, abstaining from intoxicating drinks and drugs that lead to carelessness, and one who would develop even a moment of goodwill, (...) this is more fruitful than that.
Householder, the great alms offering that Velāma the brahmin gave, and one who would feed a single person accomplished in view ...
And one who would feed a hundred persons accomplished in view, and one who would feed a single once-returner ...
And one who would feed a hundred once-returners, and one who would feed a single non-returner ...
And one who would feed a hundred non-returners, and one who would feed a single arahant ...
And one who would feed a hundred arahants, and one who would feed a single solitary Buddha ...
And one who would feed a hundred solitary Buddhas, and one who would feed a Tathāgata, an arahant, a fully awakened Buddha ...
And one who would feed the Sangha of disciples headed by the Buddha, and one who would build a monastery for the Sangha of the four quarters ...
And one who, with a confident mind, would go for refuge to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, and one who, with a confident mind, would undertake the training rules:
Abstaining from taking life ... abstaining from taking intoxicants, even if one were to cultivate a mind of goodwill for the time it takes to pull a cow's udder, or to cultivate the perception of impermanence for the time it takes to snap one's fingers, this would be more fruitful than that.