ABSTRACT

                        The main objectives of this thesis are: to study the practice of giving during the time of the Buddha, to ascertain the practice of giving cultivated by the people in Na-lueng Sub-district, Selaphum district, Roi-et Province, and to do a comparative study of these two.

                        The result of study found that ‘Dana’ means giving, gift, charity, liberality. Generally, there were two types of giving: Amisadana (material gift) and Dhammadana (gift of truth or spiritual gift). Mostly, the people in Na-lueng Sub-district likely to offer food to the monks in the time of arm-gathering in the morning. They also offered all required facilities to the monks such as robe, housing, medicine, and so on.

                        According to the discourses, there were several objectives of giving: giving for earning more, giving because of fear, giving for better fame, giving for spiritual cultivation, giving for being born in better life, and so on. However, the people in Na-lueng Sub-district practiced giving with the hope of  being born in the heaven, to help other fellow, to support Buddhism, to earn merit and richness.

                        The determinative factors that led one to practice giving, according to the Buddhist literature, were: seeing suffer being in  difficulty, help him or her to live in comfort, giving for being in gratitude toward ones parents, and giving for earning fame and good luck. Collectively, giving was rooted by either positive or negative intention. The first was recommended by the Buddha, because it led one to further spiritual cultivation- liberation. While, the last one brought the beings to the cycle of Samsaric process.

                        Last but not least, the advantage of giving was reported in the Angutara nikaya thus those who often practice giving will be love by the public and he or she will be reborn in the heaven after death. But the people in Na-lueng Sub-district pointed out the giving for removing the greediness in the mind of a man was the right way of giving, and this could eventually lead one to realize liberation or nibbana. However, some people befieved that giving  could bring good luck also. This second opinion toward giving of the people in Na-lueng Sub-district might be at risk to those groups of people who seek some benefit coming with giving. Therefore, before cultivating giving the Buddhist should know the right way of giving.