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Part I: On Virtue

Section I: Prologue

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Chapter 22: Understanding One's Duty to Give

Verse 211
A man and woman are distributing food and clothing to impoverished people in the marketplace. Elsewhere they feed the hungry. Above, rain clouds gather at the distance and citizens offer their gratitude for the life-giving waters.

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Weaver's Wisdom

Verse 211

The benevolent expect no return for their dutiful giving.
How can the world ever repay the rain cloud?

Verse 212

It is to meet the needs of the deserving
that the worthy work so hard to acquire wealth.

Verse 213

Of all duties, none is better than benevolence,
whether in this world or that of the Gods.

Verse 214

He who understands the duty of giving truly lives.
All others shall be counted among the dead.

Verse 215

The wealth of a community-loving wise man
may be likened to a well-filled village water tank.

Verse 216

Riches retained by the big-hearted resemble fruits
ripening on a tree in the heart of a village.

Verse 217

In the hands of a generous man,
wealth is like a medicinal tree whose healing gifts help all.

Verse 218

Those who know duty deeply never neglect giving,
even in their own unprosperous season.

Verse 219

The benevolent man considers himself poor only
when he is unable to render his accustomed duty to humanity.

Verse 220

Were it said that loss of wealth is the price of generosity,
such loss would be worth selling one's self to acquire.