Handouts:

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The Starfish Story

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up. As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?” The young man paused, looked up and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean.”

“I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die.”

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, “But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!”

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, “It made a difference for that one.”

His response surprised the man. He was upset. He didn't know how to reply. So instead, he turned away and walked back to the cottage to begin his writings.

All day long as he wrote, the image of the young man haunted him. He tried to ignore it, but the vision persisted. Finally, late in the afternoon he realized that he the scientist, he the poet, had missed out on the essential nature of the young man's actions. Because he realized that what the young man was doing was choosing not to be an observer in the universe and make a difference. He was embarrassed.

That night he went to bed troubled. When the morning came he awoke knowing that he had to do something. So he got up, put on his clothes, went to the beach and found the young man. And with him he spent the rest of the morning throwing starfish into the ocean.

adapted from The Star Thrower by Loren Eiseley

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Hands

    If I could tell the world just one thing

   It would be that we're all OK

   And not to worry ‘cause worry is wasteful

   And useless in times like these

   I won't be made useless

   I won't be idle with despair

   I will gather myself around my faith

   For light does the darkness most fear

   My hands are small, I know

   But they're not yours, they are my own

   But they're not yours, they are my own

   And I am never broken

   Poverty stole your golden shoes

   But it didn't steal your laughter

   And heartache came to visit me

   But I knew it wasn't ever after

   We'll fight, not out of spite

   For someone must stand up for what's right

   'Cause where there's a man who has no voice

   There ours shall go singing 

   My hands are small I know

   But they're not yours, they are my own

   But they're not yours, they are my own

   And I am never broken

   In the end only kindness matters

   In the end only kindness matters

   I will get down on my knees, and I will pray

   I will get down on my knees, and I will pray

   I will get down on my knees, and I will pray

   My hands are small I know

   But they're not yours, they are my own

   But they're not yours, they are my own

   And I am never broken

   My hands are small I know

   But they're not yours, they are my own

   But they're not yours, they are my own

   And I am never broken

   We are never broken

   We are God's eyes

   God's hands

   God's mind

   We are God's eyes

   God's hands

   God's heart

   We are God's eyes

   God's hands

   God's eyes

   We are God's hands

   We are God's hands

Lyrics by Jewel Kilcher; music by Jewel Kilcher and Patrick Leonard; http://www.endor.org/jewel

Handout 3Print Handout 3

Mohammed: Zakat - the Alms Tax

What is Zakat?

Giving money for charity is highly commendable, and the sky is the limit, but Zakat is different because it is obligatory and is given in a calculated amount.

Why?

Zakat represents the unbreakable bond between members of the community, whom prophet Mohammad described to be “like the organs of the body, if one suffers then all others rally in response.”

One of the most important principles of Islam is that all things belong to God, and that wealth is therefore held by human beings in trust. The word zakat means both “purification” and “growth.” Our possessions are purified by setting aside a proportion for those in need, and, like the pruning of plants, this cutting back balances and encourages new growth.

Zakah not only purifies the property of the contributor but also purifies his heart from selfishness and greed. It also purifies the heart of the recipient from envy and jealousy, from hatred and uneasiness and it fosters instead good-will and warm wishes for the contributors.

As Muslims pay the Zakat they have the genuine feeling that it is an investment and not a debit helping to establish economic balance and social justice in the society.

In general terms, what remains over and above the meeting of needs and expenses, and is hoarded for the full span of one year, is liable to Zakat. Zakat is the right of the poor in the wealth of the rich and is neither optional charity nor philanthropy.

Zakah has a deep humanitarian and social-political value; for example, it frees society from class welfare, from ill feelings and distrust and from corruption. Although Islam does not hinder private enterprise or condemn private possession, it does not tolerate selfish and greedy capitalism. Islam adopts a moderate but positive and effective course between individual and society, between the citizen and the state, between capitalism and socialism, between materialism and spiritualism.

How is it Calculated?

Zakah is a proportionately fixed contribution collected from the surplus wealth and earnings of the Muslim.

Each Muslim calculates his or her own zakat individually. Zakah is paid on the net balance after paying personal expenses, family expenses, due credits, taxes, etc. Every Muslim male or female who at the end of the year is in possession of the equivalent of 85 grams of gold (approx. $1400 in 1990) or more in cash or articles of trade, must give Zakah at the minimum rate of 2.5%. Taxes paid to government do not substitute for this religious duty. The contributor should not seek pride or fame but if disclosing his name and his contribution is likely to encourage others, it is acceptable to do so.

Other gains and profits have their respective formulae, such as proceeds from industry, agriculture and animal husbandry, real estate, etc. as thoroughly detailed in specialized references.

Note the obligatory nature of Zakah; it is required . Muslims can also go above and beyond what they pay as Zakah, in which case the offering is a strictly voluntary charity (sadaqa). Sadaqa is given preferably in secret. Although this word can be translated as “voluntary charity” it has a wider meaning. The Prophet said “even meeting your brother with a cheerful face is charity.”

The Prophet said: “Charity is a necessity for every Muslim.” He was asked: “What if a person has nothing?” The Prophet replied: “He should work with his own hands for his benefit and then give something out of such earnings in charity.” The Companions asked: “What if he is not able to work?” The Prophet said: “He should help poor and needy persons.” The Companions further asked “What if he cannot do even that?” The Prophet said “He should urge others to do good.” The Companions said “What if he lacks that also?” The Prophet said “He should check himself from doing evil. That is also charity.”

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Buddha: An Economy of Gifts

According to the Buddhist rules for monastics, monks and nuns are not allowed to accept money or even to engage in barter or trade with lay people. They live entirely in an economy of gifts. Lay supporters provide gifts of material requisites for the monastics, while the monastics provide their supporters with the gift of the teaching.

Ideally--and to a great extent in actual practice--this is an exchange that comes from the heart, something totally voluntary. There are many stories in the [original Buddhist] texts that emphasize the point that returns in this economy depend not on the material value of the object given, but on the purity of heart of the donor and recipient. You give what is appropriate to the occasion and to your means, when and wherever your heart feels inspired.

For the monastics, this means that you teach, out of compassion, what should be taught, regardless of whether it will sell. For the laity, this means that you give what you have to spare and feel inclined to share. There is no price for the teachings, nor even a “suggested donation.” Anyone who regards the act of teaching or the act of giving as payment for a particular favor is ridiculed as mercenary. Instead, you give because giving is good for the heart and because the survival of the Dhamma [dharma] as a living principle depends on daily acts of generosity.

The primary symbol of this economy is the alms bowl. If you are a monastic, it represents your dependence on others, your need to accept generosity no matter what form it takes. You may not get what you want in the bowl, but you realize that you always get what you need, even if it's a hard-earned lesson in doing without.

For monks, the bowl also represents the opportunity you give others to practice the Dhamma in accordance with their means. In Thailand, this is reflected in one of the idioms used to describe going for alms: proad sat or “doing a favor for living beings.” There were times on my alms round in rural Thailand when, as I walked past a tiny grass shack, someone would come running out to put rice in my bowl.

Years earlier, before I was ordained, my reaction on seeing such a bare dwelling would have been to want to give monetary help to them. But now I was on the receiving end of their generosity. In my new position I may have been doing less for them in material terms than I could have as a lay person, but at least I was giving them the opportunity to have the dignity that comes with being a donor.

For the donors, the monk's alms bowl becomes a symbol of the good they have done. On several occasions in Thailand, people would tell me that they had dreamed of a monk standing before them, opening the lid to his bowl. The details would differ as to what the dreamer saw in the bowl, but in each case the interpretation of the dream was the same: the dreamer's merit was about to bear fruit in an especially positive way.

The alms round itself is also a gift that goes both ways. On the one hand, daily contact with lay donors reminds the monastics that their practice is not just an individual matter, but a concern of the entire community. They are indebted to others for the right and opportunity to practice, and should do their best to practice diligently as a way of repaying that debt.

Moreover, the opportunity to walk through a village early in the morning, passing by the houses of the rich and poor, the happy and unhappy, gives plenty of opportunities to reflect on the human condition and the need to find a way out of the grinding cycle of death and rebirth. For the donors, the alms round is a reminder that the monetary economy is not the only way to happiness.

Above all, the economy of gifts symbolized by the alms bowl and the alms round allows for specialization, a division of labor, from which both sides benefit. Those who are willing can give up many of the privileges of home life and in return receive the free time, the basic support, and the communal training needed to devote themselves fully to Dhamma practice.

Those who stay at home can benefit from having full-time Dhamma practitioners around on a daily basis. The Buddha began the monastic order on the first day of his teaching career because he saw the benefits that come with specialization. Without it, the practice tends to become limited and diluted, negotiated into the demands of the monetary economy. The Dhamma becomes limited to what will sell and what will fit into a schedule dictated by the demands of family and job. In this sort of situation, everyone ends up poorer in things of the heart.

The fact that tangible goods run only one way in the economy of gifts means that the exchange is open to all sorts of abuses. This is why there are so many rules in the monastic code to keep monks from taking unfair advantage of the generosity of lay donors. There are rules against asking for donations in inappropriate circumstances, from making claims as to one's spiritual attainments, and even from covering up the good foods in one's bowl with rice, in hopes that donors will then feel inclined to provide something more substantial.

Periodically, throughout the history of Buddhism, the economy of gifts has broken down, usually when one side or the other gets fixated on the tangible side of the exchange and forgets the qualities of the heart that are its reason for being. Those who demand immediate return for specific services and goods will always require a monetary system.

Sincere Buddhist lay people, however, have the chance to play an amphibious role, engaging in the monetary economy in order to maintain their livelihood, and contributing to the economy of gifts whenever they feel so inclined. In this way they can maintain direct contact with teachers, ensuring the best possible instruction for their own practice, in an atmosphere where mutual compassion and concern are the medium of exchange, and purity of heart, the bottom line.

By Thanissaro Bhikku

adapted from Refuge: An Introduction to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha

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Krishna: Some Wise Words

There was this Hindu who saw a scorpion floundering around in the water. He decided to save it by stretching out his finger, but the scorpion stung him. The man still tried to get the scorpion out of the water, but the scorpion stung him again. A man nearby told him to stop saving the scorpion that kept stinging him. But the Hindu said “It is the nature of the scorpion to sting. It is my nature to love. Why should I give up my nature to love just because it is the nature of the scorpion to sting?”

Moral of the story – Don't give up loving; don't give up your goodness, even if the people around you sting.

Taken from Shree Prajapati Association

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Krishna: Bhagavad Gita

The speaker of Bhagavad-gita is Lord Sri Krishna.

TEXT 20

datavyam iti yad danam
diyate 'nupakarine
dese kale ca patre ca
tad danam sattvikam smrtam

TRANSLATION

Charity given out of duty, without expectation of return, at the proper time and place, and to a worthy person is considered to be in the mode of goodness.

PURPORT

In the Vedic literature, charity given to a person engaged in spiritual activities is recommended. There is no recommendation for giving charity indiscriminately. Spiritual perfection is always a consideration. Therefore charity is recommended to be given at a place of pilgrimage and at lunar or solar eclipses or at the end of the month or to a qualified brahmana or a Vaishnava (devotee) or in temples. Such charities should be given without any consideration of return. Charity to the poor is sometimes given out of compassion, but if a poor man is not worth giving charity to, then there is no spiritual advancement. In other words, indiscriminate charity is not recommended in the Vedic literature.

TEXT 21

 yat tu pratyupakarartham
phalam uddisya va punah
diyate ca pariklistam
tad danam rajasam smrtam

TRANSLATION

But charity performed with the expectation of some return, or with a desire for fruitive results, or in a grudging mood, is said to be charity in the mode of passion.

PURPORT

Charity is sometimes performed for elevation to the heavenly kingdom and sometimes with great trouble and with repentance afterwards: “Why have I spent so much in this way?” Charity is also sometimes given under some obligation, at the request of a superior. These kinds of charity are said to be given in the mode of passion.

There are many charitable foundations that offer their gifts to institutions where sense gratification goes on. Such charities are not recommended in the Vedic scripture. Only charity in the mode of goodness is recommended.

TEXT 22

adesa-kale yad danam
apatrebhyas ca diyate
asat-kritam avajnatam
tat tamasam udahrtam

TRANSLATION

And charity performed at an impure place, at an improper time, to unworthy persons, or without proper attention and respect is said to be in the mode of ignorance.

PURPORT

Contributions for indulgence in intoxication and gambling are not encouraged here. That sort of contribution is in the mode of ignorance. Such charity is not beneficial; rather, sinful persons are encouraged. Similarly, if a person gives charity to a suitable person but without respect and without attention, that sort of charity is also said to be in the mode of darkness.

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Moses: The Ten Commandments

1 Moses summoned all Israel and said: Hear, O Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. 2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 It was not with our fathers that the LORD made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today. 4 The LORD spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain. 5 (At that time I stood between the LORD and you to declare to you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:
6 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”
7 “You shall have no other gods before me.”
8 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”
11 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.”
12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.”
13 “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.”
16 “Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.”
17 “You shall not murder.”
18 “You shall not commit adultery.”
19 “You shall not steal.”
20 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.”
21 “You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor's house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

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Jesus: The Parable of the Good Samaritan

Luke 10: 25-37

25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 ”What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind;' and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'”
28 “ You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,' he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

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Summation Chart

Religious Leader/ Tradition	Civic Behavior Regarding Self	Civic Behavior Regarding Leaders (Humans or Gods)	Civic Behavior Regarding Neighbor	Civic Behavior Regarding Society in General	Common Civic Behaviors We See Stated
Moses
Jesus
Mohammed
Buddha
Krishna

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Rubric for Letter Writing

The first paragraph should restate the idea of civic behavior presented by the religious leader to whom the letter is addressed, and should state whether the student agrees or disagrees with the relevancy of that concept to today's society.

Paragraphs two and three should give specific reasons for the student's agreement or disagreement, and should use concrete examples from society that support or contradict the relevancy of the tradition's view of civic behavior. (For example, I disagree with the concept of Zakat because in the United States, while people are encouraged to share their time, talent and treasures, I think it would be unreasonable and unfair to specify an amount to be donated to charity. Many of the families in our country today are experiencing the effects of a sluggish economy, and there is barely enough money to cover necessities, let alone charity!)

Paragraph four should respectfully restate the writer's position and ask the religious leader to consider and respond to the opinions shared by the writer

Sample of Scoring Rubric for Letter Writing

1. This letter does not voice agreement or disagreement, or it does so only minimally. It does not accurately restate the religious position.

2. This letter states the religious position and the writer's agreement or disagreement. It does not relate the writer's opinion to concrete current realities.

3. This letter states the religious position and the writer's agreement or disagreement. The opinion is grounded in current situations. There is no conclusion.

4. This letter meets all the criteria and is logically and effectively written. It presents the author's opinion, relates it to current society and respectfully acknowledges the receiver's viewpoint. It requests consideration and response.

Academic Standards:

State/Country: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District Of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Washington DC Bermuda Alberta Standards Atlantic Canada Curriculum Standards British Columbia Standards Manitoba Standards New Brunswick (Atlantic CA Curriculum) Standards New Brunswick Standards Newfoundland and Labrador (Atlantic CA Curriculum) Standards Nova Scotia (Atlantic CA Curriculum) Standards Nova Scotia Standards Ontario Standards Prince Edward Island (Atlantic CA Curriculum) Standards Quebec Standards Saskatchewan Standards National Curriculum for England Australian Capital Standards New South Wales Standards Northern Territory Standards Queensland Standards South Australia Standards Tasmania Standards Victoria Standards Western Australia Standards

Philanthropy Framework: