The Dakkhineyyabuggala is one who is worthy of Dakkhina -gifts that one believes in cause and effect and then devotes.
When Buddhists understand clearly the reason and result that such an action is the cause bringing in delight, such an action is the cause bringing in woe; then they will wish to complete only the cause of gladness. Concerning the cause of gladness, in Buddhism, the Lord Buddha decreed that “sukkho puññassa uccayo the act of accumulating merit is the cause of gladness.” To collect merit, Buddhists must discern what merit and what causes of merit are, only then they can complete that merit. The word “merit” here means that quality always clarifies the mind, that quality is called “merit”.
Further explanation is that the human mind is always clear depending on the power of all sorts of good actions; and conversely, it is always gloomy regarding the power of all types of evil actions. In the course of human and animal lives, the mind is the leader or the chief commander, Whenever the mind is clear; pure, and standing amongst goodness, always commands to do good through bodily and mental works, but whenever the mind is gloomy; impure and standing amidst badness, always commands to do bad via bodily and mental works without exemption.
Merit has ten kinds of causes, i.e. giving alms, maintaining morality, improving goodness, respect such as salutations and the like, trying pleasingly to serve in meritorious works, introducing and teaching Buddha talks, paying attention to learning and listening to Buddha talks respectfully, sharing goodness that one has already completed to others, taking delight with goodness which has been completed by others as by one’s own-self, and straightening one’s own understanding.
When knowing what merit and what the causes of merit are, Buddhists always wish to make merit complete properly. Merit that can be completed properly is caused by one who performs in accordance with all the above-mentioned causes; because in the world there is no other cause that can make merit complete properly.
Performing merit in accordance with the causes of merit such as alms-giving and the rest, Buddhists always need to seek one who is worthy of gifts to perform merit with. As for one who is worthy of gifts -who is appropriate for performing merit with and who can make merit that one performs completely efficiently, the Buddha expounded in Dukkhinävibhangasutta as the Order of Buddhist Monks by the remark that: “Tathagata utter that Sanghagatadakkhinãdãna (gifts that one believes in cause and effect and then gives to the Order) produces innumerable and immeasurable consequences, Tathagata never utter that Patipuggaladana (gifts that one gives to individual) produces many more consequences than Sanghagatadakkhinãdãna by any expositions.”
The Order of Buddhist Monks, if we talk about the attributes of the Order, consists of two kinds, i.e. the Order of conventional monks and the Order of holy monks. The Order of Conventional Monks comprises Bhikkhus, Bhikkhunis, Samaneras, Samaneris who are all ordained monks. The Order of holy monks consists of eight groups of holy men such as the one realizing the path of stream-entry as the first and the one realizing the fruition of holiness as the last. But the Order, in the above-mentioned remark, refers to the Order of conventional monks, not to the Order of holy monks.
As for Sanghagatadakkhinãdãna, the great teacher gave further details that there are seven kinds, i.e. one gives alms to a pair of conventional monks such as the order of monks and order of nuns; and the Lord Buddha as the head is one, after the great demise of the Lord, one gives alms to a pair of conventional monks is one, gives alms only to the order of monks is one, gives alms only to the order of nuns is one, one goes to invite from the Order that please send this quantity of Bhikkhus, this quantity of Bhikkhunis from the community of monks to us and then gives alms is one, one goes to invite from the Order that please send this quantity of Bhikkhus from the community of monks to us and then gives alms is one, one goes to invite from the Order that please send this quantity of Bhikkhunis from the community of monks to us and then gives alms is one.
As for Patipuggaladana, the Lord illustrated that there are fourteen kinds, i.e. one gives aims to the Fully Enlightened Buddha is one, gives alms to the Independently Enlightened Buddha is one, gives alms to the holy followers of the Tathagata is one, gives alms to one who is practising to realize the fruition of holiness is one, gives alms to the non- returner is one, gives alms to one who is practising to realize the fruition of non-return is one, gives alms to the once-returner is one, gives alms to one who is practising to realize the fruition of once-return is one, gives alms to the stream-winner is one, gives alms to one who is practising to realize the fruition of stream- winning (such as one who takes refuge in the triple gem, one who retains the five precepts, the eight precepts etc. and the ordained monks in Buddhism) is one, gives alms to the recluse outside Buddhism who is far from sensuality is one, give alms to ordinary man who retains moral precepts is one, gives alms to ordinary man who does not retain moral precepts is one, gives alms to animal is one.
