Abstract
In the present context, there are approximately 200 elderly homes in Sri Lanka. These are private homes run mostly by philanthropic actors, except for four governmental institutions, which depend on neighbouring supporters for the daily provision of free meals and other equipments. This is referred to as ‘dana’, and it also accompanies memorial service by the inmates for the deceased kin of the donors. The practice of dana in philanthropic elderly homes is the central focus of this article. Previous studies on Theravada Buddhist dana mainly focused on the gift from the lay to the sangha (Order of Monks), and they argued that giving to the sangha can accrue a good deal of merit because they are the ideal ‘field of merit’. According to these studies, dana to the Needy was not so meritorious owing to the recipient's dubious moral status. However, the practice of dana in philanthropic elderly homes suggests a somewhat different understanding. Although donors pity inmates, they are at times ideally involved, interested, and deeply moved by giving a gift to them, thereby displaying a feeling of esteem and respect towards them. This face-to-face encounter with the donor in turn seems to cultivate moral virtues in the inmates to be worthy of the gift. Dana accrues merit not only because of an intrinsic moral virtue of the recipient but also through the encounter between both participants that turns them into moral agents, even in the context of charitable giving.
