[1732] S. Is a gift (dāna) purified only by the recipient (paṭiggāhaka), and not by the donor (dāyaka)?
P. Yes.
S. Then is one person the doer for another? Is pleasure and pain (sukhadukkhaṃ) wrought by another, so that one person acts and another experiences?
P. It should not be said thus. …
S. Is a gift purified only by the donor, and not by the recipient?
P. Yes.
S. But was it not said by the Blessed One: "There are, Ānanda, these four purifications of offering (dakkhiṇāvisuddhi). Which four? There is, Ānanda, the offering (dakkhiṇā) that is purified by the donor, not by the recipient; there is, Ānanda, the offering that is purified by the recipient, not by the donor; there is, Ānanda, the offering that is purified neither by the donor nor by the recipient; there is, Ānanda, the offering that is purified both by the donor and by the recipient. And how, Ānanda, is an offering purified by the donor, not by the recipient? Here, Ānanda, the donor is virtuous, of good character, while the recipients are immoral, of evil character: it is in this way, Ānanda, that an offering is purified by the donor, not by the recipient. And how, Ānanda, is an offering purified by the recipient, not by the donor? Here, Ānanda, the donor is immoral, of evil character, while the recipients are virtuous, of good character: it is in this way, Ānanda, that an offering is purified by the recipient, not by the donor. And how, Ānanda, is an offering purified neither by the donor nor by the recipient? Here, Ānanda, the donor is immoral, of evil character, and the recipients too are immoral, of evil character: it is in this way, Ānanda, that an offering is purified neither by the donor nor by the recipient. And how, Ānanda, is an offering purified both by the donor and by the recipient? Here, Ānanda, the donor is virtuous, of good character, and the recipients too are virtuous, of good character: it is in this way, Ānanda, that an offering is purified both by the donor and by the recipient. These, Ānanda, are the four purifications of offering"¹ — does such a discourse (suttanta) indeed exist?
P. Yes.
S. In that case, it should not be said that a gift is purified only by the donor, and not by the recipient.
The Discussion of the Purification of Offerings (Dakkhiṇāvisuddhikathā).
¹ M. U. (Majjhima Nikāya, Uparipaṇṇāsaka) 421.
The Seventeenth Chapter (vagga).
Its summary (uddāna):
There is accumulation of merit for the Arahant; there is no untimely death for the Arahant;
all this is from kamma; only what is bound up with the faculties is suffering (dukkha);
setting aside the noble path, the remaining conditioned things (saṅkhārā) are suffering;
the Saṅgha accepts the offering; the Saṅgha purifies the offering;
the Saṅgha eats, drinks, chews, savours;
what is given to the Saṅgha has great fruit; the gift is purified.
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The Discussion of the Human World (Manussalokakathā)
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.