Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: On the Superiority of Giving
Maitreya–Vyāsa Exemplum
शुभानां नाभिजानामि कृतानां कर्मणां फलम् | माता च पूजिता वृद्धा ब्राह्मणश्वार्चितो मया
śubhānāṃ nābhijānāmi kṛtānāṃ karmaṇāṃ phalam | mātā ca pūjitā vṛddhā brāhmaṇaś cārcito mayā ||
ແມງນ້ອຍນັ້ນກ່າວວ່າ: “ຂ້ອຍຍັງບໍ່ໄດ້ຮັບຮູ້ໂດຍກົງເຖິງຜົນຂອງກຳດີທີ່ເຄີຍເຮັດ. ແຕ່ຂ້ອຍເຄີຍເຄົາລົບບູຊາ ແລະປະຄອງຮັກສາແມ່ຊະລາ, ທັງຍັງໄດ້ຕ້ອນຮັບແຂກພຣາຫມັນຢ່າງສົມຄວນ. ໂອ ພຣາຫມັນ! ໂດຍອານຸພາບແຫ່ງບຸນນັ້ນ ຄວາມຈື່ຈຳເຖິງຊາດກ່ອນຂອງຂ້ອຍຈຶ່ງບໍ່ຈາກໄປຈົນທຸກມື້ນີ້.”
कीट उवाच
Even seemingly simple acts of dharma—revering one’s aged mother and honoring a worthy guest (especially a Brahmin)—generate puṇya whose effects may not be immediately visible, yet can shape one’s destiny profoundly, even preserving awareness of past-life experience.
An insect speaks reflectively about its prior life: it cannot point to obvious worldly rewards from past good deeds, but recalls having served its elderly mother and having respectfully received a Brahmin guest; it attributes its continuing memory of the former birth to the power of that merit.