Charity is the act of giving performed with the intention of enlightening sentient beings, when they have observed the performance of such acts. At least for this author, I had not realized that only until recently. Therefore, when we perform charity, we are distributing what we do not need to others who need it more, in hopes that when others around us see the act they would understand the meaning behind it; and thus inspire them to follow suit. At the mere mention of charity, the thought that immediately comes to mind is the donation of money. However, there is more than just money we can donate to charity. Money just happens to be the most convenient and easily accessible. There are actually 3 different kinds of charity.
Monetary Charity
This is the most widely used and most popular form of charity. Everyone always have some money on them, whether its just small change or big dollar bills. It is also the most convenient because you could just give and move on to your next daily routine, or your next errand.
Charity of Time and Energy
This form of charity is less popular as it requires one to "sacrifice" their time and energy. Something most of us are finding short on in this modern society. An example of such a form is charity is Volunteerism. Like when one donates their time and energy into helping a charitable organization to help them in their daily responsibilities of performing their function. Such work may not mean direct involvement into what they do, but it could be just simply being present to help clean up their office, perform some light administrative duties, volunteering as a chauffeur, or even just being the errand boy/girl. Just helping someone else do something is also an example such a form of charity. Like helping someone who has fallen up, helping to babysit your neighbor's, or relative's children are also instances of this kind of charity.
Charity of Knowledge
This is where one shares knowledge and wisdom with others. When you teach someone how to do something, or perform a task, and asking for nothing in return, that is charity. Instances of this would be when a friend teaches you how to do your homework, or a colleague passes you tips on how to better perform a task.
However, all three forms of charity are practiced, when one donates money to help defray the costs of printing religious scriptures, or generally books/booklets/pamphlets/etc that help to enlighten the public so that they may gain wisdom (not referring to information pertaining to the materialistic domain/s, but more of information that will help enlighten one's soul, thus gaining profound wisdom and understanding). In donating money for the printing, one has fulfilled the Practice of Monetary Charity. In turn, it also means that you have also enabled the people involved to be able to go ahead and print the literature in question. That is the Practice of Charity of Time and Energy. Finally, when the literature has been disseminated to readers, people will be able to gain the wisdom contained in the literature. Thus, fulfilling the Practice of Charity of knowledge. The merits accrued from this act of charity is immeasurable.
Lastly, there is another form of charity I would like to mention - Vegetarianism. Many Buddhists believe that to be a true disciple of the religion, one would have to go vegan. That belief if questionable at best. The true meaning of vegetarianism has been lost through the passage of time because those people did not truly practice Buddhism. The Buddha teaches all to question what was being taught to understand the teachings better. When questioned about the practicality of his teachings, he goes so far as to tell doubters to try his teachings out first, then make a decision for themselves after. So, if those who claimed that one of the reasons for being a Vegetarian is because you are a Buddhist, you have the wrong idea. The reason for Buddhist some Buddhist being a vegetarian is because they are practicing the Charity of Time and Energy. From the Buddhists' perspective : "I give up eating meat such that sentient beings need not have to give up their life for my enjoyment." (The sentient beings here refer to all the animals on land, and all the animal life forms that live in the water, that have to give their life so that all humans can have food on their table.) The westerners have the right idea when they speak of becoming a vegan. Of course, not everyone gives up eating meat for religious reasons.
(Note : In Buddhist Vegetarianism, it is a widely practiced to not eat Onions, Garlic, or anything that belongs the same family of vegetables. The reason this came about is due to the fact that veges just as Onions and Garlic can stimulate the production of certain hormones. These hormones can cause one to have difficulty focusing while practicing meditation. Hence, the reason why Buddhist Monks do not eat them. And thus the reason for the wide spread practice in the lay follower community. Such veges are actually GOOD for our immune system. It helps arrest harmful bacteria inside us.)
