Ānanda, there are these fourteen kinds of personal offerings (pāṭipuggalikā dakkhiṇā). What fourteen?
1. To a Fully Enlightened Buddha
tathāgate arahante sammāsambuddhe dānaṃ deti — ayaṃ paṭhamā pāṭipuggalikā dakkhiṇā.
One gives a gift to the Tathāgata, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Fully Enlightened Buddha — this is the first personal offering.
- This is considered the highest field of merit because a Sammāsambuddha has completely destroyed all defilements and discovers the Dhamma independently for the welfare of the world.
2. To a Paccekabuddha
paccekasambuddhe dānaṃ deti — ayaṃ dutiyā pāṭipuggalikā dakkhiṇā.
One gives a gift to a Paccekabuddha — this is the second personal offering.
- A Paccekabuddha attains enlightenment independently but does not establish a dispensation or teach the path widely like a Sammāsambuddha.
3. To an Arahant Disciple of the Buddha
tathāgatasāvake arahante dānaṃ deti — ayaṃ tatiyā pāṭipuggalikā dakkhiṇā.
One gives a gift to an arahant disciple of the Tathāgata — this is the third personal offering.
An arahant disciple has fully realized Nibbāna through following the Buddha’s teaching and has eradicated all mental defilements.
4. To One Practicing for Arahantship
arahattaphalasacchikiriyāya paṭipanne dānaṃ deti — ayaṃ catutthī pāṭipgalikā dakkhiṇā.
One gives a gift to one practicing for the realization of arahantship — this is the fourth personal offering.
- This refers to a noble disciple earnestly cultivating the path leading to full liberation.
5. To a Non-Returner (Anāgāmī)
anāgāmissa dānaṃ deti — ayaṃ pañcamī pāṭipuggalikā dakkhiṇā.
One gives a gift to a non-returner — this is the fifth personal offering.
- An Anāgāmī has eliminated sensual desire and ill will and will not return to the human world after death.
6. To One Practicing for Non-Returnership
anāgāmiphalasacchikiriyāya paṭipanne dānaṃ deti — ayaṃ chaṭṭhī pāṭipuggalikā dakkhiṇā.
One gives a gift to one practicing for the realization of non-returnership — this is the sixth personal offering.
- This person is cultivating the path toward becoming an Anāgāmī.
7. To a Once-Returner (Sakadāgāmī)
sakadāgāmissa dānaṃ deti — ayaṃ sattamī pāṭipuggalikā dakkhiṇā.
One gives a gift to a once-returner — this is the seventh personal offering.
- A Sakadāgāmī will return to the human realm only one more time before attaining liberation.
8. To One Practicing for Once-Returnership
sakadāgāmiphalasacchikiriyāya paṭipanne dānaṃ deti — ayaṃ aṭṭhamī pāṭipuggalikā dakkhiṇā.
One gives a gift to one practicing for the realization of once-returnership — this is the eighth personal offering.
- This refers to a practitioner cultivating the path leading to the Sakadāgāmī stage.
9. To a Stream-Enterer (Sotāpanna)
sotāpanne dānaṃ deti — ayaṃ navamī pāṭipuggalikā dakkhiṇā.
One gives a gift to a stream-enterer — this is the ninth personal offering.
- A Sotāpanna has entered the noble path and is guaranteed liberation within at most seven more lives.
10. To One Practicing for Stream-Entry
sotāpattiphalasacchikiriyāya paṭipanne dānaṃ deti — ayaṃ dasamī pāṭipuggalikā dakkhiṇā.
One gives a gift to one practicing for the realization of stream-entry — this is the tenth personal offering.
- This refers to a practitioner genuinely cultivating the Noble Eightfold Path toward the first stage of awakening.
11. To an Outsider Free from Sensual Lust
bāhirake kāmesu vītarāge dānaṃ deti — ayaṃ ekādasamī pāṭipuggalikā dakkhiṇā.
One gives a gift to an outsider who is free from sensual lust — this is the eleventh personal offering.
- This refers to non-Buddhist ascetics or practitioners who have attained high levels of detachment from sensual pleasures.
12. To an Ethical Ordinary Person
puthujjanasīlavante dānaṃ deti — ayaṃ dvādasamī pāṭipuggalikā dakkhiṇā.
One gives a gift to a virtuous ordinary person — this is the twelfth personal offering.
- Although not enlightened, a morally disciplined person is still considered a worthy field of merit.
13. To an Immoral Ordinary Person
puthujjanadussīle dānaṃ deti — ayaṃ terasamī pāṭipuggalikā dakkhiṇā.
One gives a gift to an immoral ordinary person — this is the thirteenth personal offering.
- Even giving to immoral people still produces merit because generosity itself has wholesome karmic value.
14. To an Animal
tiracchānagate dānaṃ deti — ayaṃ cuddasamī pāṭipuggalikā dakkhiṇā.
One gives a gift to an animal — this is the fourteenth personal offering.
- Acts of compassion toward animals are also meritorious, though the karmic fruit is comparatively smaller.
1. Giving to Animals
tatrānanda, tiracchānagate dānaṃ datvā sataguṇā dakkhiṇā pāṭikaṅkhitabbā.
And, Ānanda, having given a gift to an animal, a hundredfold return may be expected.
- Even acts of kindness toward animals generate merit in Buddhism. This highlights the value of compassion toward all living beings, regardless of their spiritual status.
2. Giving to an Immoral Ordinary Person
puthujjanadussīle dānaṃ datvā sahassaguṇā dakkhiṇā pāṭikaṅkhitabbā.
Having given a gift to an immoral ordinary person, a thousandfold return may be expected.
- Although the recipient lacks morality, the donor’s wholesome intention still produces merit. The emphasis is on the karmic power of generosity itself.
3. Giving to a Virtuous Ordinary Person
puthujjanasīlavante dānaṃ datvā satasahassaguṇā dakkhiṇā pāṭikaṅkhitabbā.
Having given a gift to a virtuous ordinary person, a hundred-thousandfold return may be expected.
- Virtue increases the worthiness of the recipient as a “field of merit” (puññakkhetta). Supporting morally disciplined people is therefore considered especially fruitful.
4. Giving to an Outsider Free from Sensual Lust
bāhirake kāmesu vītarāge dānaṃ datvā koṭisatasahassaguṇā dakkhiṇā pāṭikaṅkhitabbā.
Having given a gift to an outsider who is free from sensual lust, a return of many hundreds of thousands of millions may be expected.
- This refers to spiritually advanced non-Buddhist ascetics who have overcome sensual craving. The passage recognizes spiritual attainment even outside the Buddhist tradition.
5. Giving to One Practicing for Stream-Entry
sotāpattiphalasacchikiriyāya paṭipanne dānaṃ datvā asaṅkheyyā appameyyā dakkhiṇā pāṭikaṅkhitabbā.
Having given a gift to one practicing for the realization of stream-entry, an incalculable and immeasurable result may be expected.
- At this point, the merit surpasses numerical comparison. A practitioner genuinely cultivating the Noble Path becomes an extraordinarily fertile field of merit.
6. The Excellence of Higher Noble Attainments
ko pana vādo sotāpanne, ko pana vādo sakadāgāmiphalasacchikiriyāya paṭipanne, ko pana vādo sakadāgāmissa, ko pana vādo anāgāmiphalasacchikiriyāya paṭipanne, ko pana vādo anāgāmissa, ko pana vādo arahattaphalasacchikiriyāya paṭipanne, ko pana vādo arahante, ko pana vādo paccekasambuddhe, ko pana vādo tathāgate arahante sammāsambuddhe.
What then should be said of a stream-enterer?
What then should be said of one practicing for once-returnership?
What then should be said of a once-returner?
What then should be said of one practicing for non-returnership?
What then should be said of a non-returner?
What then should be said of one practicing for arahantship?
What then should be said of an arahant?
What then should be said of a Paccekabuddha?
What then should be said of the Tathāgata, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Fully Enlightened Buddha?
- This repeated expression (ko pana vādo — “what then should be said of…”) is a rhetorical device showing that the merit becomes increasingly beyond calculation as the spiritual purity of the recipient increases. The climax is the Buddha himself, regarded as the unsurpassed field of merit in the world.
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