Dana is essentially the practice of non-grasping, non-greed or letting go. The problem comes in the practice of generosity when we have expectations.
In the practice of giving, it is just to give; our part is just to give; and if we have expectations of where it will go, how it will be used or how it would be received, the expectation is another form of greed. It interferes with the spirit of non-greed; and that’s why it starts to feel difficult.
Generosity is a great practice for watching our minds, for seeing what is in our minds because we look in our minds and see the wish to give and it has to be given freely. If you start noticing thoughts that wander what’s happening to what we give, then we can see why it is getting difficult to practice generosity.
Generosity is only about the side of giving, but we’re starting to think about expectations.