Once upon a time, there lived a lady named Nina. Her family was very poor and they struggled to put food on the table. Her father had left them when she was a baby. Despite living in such dire circumstances, Nina was strong-willed and had a pure heart. She admired the Buddha for his compassion and wisdom, and wished to follow him and his practices. 

 

One day, Nina was on her way to the market and walked past a temple. She saw people inside the temple paying respect to the Buddha, making offerings of food and candles. She thought to herself, “I wish I could make a lamp offering to the Buddha, but I have nothing to give. The Buddha’s teachings have helped so many people, if only I could practice and follow in his footsteps.” With that aspiration lingering in her mind, Nina went home.

 

On the way home, she walked past a bridge and heard the water flowing from the small river. As she looked down at the water, she noticed her own reflection. In her reflection on the water’s surface, she saw her long hair and immediately thought, “I know! I’ll cut my hair off and sell it. Then I’ll have money to buy an oil lamp, and I can make a lamp offering to the Buddha.” Right there and then, Nina cut off her hair, sold it, and used the money she earned to buy an oil lamp.

 

With her newly-bought lamp, Nina went to the temple, walked into the main shrine, and offered it to the Buddha. In good faith, she knelt in front of the Buddha and prayed, before carefully placing the lamp in front of him.

 

On the altar, hundreds of lavish and costly candles were lit, illuminating the whole shrine. In contrast, Nina’s lamp was small, plain and modest.  

 

“Excuse me, make way there!” said a wealthy woman, a benefactor who had supported the temple for many years and had offered all those expensive lamps. She looked at all the lamps on the altar, and with no hesitation began complaining, “Who lit this cheap oil lamp? How can it be an offering to the Buddha? Its place is outside, not here in front of the Buddha. It disgraces the setting of the shrine.”

 

A novice monk heard the heartless words from the wealthy woman and said, “If you knew the story of the poor lady who offered the lamp you speak of, you would not look down on her offering.”

 

Looking over and pointing at Nina, the novice monk continued, “This lamp was offered by Nina. She cut off and sold her hair, and bought that lamp with all the money she had to make this offering to the Buddha. This offering is everything that Nina has, body, heart, and mind.”

 

Just as the novice monk finished speaking, a huge gust of wind suddenly swept across the altar, and extinguished all the expensive candles offered by the benefactor. In this new darkness, only Nina’s lamp remained shining brightly. Seeing what just happened, the wealthy benefactor was shocked and moved. She approached Nina carefully and said, “My dear, I was wrong, please forgive my rudeness. I truly admire your inner beauty and compassion. Is there anything I can do for you?”

 

Nina, taken by surprise, simply shook her head and remained silent.

 

The benefactor continued, “What are your aspirations? What is it that you wish for? My own wish is to help you.”

 

Nina replied softly, “I am touched by the Buddha’s teachings, so I wish to follow the Buddha’s path and practice.”

 

Upon hearing Nina’s wishes, the benefactor replied, “That is a most noble aspiration. Very well, I will build a nunnery for you. And you won’t have to worry about a thing, I will have all essentials delivered to you daily, so you can focus on your practice.”

 

Before long, the nunnery was built and Nina moved in, diligently practicing the teachings of the Buddha each day.

 

On a particularly cold winter evening, a snowstorm swept through the nunnery. Nina was not distracted by the storm, and she continued her practice as usual. But suddenly, Nina’s mindful concentration was broken by the sound of something heavy hitting the front door. She got up, opened the door, and saw an old man lying in the doorway covered in snow. In a heartbeat, Nina was by the man’s side, “Are you all right?” She asked.

 

The old man was too weak to speak, and so Nina brought him inside. After making sure he was comfortable, Nina quickly made him a warm cup of tea and helped him settle down. Soon, the old man regained his energy and his wits. He slowly opened his eyes, looked at Nina, and softly said, “Thank you so much.”  

 

Nina took care of the old man for a few days. Through their conversations, Nina discovered that this old man was, in fact, her biological father. The old man told her that he had been looking for his lost daughter, as he had always felt ashamed in abandoning his family. In life’s journey of twist and turns, it was Nina’s actions that had led them to finally be reunited after all these years.

 

This story teaches us the true meaning behind the practice and act of giving. Offering a single penny does not mean it is a small offering. Likewise, offering thousands of dollars does not mean it is a generous offering.

 

What matters when giving is our mindset at that precise moment. If our efforts and aspirations when giving are sincere, unbelievable good causes and conditions will follow us, often when least expected. Just like Nina’s lamp offering, a sincere offering led to great merits. Even the strongest winds could not extinguish the flame from Nina’s humble offering. If we can leave behind our self-centered ways of living and replace them with compassionate acts of generosity, our good affinities will naturally flourish.

 

This story also provides insights into the meaning behind offering a lamp, or simply put, making a light offering. Symbolically, we have always seen fire as a source of life. In the darkness, shining a light is the instrument of our vision and bathes our surroundings with an energy that brings hope. For example, sitting around a campfire can provide the perfect atmosphere in which to tell stories that can greatly impact a person’s life. Therefore, Nina’s sincere light offering to the Buddha was symbolic of the light of life and hope that never fades away.

 

This inspires us to never overlook an opportunity to give, no matter how small it may seem to us or others. A mind of compassion and sincerity can profoundly move people even through the seemingly smallest of acts. Through giving, we can realize our true power of connecting with and serving others.    

 

Just as Venerable Master Hsing Yun says,

“Practicing generosity without reward is noble.

Practicing generosity without regret is to be praised.”