In the Monday morning class this week, I was talking about giving as a countermeasure for greed and craving. At the end of the talk, I said "When we learn to give as caring and generous people give—we will no longer feel tired. And even if we feel tired when we begin helping, after a while we will find that giving makes us feel more alert, happy, and energetic."
A former teacher who had taught for thirty-eight years raised a question about burnout. I know that her intentions, as were the intentions of all the wonderful teachers I know, had been to help children, not to benefit oneself.
Her excellent question provided an opportunity to elaborate on giving, one of the three forms of which is teaching. When we teach skills in school or in other surroundings, we are sharing what we know with others. By not holding anything back and teaching wholeheartedly, we will help people improve their lives. Obviously, learning how to provide for themselves and for their families is very important. But, the time frame for the helpful results is limited to, at the most, the person's current lifetime.
From the Buddhist perspective, the highest form of teaching is to teach about causality and the ways to awaken. These teachings provide benefits that are far more encompassing because they can improve not just this lifetime, but future lifetimes as well.
When we give unconditionally and spontaneously, we are giving from our true nature: the nature that wishes for all people to end suffering and attain happiness—forever.
Giving from our true nature and knowing that our wish is to help people not just for one lifetime, but for many lifetimes, is truly energizing.