When we think of generosity, what usually comes to mind is giving to the impoverished and destitute, perhaps in some far, dusty country. Also, we are especially generous during the Christmas season, and might even give to our church regularly. During the year, we may donate to various charities, give gifts to our relatives and friends, and in general feel good about ourselves and how we share what we have with others.

But is this the generosity that Christ and the Buddha hinted at when they both suggested that their disciples give up everything, including family, friends, and possessions, and follow them? This would leave the disciple with nothing but faith to go on.

Perhaps these two great men knew that to give up less than everything indicates a hesitancy, a concern about one’s own welfare, and that indecisive people could never find the courage to go where Christ and the Buddha went. So the test of giving up everything is a compassionate one, because those who lack the courage and faith to give up everything are better advised to remain in the world and take care of their families and possessions.

Giving up one’s family and home is unthinkable in this day and age, and the immense effort and years of work involved to accomplish these things cannot be lightly considered or disregarded, even if we understand that we will lose them when we die. If we did walk away from these things now, we would create such a tremendous hole in our lives that we might become mentally unbalanced.

We depend upon these things for our security to such a degree that they become our entire existence, and God, or whatever we believe to be the ineffable, play second fiddle. We like to think that God is the center of our lives, but if that was so, we could easily walk away from everything else, and follow Him. Couldn’t we?

But we can’t; we hold on to what we have, and well meaning spokespeople of God even inspire us to increase our wealth these days, fearful that we might become beggars, such as the Buddha and Christ, because they misunderstand completely what Christ and the Buddha was trying to say. Christ was enlightened, and very few that followed him could claim likewise.

Unenlightened followers build religions and empires, and accumulate wealth. They could never experience or teach the complete freedom that Christ and the Buddha pointed to, and therefore, the true teachings become cleverly skewed. An authentic disciple of Christ would have nothing to do with modern day religions. A real disciple would be hated and scorned by contemporary churches, no different than the way Rome treated Christ.

This is how it has always been. Those pointing to truth, loving truth above all else, are scorned by those who love the world. And since the voices of those loving truth are quiet, the loud voices of the unenlightened drown them out easily, and the truth becomes twisted as it is now. Today, untruth is seen as truth, and wealth is seen as virtue. The world has everyone by the throat as it has since the beginning of mankind.

But here is the truth, if you choose to hear it: Only when we are left with nothing, does God, or the ineffable come into our lives. And once this happens, we can no longer accumulate wealth because the needs of others become greater than our own needs. Our “self” has now disappeared, and there is only the other.

Whatever it is that we cling to is not the ineffable, and what we cling to will color our existence in the next world. But what will this next existence portend?

John 12:25.

“He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”

E. Raymond Rock of Fort Myers, Florida is cofounder and principal teacher at the Southwest Florida Insight Center, http://www.SouthwestFloridaInsightCenter.com His twenty-eight years of meditation experience has taken him across four continents, including two stopovers in Thailand where he practiced in the remote northeast forests as an ordained Theravada Buddhist monk. His book, A Year to Enlightenment (Career Press/New Page Books) is now available at major bookstores and online retailers. Visit http://www.AYearToEnlightenment.com