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If the perfection of generosity
Were the alleviation of the world’s poverty,
Then since beings are still starving now
In what manner did the previous Buddhas perfect it?

The perfection of generosity is said to be
The thought to give all beings everything,
Together with the fruit of such a thought.
Hence it is simply a state of mind.

-Santideva, "Bodhicaryavatara"

From "365 Buddha: Daily Meditations," edited by Jeff Schmidt. Reprinted by arrangement with Tarcher/Putnam, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc.

It is not good for all our wishes to be filled; through sickness we recognize the value of health; through evil, the value of good; through hunger, the value of food; through exertion, the value of rest.