As said on the homepage, BuddhaBadges is a little not-for-profit charity-drive art project aimed at selling 1"inch punk badges for a dollar each to help raise donation money for some good causes. 90% of our sales will be donated monthly to one of these causes, where the other 10% will go toward materials to make more pins!
Chock full of Buddhist imagery and meaning, the purchasing of these not only help you practice the Paramita of Generosity (especially if you buy a few and give them to your buddies) but also the Bhrama Vihara of Compassion since you know your hard earned dollars will be donated to those in need. Furthermore, as we are trying to reach a goal for each chartity, patience is also a skill to be practiced as it may take a more than a two weeks to get your badges to you.
Also, if someone says "What's that cool badge you got there?" you can also spread a little Dharma wisdom to your pals! And that, my friends, is worth more merit than helping any old lady cross the street or getting a neighbors cat out of a tree.
The Paramita of Gerosity (Dana Paramita)*
This paramita is the enlightened quality of generosity, charity, giving, and offering. The essence of this paramita is unconditional love, a boundless openness of heart and mind, a selfless generosity and giving which is completely free from attachment and expectation. From the very depths of our heart, we practice generously offering our love, compassion, time, energy, and resources to serve the highest welfare of all beings.
Our giving should always be unconditional and selfless; completely free of any selfish desire for gratitude, recognition, advantage, reputation, or any worldly reward. The perfection of generosity is not accomplished simply by the action of giving, nor by the actual gift itself. Rather, the true essence of this paramita is our pure motivation of genuine concern for others—the truly generous motivation of the awakened heart of compassion, wisdom, and love.
We do this selflessly, without counting the cost to ourselves. We practice the perfection of generosity in an especially powerful way when we embrace all living beings continually in the radiant love of our heart.
The Brahma-Vihara of Compassion (Karuna)**
Compassion is the ability to feel the distress or pain of others as if it were one’s own. The most noticeable feature of the Buddha’s personality was his compassion and this compassion was not just something he felt for others or that they felt in his presence, it was also the motive for much of what he said and did.
The Buddha visited and comforted the sick ‘out of compassion’(Anguttara Nikaya 3. 378), he taught the Dhamma ‘out of compassion’ (Anguttara Nikaya 3. 167). Once he said that his very reason for being was ‘for the good of the many, for the happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world, for the welfare, the benefit and the happiness of gods and humans’ (Anguttara Nikaya 2. 146).
Compassion is the second of the four Brahma Viharas and was more highly praised by the Buddha than any other virtues because it is the root of so many other virtues. The Jatakamala says, ‘Compassion gives birth to all the other virtues just as cooling rain makes the crops grow. When a person is compassionate he has no desire to harm his neighbour, his body, speech and mind are purified, concern for one’s neighbour’s welfare increases and states like kindness, patience, happiness and good reputation grow. Being calm, the compassionate person does not arouse fear in the minds’ of others, he is trusted like a kinsman, he is not agitated by the passions, and quenched by the waters of compassion, the fire of hatred does not blaze in his heart... Remembering this strive to develop compassion towards others, as if they were yourself or your offspring.’
