Can Offerings Be Made to a Monk Who Violates Precepts?

All sentient beings can be recipients of offerings, including monks who violate precepts. Even offering to cats, dogs, fish, or birds yields hundredfold merits—how much more so for humans? A transgressing monk is, first, a human; second, a monk; and third, one who has broken precepts. Offering to such a monk still yields thousandfold merits. Monks themselves offer food to ghosts and spirits—how much more appropriate is it for laypeople to offer to a transgressing monk? Even a monk who violates precepts possesses far more blessings and virtue than animals or hungry ghosts. Offering to them yields merits vastly greater than those gained from offering to animals or hungry ghosts. All people can make offerings without exception, including extremely evil individuals like Hitler. However, providing tools or funds that enable evildoers to create unwholesome karma results in shared karmic retribution. Offering basic necessities like food and clothing, on the other hand, is permissible.

The Influence of Environment Should Not Be Overlooked

The constraining and permeating influence of environment is immense. At times, an individual’s power of wholesome karma, blessings, and wisdom may be insufficient to resist or break free from environmental influences. One might still be unconsciously, subtly influenced and permeated without self-awareness, ultimately becoming assimilated. If assimilated by wholesome Dharma, that is acceptable—but if assimilated by unwholesome Dharma, it increases the defilements and afflictions of ignorance within one’s mind, further binding one to the karmic obstacles of birth and death. Therefore, the environment in which a person lives is crucial.

Environments in the secular world are generally defiled, with very few being pure. This is because sentient beings’ habitual tendencies of affliction are extremely heavy, nearly ingrained, and constantly manifest greed, hatred, and delusion. Environments within the Buddhist community are mixed—both defiled and pure—but defilement far outweighs purity in proportion and influence. Many cannot discern whether their environment is predominantly defiled or pure, perceiving only surface phenomena. Some, after beginning Buddhist practice, join groups heavily influenced by afflictions and defilements. They experience significant negative influence, their afflictions worsening with practice, yet they remain unaware. Such practice is perilous. If sentient beings’ afflictions are slight, enabling them to transcend worldly attachments and remain unaffected, they might preserve their initial aspiration for Buddhist practice. The greatest danger lies in Buddhist environments heavily saturated with defilement and potent influence—these most easily cause practitioners to lose awareness and vigilance, unconsciously engaging in defiled actions.