The Buddha Shakyamuni gave up his luxurious lifestyle in the royal palace and started doing a completely different way of living ––– alms round on the streets of towns and villages. Giving out is a way of practicing renunciation of one's attachment to various things, both materially and spiritually. Buddhism points out there is a strong bond between renunciation and happiness. The more you give out, the happier you will become. If one gives out with the mind of Bodhicitta of Mahayana Buddhism, he or she lives up to the name of the great patron.
