There is a little thing the Buddha evidently said in the scriptures and if I am not mistaken it was to separate your money into four parts:
Two parts, 50% of it, you use for your daily life, you use for everything you need. One quarter you put aside for retirement, emergencies, everything else. And one quarter you give as charity. That's a big hunk, a lot of people today may not be able to afford that, but he gave a certain standard that you can use as a thought to kind of divide your money into what you can do yourself to do more to help other people.
Now, donations and charity and all, you know, it's a tricky little issue which a lot of people are very hesitant to dive into because they think, "Oh, no, I hurt myself if I give too much, this and that". Well, you have to look at that yourself, there is nothing that I can say to dictate what to do here. But look at yourself, look at what you do spend your money on. Think about some of the things that aren't so important that maybe, well, some of that money could go towards something else that will do some good for many more people.
As you all know Buddhism, Theravadin Buddhism in particular, is based on teachers not accepting money for their work. The monastery itself in Thailand doesn't take any payment, people don't come in and pay to have a room there, don't pay to use as the facilities there. We charge for the food because we have to for so many people, but in general many monasteries will not even charge for food cause it's only a hand full of people that are new each day.
Buddhism is based on this whole aspect because the teachings are something priceless. We give it because we got it free, why should we charge if we got it free? We're going to give it for free. But on a deeper level, of course, you understand that economics must happen and things must be taken care of. So as much as you want the teachings, you have to help support them, it's just part of the cycle of the teachings being passed on.
When you look at the word "donation" or the word "charity", think of what you are getting, and think of how much you want to help others to get the same thing. That helps a great deal to overcome some of the worry, "Oh, if I don't have enough I am going to suffer." So they are big questions for a lot of people, but when you look at it deeper you may find that you can actually do a bit more of whatever you are doing. And that in doing a bit more all you do is rearrange the money that you've got. Can you give a little bit more to others rather than just spending the money on things that may not be so important? It's interesting to work with and an important point is to remember that the Paramis start with Generosity.
A lot of people ask, "Are the Paramis in a certain order? Is there some reason that they are in the order that they are in?" We've never read that there is any reason and we can't figure a specific reason why, however, it has been written that Generosity is first because it is the easiest to do. That is interesting to think about, it is actually the easiest to do.