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Training Ourselves in Generosity.
Buddha instructed the rich householder to begin by thinking of his two hands - right and left - as being separate and disconnected; then he told him to practice generosity by taking a coin in his right hand

 and giving it to his left. Once the householder learned to part with a small coin, from one pocket to another, from one hand to another, the Buddha told him to experiment with larger sums of money. Eventually the man began to cultivate letting go, generosity and nonattachment. As he became accustomed to parting with the money, the Buddha told him to soften his hardened heart and better use his riches by making gifts - first small, then larger - of his money and possessions to family members, then to friends, and finally to beggars and strangers. Through this practice of dana -giving- this man became much happier, freer, more content, and beloved by all.
~ Lama Surya Das