Giving Without Strings – Thomas Merton

An old master went from India to China to see the emperor, who was already a Buddhist. The emperor said to the Zen master: “I have built temples, put up pagodas, and started monasteries. What is my reward?” And the master replied: “You don’t get any. There’s no reward for you.” The emperor was all shook up, thought about it, and after a while realized what was meant. If you need something else as a reward, your giving is a fiction. — The Springs of Contemplation