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Generosity can play a crucial role in the process of enlightenment. As much as being the very key that opens it, so its importance should not be overlooked.
Generosity can bring merit and this merit will be given by two factors, one on the side of the giver and the other on the side of the receiver and they are the quality of the act of giving itself and the quality of the one who receives it.
On the side of the donor.
It is evident that to practice "this is not me, this is not mine, over this I have no control" is to give that which could be considered valuable and which would be difficult to let go of, and to give it without any kind of reservation. This practice of detachment is a practice that can be carried out on a daily basis.
One aspect to consider is that it is more difficult for a rich person to let go of something than for a poor person. The rich are rich because they struggle not to let go of anything, unlike the poor. Therefore, the rich will have more merit than the poor in donating the same object.
On the recipient's side.
It has been said that even the worst vermin are generous to their young. The act of giving by itself, therefore, does not indicate the nature of the merit.
It has often happened that an act of generosity causes personal humiliation in the receiver, since the giver places himself above the receiver, generating an undesirable reaction. It is not for nothing that it is said that every good deed receives its deserved punishment. That is why you have to give to someone who is superior to you, who belongs to a higher caste. In this way, there is no affront.
There are two types of human beings, the ordinary ones who lack caste, and the noble ones who have attained one of the four degrees of enlightenment: those who entered the stream, the one-returners, the non-returners, and the perfected or Worthy. The higher the caste, the more merit it brings. The highest merit is to give to a Sammasambuddha, and the explanation is obvious, to donate one must approach the Master who is the key that unlocks the process of enlightenment, which is not only the ultimate goal but constitutes the only activity considered acceptable.
If you give with joy, and to a Sammasambuddha you can obtain the master key that will take you out of the bondage of Samsara.
And it is not so far away.
Be attentive.