Journal of Buddhist Ethics 163 163 Ethics Across Generations: The Structure of Śrāddha Donald R. Davis, Jr. 18 Śrāddha refers to an ancient and complex system of rituals honoring one’s ancestors, especially in Hindu communities. The principal elements of a śrāddha are the feeding of Brahmins, who consume food offerings in place of a sacred fire (āhāvanīya), and the offering of rice-balls (piṇḍa) to the an- cestors (Kane 406, 481-82). These two acts ritually construct generations in the spatial and temporal senses, respectively. A spatial or horizontal connection is made with the Brahmin invitees and a temporal or vertical connection is made with three prior generations of ancestors. By definition then, śrāddha is a transgenerational project in Hal- lisey’s sense because the rite revolves around the obligations owed by later generations to earlier ones. For Hallisey, transgenerational projects are characterized by “onwardness,” a shared caring for the past that pushes one to maintain actions and institutions across generations. In de- scribing the Sasana, the Buddhist community and its textual canon, Hal- lisey writes: Each generation benefits from the act of care for the Sasana that was done in the past, but the recognition of that care 18 University of Texas at Austin.