Nature teaches man to do good. It brings home this lesson in an effortless manner. The sun shines daily on the clock and gives light and heat, the cool winds blow, trees grow and give flowers and fruits, the plants grow and bless us with vegetables and greens, animals give us milk. The list is endless. Mother Earth and Nature teach us lessons on giving without seeking rewards. We are used to receiving these gifts and grace from our birth and we rarely ponder on the lessons they teach us. Let us look into them with awareness and learn about the blessings of giving.
Man is a spark of God. We are souls having a temporary human existence. It is our basic nature to be loving, compassionate and helpful. We give of ourselves and our things spontaneously as children. As we grow older, we learn to restrain ourselves. Expectations and ego come into play and we question our need to give. We wish to give when someone is watching and praises us. We do good acts only when we can earn huge good karma. We postpone our goodness and wait for occasions when we can give large charity or donate in such a way that our name is eternally glorified. And in waiting for the right moment, our lives are over and nothing is done or gained. This incident is a lesson from Buddha about doing small acts and collecting goodness throughout our lives. Every drop of goodness matters!
Once, Buddha and his monks came to a particular neighbourhood. One of the men who lived there liked to do charitable acts. When he heard that Buddha had arrived with his monks, he invited them to his home for a meal. Being kind hearted and generous, he wanted everyone to have a share in the merit of the offering food to Buddha. So he invited all his neighbours to join in the offerings, even his rich, miserly and selfish neighbour. The day before the great event, the kind man went around and collected happily whatever food his neighbours wished to contribute towards the meal for Buddha and the monks. The rich miser saw him going around and cursed him. If the man did not have enough means he should not invite Buddha over for a meal. It was not right to invite a great person like Buddha and then go begging for provisions from all.
When the kind neighbour came to his door, the rich miser donated a little salt, honey and butter. The kind neighbour accepted them gladly and kept them aside from other provisions which he had collected in charity. The rich miser was confused and wondered why his miserly contribution was purposely kept aside. He thought that his kind neighbour was trying to humiliate him by showing everyone that he had given a small contribution. So he sent one of his servants to investigate. Back at his home, the kind neighbour took the things that the rich miser had given and divided them among the pots of rice, curries and sweets in order to enhance their flavour. When the servant reported his findings to the master, the rich miser still doubted his neighbour’s good intentions.
The next day was the day of the feast. Buddha and his group had arrived and were ready for food. The rich miser was also present and had a dagger hidden under his coat. He planned to kill his neighbour in case the man planned to make shameful remarks about his miserliness. After all the food was served on the plates and before the meal began, the kind neighbour bowed before Buddha and said: O Noble one, the food offered to you here is not just from me alone. It is contributed by all the people in the neighbourhood. Everyone has given something, large or small but each person has given with faith, love and generosity. So bless us that we all gain equal merit.
The rich miser was ashamed of himself when he heard his kind neighbour speak and seek blessings for all. He realised that he had committed a great mistake. He fell at the feet of his neighbour and sought forgiveness. When Buddha heard the words of the rich miser and learned the reason for them, he said to all the people there: Do whatever good you can every time you can. Do not wait for the right time to do a big good. Make a habit of doing small good deeds regularly and in the long run they will accumulate and become big.
Let us not waste our lives waiting for the perfect time to do a big good deed. Let go the thought that small good deeds do not matter. Let go the feeling that little things do not matter. Just like a bucket is filled with water drop by drop, we must be wise and accumulate goodness little by little by doing good whenever we can. Let us start this journey of doing goodness to self and others by chanting SitaRam, meditation and following the teachings of the Guru.
