By a guest blogger.
We are all connected in mutual acts of kindness. We often think people are not kind unless they are trying to be nice to us in unselfish ways. But this is not true; a kindness is any act from which we derive benefit, irrespective of the other person’s motivation. In September 2006, the San Francisco Chronicle ran this story:
Socialite Paris Hilton thrilled a homeless man in Hollywood Tuesday night when she handed him a $100 bill. The cheeky beggar raced up to the wannabe singer’s car as she was leaving a McDonald’s and asked her for $100. A source says, “Paris reached down beside her and handed the man a crumpled $100 bill. She then stopped to pose for pictures with the homeless guy, who offered to wash her windows, before racing off.”
This beggar did not question the selflessness of Paris Hilton’s motivation before accepting the gift; he just appreciated having the $100 … In the same way, if we benefit in any way from the actions of others, then for us they are kind, irrespective of motivation.
I became an American citizen last year. Even pre-warned by my aunt, who had been at her own Ceremony a few months earlier, I still couldn’t quite believe that I teared up to Neil Diamond singing Coming to America. During the Ceremony you watch a film montage of faces of immigrants from the last 100 years – photos of travellers of all ages coming through Ellis Island to start again, to be reborn, with nothing in their pockets, but with a burning hope that their future will be a better place. (And due to the kindness of others, it often was.) I was struck by how all my enjoyments here in New York have arisen from the kindness of immigrants I never knew who built this city.
There is a walk in Manhattan you might enjoy sometime. It takes you from the Hudson River Park on the Lower West Side down to the Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park overlooking the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I sit there sometimes, looking out toward that iconic figure holding the flame of freedom in her outstretched hand, the symbol of opportunity, and meditating on just how lucky I am — on how every single cell of my body arises in dependence upon the kindness of others.
I woke this morning with a body conceived by my parents, and grown from enormous amounts of food provided by them and others. My parents also gave me my name, which I use all the time! As I slept, my head rested on a pillow made by someone I never knew in the Philippines, on sheets sown by Indians, under a duvet stitched together by Californians. People in Philadelphia filled my mattress. I stepped out of my bed to land on a rug woven by Tibetans in a house built by Americans in the 1920s. I drank Indian tea planted, grown and harvested by hundreds of workers, in a tea-cup designed by someone in China, stirred by silver spoons welded by people from Sheffield. I put on clothes fabricated by numerous people, all able to do it by being supported by numerous others, in Pakistan, Indonesia, America and England. And that was all in the first five minutes of my day! I greeted my neighbors in the English language created from the German and Romance languages, improved in large part by Chaucer and Shakespeare, carried down through countless generations, and gradually taught to me by many different caregivers. I commuted to the library to work on sidewalks laid by others, avoiding cars by following traffic lights invented by others. Others created my job and the demand for my work, and even the money I earn for my labors was invented and printed by others. For entertainment this weekend I might check out a movie, which if I bother to stay and watch the credits I will see was produced by a team of thousands. I will also read a Buddhist book that has come to me by some miracle from generations of wise Teachers who practiced these teachings and so kept them alive for me today.
I live in a body and a world constructed entirely from others’ kindness. Precisely what did I do to create the necessities and comforts of the world I enjoy moment by moment? Almost nothing. If I had to give back everything others have given me, what would I have left? Nothing at all.
Do I remember that I live in a world created by the kindness of others? My answer is, “Yes, I will try to, now, today, and always.”
Being confident
As well as increasing my feelings of gratitude, I find this meditation makes me confident – I don’t feel the need to go grasping at friends because I feel full of love already. And I think it can also have the side effect of helping us become popular! It is an awful irony that when we are lonely and desperately need a friend, our loneliness can give off an unattractive energy that makes a lot of people uninterested in coming anywhere near us. We seem like altogether too much hard work. Conversely, when we look like we can take it or leave it, we have that genuine air of confidence that makes us irresistible.
Postscript: I asked a friend for this article as I have been traveling a lot recently and unable to blog. I’m pleased I did, as I really like it. Please feel welcome to contribute articles yourself, sharing your own experiences of putting meditation into practice in daily life.
Over to you: Do you live in a world of kindness?
14 Comments
I do need reminding of this. Every day, really.
Yes, me too 😀
I love and patiently wait for every new posting and sharing of Dharma! Truly inspiring. Thank you.
I love this article, brought a smile to my face! Thank you!
What a wonderful and detailed reminder for all of us. Thank you for your kindness in sharing this! Love to all.
Thank you!
What a fantastic article – love it! Today is also my mother’s birthday, so it’s clear Geshe-la is reminding me about the kindness of others at the moment. Very kind of Luna too to inspire us with this wonderful blog. Thank you! 🙂
We truly are all connected in a web of kindness, aren’t we. Beautiful.
Oh boy do I ever live in a world of kindness! Problem is with all this kindness and wonderful conditions I am never satisfied. If good karma ripens I want more and if bad karma ripens I want less. Best thing of all, I have my practice with my guru at my heart and I have my best friend’s shoulder to cry on and teachers who have taught me to cherish others more than myself. I am totally attached to my new iPhone made by others which helps me stay connected to 895 other Dharma practitioners I have never met who help me immensely. Thanks for the post very inspiring!
wake each morning and give thanks that i am still alive and
resolve to enjoy this day,and be nice to everybody
this works for me…..
but then i am an old git (in usa i think this is called a senior)
it works for any age…
Yes it’s so true – if we had to give back everything that has been given to us, we would be left with nothing – not even a body!
I love this article. It strikes TRUE. I’ll be sharing it with everyone I can including Oprah and Obama!
Hi Sheila! 😉
Heartfelt description of dependent related phenomena