Act of Goodness Contributes to Practice
~ By Ajahn Jayasāro ~
May 1977. I’d just crossed over the Khyber Pass between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and was standing at the side of the road trying to hitch a ride to Kabul when a taxi stopped. In its back seat were sat a couple of well-dressed Westerners. I guessed from their pony tails that they must be Hare Krishna devotees. Get in, they said with warm smiles, and I did.
They said they were businessmen from San Francisco. They’d been buying up handicrafts in Peshawar and were returning to their base at the Kabul Hilton. I think I was as exotic a figure to them as they were to me, but nevertheless we chatted almost non-stop on the long journey. By the time we reached the outskirts of Kabul we were good friends. To them my life seemed unimaginably austere and as we parted one of them insisted I accept a small gift. It was a 50 dollar bill – a treasure to me at that time.
As the taxi pulled away I made a vow. If that day I met another traveller who needed this money more than me, I would give it to them. I sat down in a teashop and within minutes a young Englishman entered. He looked worried and drawn. When I asked him if he was okay he told me that he had just been robbed of his money and all his possessions. I gave him the bill without regret.
We’re all done things we’re proud of. The memory of them and the emotions they evoke can become a powerful meditation technique. The Buddha said that bringing to mind ones acts of generosity brings gladness to the mind. Gladness leads to rapture, rapture to a deep physical ease and mental bliss. Bliss leads to the samādhi that forms the foundation for seeing things in their true life. It is wonderful to see how every act of goodness can contribute to the Buddha’s path of practice.
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"Food for the Heart", a series of Dhamma teachings handwritten weekly is posted on the Buddhadāsa Indapañño Archives page with Ajahn's kind permission.
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For other teachings by Ven. Ajahn Jayasāro, please visit the Panyaprateep Foundation website.
