I have been inspired by the Mindful in May campaign, which asks participants to do mindfulness meditation for ten minutes a day for the month of May and then give to the worthy cause of building clean water wells in developing countries. The Buddhist teachings say that recognising what great fortune we have and being generous with others helps ease the attachment that creates our suffering and generates positive karma. I will endeavour to explain more about attachment and karma soon, and will explore topics related to mindfulness in the month of May. For now I will leave you with a sweet story about food and generosity.
"Perhaps you know the story about the man who arrived in heaven and when asked by God where he wanted to go replied that he wanted to see both heaven and hell. First, he went to hell. There was a large table with all the inhabitants of hell sitting around it. The center of the table was full of delicious food. Each person had two very long chopsticks. They could reach the food but they could not get it into their mouths because their chopsticks were too long. They were miserable. No one was eating and everyone went hungry. Next he was taken to visit heaven. All the inhabitants of heaven were also sitting around a big table full of delicious food but they were happy. They too had very long chopsticks but they were eating and enjoying themselves. They used the chopsticks to feed each other across the table. The people in heaven had discovered that it was in their interest to collaborate unselfishly.(p.69)"
--from Mind Training by Ringu Tulku, published by Snow Lion Publications
The Buddhist teachings say that even giving an animal one mouthful of food generates great positive karma.
Practice: This week let's practice generosity in relation to food. I suggest volunteering at a soup kitchen, putting seeds out for the birds, inviting someone for a meal, or delivering a special treat to a neighbour, but perhaps you can find your own way to be generous with food.
let me know your thoughts on how it goes.....
Metta,
Dharma Mama
