No 700 of Living Life Series 1
Let us not pretend that we are doing for others good when we are doing so for our own good. But let not this stop us from doing good.
Better to do good for self in the name of doing good for others. At least, we are doing some good for others as a result of our wanting goodness for self.
This they say is one early form of mindfulness. It will lead us to be less self-orientated and more civic minded.
It will bring out the realization of how self serving we are in our attempt to be of service to others.
There will always be the push and pull. The push is to be more worthy to society and the pull will be how to be more worthy for self - to increase self gain, self-esteem and self-worth.
Isn't this yin and yang as well? Well it is obvious if you care to know.
The good lord Lord Bo Tien (武天菩萨) advises that there be balance as depicted by his image with feet atop the elements.
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| Lord Bo Tien (武天菩萨) |
There must be that balance between the two, not at midpoint but more of push than pull. It will be somewhat dynamic as well.
But even if there is less or little of pull for self gain, like it or not, the giver receives more than he can give. Isn't this sort of boomerang effect? What given out must come back in some other way.
The boomerang or what some refer to as karma (volitional action and reaction) does work the other way as well. Any disservice for others creates the same or more for the self. Let this be food for thought but hope it will not cheese us off. Instead, this should vet our appetite for goodness in life, not only for individuals but also for entities like religions.
Do unto others what we would like others to do to us. Religious entities that speak ill of others will exact more of the same for themselves. The boomerang effect is a reality to contend with.
Do love and be loved. Try even to love foes but be wise and right about it. Otherwise foolishness begets more of the same and the love is more a bane than a blessing.
Gautama Buddha says that we must not have ill-will, greed and false views. This is the balanced approach to being good and loving for life, ours as well as others. We must be correct in goodness and in love of life so that we will not be bad in trying to be good and end up creating harm in the long term.
The long and short of this is that we must be right and logically correct in wanting to be good and to love. This rightness must have less to do with our own personal gain - no greed even when we do good or loving life, our life and that of others.
This advice by Buddha is universal and is for all. At no time did he say that this advice is only for Buddhists. The term Buddhist is man-made and divides men as Buddhists and non-Buddhists.
This in a way is not good and this too can exact boomerang effect, won't it be the case? Well, not all will agree but at least consider the points raised thus far.
Those who agree too must keep open mind and be understanding. "Judge not lest ye be judged" is a well known biblical verse - Mathew 7:1. This too points towards boomerang effect in life.
The boomerang or what some refer to as karma (volitional action and reaction) does work the other way as well. Any disservice for others creates the same or more for the self. Let this be food for thought but hope it will not cheese us off. Instead, this should vet our appetite for goodness in life, not only for individuals but also for entities like religions.
Do unto others what we would like others to do to us. Religious entities that speak ill of others will exact more of the same for themselves. The boomerang effect is a reality to contend with.
Do love and be loved. Try even to love foes but be wise and right about it. Otherwise foolishness begets more of the same and the love is more a bane than a blessing.
Gautama Buddha says that we must not have ill-will, greed and false views. This is the balanced approach to being good and loving for life, ours as well as others. We must be correct in goodness and in love of life so that we will not be bad in trying to be good and end up creating harm in the long term.
The long and short of this is that we must be right and logically correct in wanting to be good and to love. This rightness must have less to do with our own personal gain - no greed even when we do good or loving life, our life and that of others.
This advice by Buddha is universal and is for all. At no time did he say that this advice is only for Buddhists. The term Buddhist is man-made and divides men as Buddhists and non-Buddhists.
This in a way is not good and this too can exact boomerang effect, won't it be the case? Well, not all will agree but at least consider the points raised thus far.
Those who agree too must keep open mind and be understanding. "Judge not lest ye be judged" is a well known biblical verse - Mathew 7:1. This too points towards boomerang effect in life.
