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Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Transforming Problems into Happiness
Every positive trait is the result of past good actions, and all can be a basis for you to rejoice. When you see someone possessed of physical beauty, think: "How wonderful it is that this person has a beautiful body now as a result of practicing patience and morality in past lives." When you see someone who is very wealthy, think: "How wonderful is it that this person is experiencing the good karma resulting from giving to other beings and making offerings to the Triple Gem in the past."
Every positive trait is the result of past good actions
Jay McDaniel, Gandhi's Hope
I believe that a study of the religions — if done with a desire to learn from the religions and not simply about them — is itself an act of peacemaking. It helps create that culture of generosity and hospitality, that culture of peace, which is the only real hope for the world.
An act of peacemaking.
Margaret Guenther, Just Passing Through: Notes from a Sojourner
There's no such thing as a free lunch! Unexpected generosity is frequently greeted with suspicion, for all too often gifts have strings attached and are not true gifts. Wisely, we learn to be wary of promises of no down payment, the "free gifts" advertised on television, the dream of something for nothing. . . .
Everything has its price. . . . Not surprisingly, we are impatient with those who do not pay their way or "pull their weight." So society's "gift" of welfare assistance to its poorest and most helpless is a grudging one at best, and we are merciless with the cheaters (those who cannily or cynically beat the system) when they are caught. . . .
The prodigality of God's generosity is hard to grasp, and it's equally hard to grasp and to celebrate how rich we really are. . . .
If we are to believe the message of Scripture and the message of Christ, there is such abundance that we we can stop counting, such abundance that quantities are meaningless. . . .
This is hard to believe. I have to confess, though, that like most of the human race, I have a genius for looking in the wrong direction and missing the point completely. And I must confess too that math has never been my strong point. Maybe it's time to throw away the calculator and rethink — or repray? — my spiritual arithmetic.
There is no such thing as a free lunch
Elizabeth J. Andrew, Writing the Sacred Journey
The activities that most nourish the spirit (play, affection, generosity, contemplation, quiet, beauty, creativity, truth-telling, time in nature) are least valued in a consumer society.
Activities that most nourish the spirit are least valued
Carl McColman, 366 Celt
The fact that sovereignty is related to generosity contributes to one of the most powerful themes of Celtic wisdom: the importance of hospitality as a social virtue. Hospitality is basically the generosity shown to strangers and guests in our midst. Mythology abounds with stories that suggest a king rules well when his court is filled with hospitality — that a visitor must eat till satisfied before even beginning to discuss whatever business brought him to the royal hall. By contrast, kings who do not practice hospitality are satirized, the land goes barren under their rule, and ultimately they are forced to abandon the throne.
Hospitality is basically the generosity shown to strangers
Hazrat Inayat Khan, The Seeker's Guide
Real generosity is an unfailing sign of spirituality. The soul's happiness is in itself; nothing can make the soul fully happy but self-realization.
Real generosity is an unfailing sign of spirituality
How to Be Spiritual But Not Religious
Ever Considered Being a Sunbeam?
"All people want the same two things: to be loved and to be accepted. You have it in your power to give those.
— Victor M. Parachin
When I was a child attending a Christian Sunday School I enjoyed a little song I was taught: 'Jesus wants me for a sunbeam. Jesus wants me to be loving and kind to all I see.' Though it's a powerful, authentic concept, sadly it seems hard to find it in practice among many Christians. The same teaching is offered by the Persian Sufi poet Hafiz. Read it and think about how you could work it into your life.
Sunbeams
Even after all this time the sun never says to the earth,
'You owe me.' Look at what happens with a love like that;
it lights the whole world!
"If you want to be a sunbeam, here are some small suggestions which can make a big difference in another person's life:
"• Show genuine interest in others.
• Listen to them carefully, compassionately.
• Use courteous language — please. thank you. well done.
• Be kinder than is necessary.
• Help out before you are asked.
• Praise people and be specific . . . I was moved when you said. I admire you for.
• Praise them in front of others.
• Say to people 'I love you' especially those beyond immediate family.
• Do all these — and more — without expecting anything in return."
Victor M. Parachin shares nine specific ways you can be a light in someone's life.
Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation
Ten Ways to Deepen Your Practice
"1. Think of kindness as a strength, not as a weakness. Kindness isn't an ally of foolishness or gullibility, but rather an ally of wisdom and courage.
"2. Look for the good in yourself — not as a way to deny your difficulties or problems but as a way to broaden your outlook so it's more truthful and balanced. Looking for the good in ourselves helps us see the good in others.
"3. Remember that everyone wants to be happy. If we look deeply into any kind of behavior, we will see an urge to feel a part of something greater than our own limited sense of self, a desire to feel at home in this body and mind. This urge toward happiness is often twisted and distorted by ignorance, by not knowing where happiness is actually to be found. Remembering what we share inspires us toward kindness.
"4. Recollect those who have helped or inspired us. Sometimes even a small act of kindness on someone's part makes an essential difference for us. Cultivating gratitude is a way of honoring these people, and also a way of lifting our spirits and reminding us of the power of good-heartedness.
"5. Practice at least one act of generosity a day. We all have something to give, large or small. It may be a smile, or an attentive conversation. Perhaps you let a stranger get ahead of you in line, or gave a coworker a small gift, or wrote a late-night note of appreciation. Any act of generosity — whether material or of the spirit — is a meaningful expression of kindness.
"6. Do lovingkindness meditation. Each day we can take the time to hold others in our hearts quietly and wish them well. This meditation might include someone who has been helpful or inspiring to us, someone we know who is feeling alone or afraid, someone who is experiencing triumph and joy, or someone we are about to meet with some trepidation. We might, depending on the circumstances of our lives, particularly include children or animals in our thoughts. Taking just ten minutes a day to reflect in this way is a powerful path to transformation.
"7. Listen. Often we have conversations where we are only partially paying attention; we're thinking about the next e-mail we need to send, or what we forgot to mention to the last person we spoke to. Or we decide we know what the other person is going to say, based on past encounters. Reopening that closed file by listening is a powerful gesture of kindness, one that allows fresh responses and transformed relationships.
"8. Include those who seem left out. In a conversation with a group of people, there may be those too shy to speak. In a room full of partygoers, there may be some who feel out of place. Be the one who opens the circle.
"9. Refrain from speaking ill of others. A friend told me about a time he resolved not to talk about any third person; if he had something to say about someone, he would say it directly to that person instead. If you feel tempted to put someone down, assume knowledge of their bad motives, or generally prove their inferiority, take a breath. Even though we might feel a rush of power in saying those words, we ultimately get no benefit from dividing people and sowing seeds of dissension and dislike. There are ways to talk about wrong behavior without derision or condemnation.
"10. 'Walk a mile in another person's shoes before you pass judgment.' As this old saying suggests, even if we're going to take strong action to try to change someone's behavior, a sense of empathy and understanding for them won't weaken us. If anything, that element of kindness will allow us to act more compassionately and creatively."
Sharon Salzberg on recollecting those who have helped or inspired us.
You Are What You Give
A few years ago we hosted a pledge dinner to talk about our congregation’s financial needs for the coming year. After a potluck meal, a member of the finance committee suggested we each talk about places we give money and why we chose them.
It was an absolutely fascinating exercise. We heard about the work of local, national, and international charities we had never considered for our own giving. One woman sends a goat each year, paid for by her contribution to Heifer International, to a needy family overseas. Another writes a check to the American Cancer Society in memory of her father annually on his birthday.
Many give to their colleges, the United Way, the Red Cross, and other well-known charities. Still others focus their donations on one cause to which they feel very dedicated — an animal rescue group, a political party, or an environmental organization.
That night, we learned things about people in our congregation that we might not have known otherwise. What we do with our money is a sign of who we are and what we love. Our individual money trails are reflections of our priorities, experiences, hopes, dreams — and wealth. As Brother David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk and author, says, “Abundance is not measured by what flows in, but by what flows over.”
We propose that it's not how much we are each able to give that matters as much as that we give regularly. Even if our contributions some years do not match our patterns in the past, we can continue our commitments and our intention to be connected. Generosity is a spiritual practice that reflects an attitude of heart and mind. Here are some daily ways to give.
Rabbi David Cooper in his book God Is a Verb. Every morning, put a small bill or coin in a place where you can reach it quickly. Give it away to the first needy person you meet, without stopping to evaluate how the money will be used. This simple practice cultivates the habit of giving without thinking about what you might get back. It reminds you that everything you have is a gift from God to be freely shared.
Build giving into your daily choices. Have a generosity piggybank in your home. When you resist the impulse to go out for an expensive dinner, put a note in the bank with the amount you have saved by eating at home. Children might choose to forgo buying a new toy and put the equivalent money in the bank. Adults might add up the cost of parking saved by taking public transportation. Periodically empty your generosity bank and have a family council to decide how to distribute it. Be creative in how you fill the bank and how you give its contents away. You can have a lot of fun with this practice.
Get others to join you in giving. Many businesses have matching donation programs, so before you write a check, see if your company will double your gift. Another way to give is to regularly click on the donation badges at websites in the GreaterGood.com network. As the clicks add up, sponsors associated with these sites pay for food for the hunger, free mammograms, books for literacy programs, food and toys for animal shelters, and other programs. You can make the rounds of the various sites in just a couple minutes a day, but you'll be showing public support for these projects and reinforcing your own intention to be of help in a needy world.
Collect fundraising letters and newsletters from charities and bookmark organizations' websites. Set aside some time each month to read about the work of these charities before making your contributions. It’s amazing how much you can learn from these reports from the field. We discovered the work of a shelter for homeless seniors in our neighborhood when we read the sponsoring agency’s newsletter. Reading fundraising appeals helps you align your contributions with your vision of a better world. They also give you hope because they come from groups who have found concrete ways to address problems.
Inspire yourself by reading about giving. In Giving - The Sacred Art: Creating a Lifestyle of Generosity, Lauren Tyler Wright covers the charitable practices recommended by the world's religions. It points out that giving is a blessing for both the giver and the receiver because it creates a connection with the vast expanse of humanity. Giving money is only one means; generosity can also involve caring for the environment, offering love to a homeless animal, sharing your possessions, forgiving and being patient with others, providing hospitality, and other acts.
Rambam's Ladder: A Meditation on Generosity and Why It Is Necessary to Give by Julie Salamon explores the provocative question, Why are people good? It begins with a treatise written in the 12th century by Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (known as Rambam) and then provides contemporary illustrations of generosity. Ramban created an eight-step ladder to explain different levels of giving. At the bottom: tossing spare coins to a beggar to get rid of him; at the top, making a gift that enables someone to become self-reliant.
Inspire yourself by watching movies. The French film Amelie presents an unforgettable portrait of a young woman who demonstrates a remarkable talent for giving. She finds ways to help her customers at the restaurant where she works, her reclusive father, the concierge of her building, and a clerk at the grocery store. In turn, one of her friends helps her connect with her soulmate.
Pay It Forward shows what happens when 11-year-old Trevor is given the school assignment, "Think of an idea to change our world and put it into action." He decides to do a good deed for three people and then ask each of them to "pay it forward" by doing similarly difficult big favors for three others. Before long, his project has become a movement, demonstrating how a little love and kindness can really make a difference in the world.
Daily ways to give to charities and others.
Dude, Where's My Country?
"Remember that lesson about treating people the way you would like to be treated? It still works! When you treat people well, 99.9 percent of the time they respond in kind. What if our entire foreign policy was based on that novel concept? What if we were known as the country that sought first to help people instead of seeking first to exploit them for their labor or their natural resources? What if were known as the country that share its incredible wealth — shared it even to the point where it might mean that we go without some of the luxuries we're accustomed to? How would the poor and desperate around the globe feel toward us then? Wouldn't this reduce our chances of being victims of terrorist attacks? Wouldn't it be a better world to live in all around? Isn't it the right thing to do?
"The fact is, the number of people willing to blow themselves up to kill you is infinitely small. Yes, anyone prepared to die for their cause may eventually pull it off, but those people exist everywhere — and they always have. The 'War on Terror' should not be a war on Afghanistan or Iraq or North Korea or Syria or Iran or whatever place we'll end up invading. It should be a war on our own dark impulses.”
Michael Moore's belief that the way to stop terrorism is to stop being terrorists.