Inspire and Be Inspired

Do you feel inspired when you see people help each other? Not everyone is. Some people may look at a generous donation and say, “Donating such a small amount of money is nothing extraordinary for such a rich person.” When other people suffer from disasters and pain like the many people killed in the South Asian tsunami and earthquakes, don’t you feel for them? Doesn’t it make you think, “What would it be like if I were in that position?”

“If I were the person who is suffering, wouldn’t I hope for the compassion of others?”

People often say that it is hard to be compassionate. How can
we be more compassionate to others? We can begin by placing ourselves in others’ shoes. Think, “If I were the person who is suffering, wouldn’t I hope for the compassion of others?”

Inspiration comes from our interaction with others. When I see people do good deeds, I feel moved. When I see people suffering, I feel compassion. What is important is that, in our actions, we try to touch the hearts of others and feel that sense of purity ourselves.

Take a moment and think about all the kind words you can say to move other people, and all the good deeds that can affect others. Life will lose its meaning if what we do and what we speak cannot touch others.

It is a beautiful thing to touch people’s hearts, as is being moved by others. We could say that all the touching moments put together is what makes this world a beautiful place. 

Why is it that when seeing the plot unfold during certain movies or performances, we cannot help but to cry? This is because we feel a connection to the people on screen. Some people are even moved to tears when hearing the pure and tranquil sounds of Buddhist chanting.

From Endless Knot, by Venerable Master Hsing Yun. 

Image from Pixabay.

More Featured Articles

If you keep your practice steady,morning and night, summer and winter,there is nothing you can not doand nothing that can harm you.— Upasakasila SutraThe Importance of Being SteadyLaziness and fear of work will get you into trouble no matter where they appear. Laziness is a basic animal tendency that must be confronted the moment it starts. Once you begin to allow yourself to be lazy, Read more
Most of us have an idea of what constitutes the space outside us; it is the environment in which we live. This includes the house we live in, the city we live in, or even the world we live in. Just as we need to skillfully manage our relationship to others, to the environment, and to wealth, we also need to properly manage our relationship Read more
When there is hope, there is a future. The worst tragedy in life is to live without hope for the future. When there is hope, there is a future. One of the mottoes of the Buddha's Light International Association is "to give others hope." That is the highest act of benevolence. On the other hand, to disappoint and render others hopeless is the cruelest act.People live Read more
Social harmony stems from handling relationships and communal living with skill, effort, and a spirit of cooperation. We can learn a lot about keeping peace in social living from the six points of reverent harmony that the monastic sangha observes. Sangha is a Sanskrit word, which can be interpreted on many different levels. In its widest interpretation, it refers to all those who have the Read more
I once copied out a sutra in blood by pricking myself, and once I also burned my arm as an offering. I once remained silent for a year without speaking, and once I also kept my eyes closed for three months without seeing. Later on, I would occasionally open my eyes and suddenly feel: Oh, there are still verdant mountains; there are still trees; the Read more
Sages from all religions who serve the multitudes without any monetary reward or recognition are volunteers of human society.  An ancient sage once said: “Before one can become a prominent figure in Buddhist circles, one has to be a horse and an ox for all sentient beings.” Another said: “Before one attains Buddhahood, one first has to form affinity.” Over the generations, Buddhist monastics have Read more
In fact, what I have enjoyed the most in my reading, and it could be said that a piece of writing that has had an important influence upon my life is the poem “Thoughts on My Fiftieth Birthday,” written by Venerable Master Taixu during his visit to India when the lay Buddhist Tan Yun-shan, Chairperson of the Institute of Chinese Language and Culture at Visva-Bharati Read more
The Buddhist precepts are here to protect us from wrongdoing, lead us away from what is bad, and towards what is good. Vinaya Master Daoxuan of the Tang dynasty composed the Simplified and Amended Handbook of the Four-Part Vinaya [Sifenlü Shanfan Buque Xingshi Chao], in which he analyzed the precepts in terms of their “rules,” “essence,” “practice,” and “characteristics.” When one puts the actual rules Read more
Greed is a basic disease of all sentient beings. In our realm, the desire realm (kamadhatu), the force and effects of greed can be felt especially strongly. Greed is based on ignorance and cannot function without it. The fundamental ignorance that enables greed to function is the belief in a self that exists separately and independently from other sentient beings. This belief leads to nothing Read more
True stature is not created by form or ornament; words spoken out of jealousy and greed oppose it. Only when evil has been stopped at its roots, and when there is wisdom without anger is there true stature.— Dharmapadavadana Sutra The False Stature of This WorldEveryone wants to be well regarded by others. However, in seeking true stature, people too often waste their time in Read more
The first realization of The Eight Realizations of a Bodhisatttva Sutra is concerned with what is generally called the Buddha’s view of this world. This first realization is a description of the basic features of the world we live in. The points made in this realization are made in many other Buddhist sutras.The Buddha emphasized these basic points on many different occasions because it is Read more
In the Sutra of Forty-Two Sections, the Buddha asked his disciples, "How long is one's life?" One of the monks replied, "A few years." The next one answered, "A few days!" Another one said, "Less than one day!" Another responded, "Between meals!" Finally, the Buddha said, "Life lasts for the duration of one breath." Life is extraordinarily precious and yet it is based on a Read more
Statcounter