Kindness Ripples Out
If we practice, we become more aware of our daily actions, our moment to moment actions. First we are aware of our situation, then we are aware of our thoughts, then also we are aware of our actions, and if our actions are clear and have good intention, then we can have many positive benefits. It may not seem to us like very much, you may just thank somebody, you’re checking out of the supermarket and instead of just giving them the cash and then going off with your shopping, you thank them. You may not think it’s a big thing, but the scientific research shows that if you show somebody some kindness or say something kind, they themselves are more likely to do something kind later. And not only that, but people who see you doing something kind, or notice that you are doing that, they also are likely to do something kind later.
Even one small act of kindness can ripple out, like you are throwing one stone in the pool and it makes many ripples. So that’s why practice is very important, and the realization that we are all interconnected, and that everything that we do is interconnected in some way or other. So if we’re aware of that, then we’re more careful in how we treat other people. Not just other people, but other animals, the resources that we have, everything that we use, we can become more careful, more aware of how we use things, because everything has some kind of interconnected, interpenetrative impact on everything else. So that also is part of this karmic effect, this cause and effect. Everything we do has some result. So if you practice correctly and then you have a clear direction and a clear intention, then your actions will also be clear.