Sunday, 20th April 2025 - What kind deeds did I do today to make others happy

1. I cleaned the bathroom.

2. I emptied the bins.

3. I watered the flowers in the front and back garden.

4. I took food upstairs for one of my housemates who has difficulty climbing the stairs.

5. I helped pack the food in plastic bags to put upstairs in the freezer.

6. I acknowledged the moth flying in my room and the moth flew towards me. A moth is a person equal in importance to each of us and every moth matters as much as every human matters.

Food for thought

• Buddhism encourages us to be kind selflessly. For example, we are taught to be generous without expecting gratitude from the people we are being generous towards. We are expected to do the right thing to achieve good karma in the future and if still in the cycle of samsara then to obtain a good rebirth and if we reach enlightenment then we are free from the death and rebirth cycle and we reach a state of perfect happiness forever called Nirvana. Once we have no desires and no attachment to anything or anyone in the physical world, we reach enlightenment and hence Nirvana. The point of life is to heap excessive kindness upon each person we meet and to be generous in our kindness. You can never be too kind as a Buddhist.

• Why eat plants and animals when both are people and sensitive beings. Eating a plant or animal is equal to eating a human. It is gross to eat living beings. There is no food on planet earth. We live off kindness not food. We don't need food we need loving-kindness (metta) from each person we meet. What is loving-kindness shown towards others? Wanting other living beings to be happy. Acknowledging people warmly when you see them instead of avoiding them and ignoring them rudely. Even if they ignore you when you acknowledge them, you are kind and will achieve good karma in the future. Keep on filling up your bucket of good karma by doing kind/good deeds. With high enough karma, you may reach enlightenment, the state of perfect happiness. Keep doing good deeds regardless of the way people react to you. You will be well rewarded in the future. Every good action, you do gives a reward of good karma in the future guaranteed. You can never lose anything by being kind to living beings and you gain so much good stuff in the future such as good health, vitality, beautiful looks, great personality, lots of friends and the constant feeling of ecstasy within.

• Buddhism encourages us not to attach ourselves to a best friend but to be equally kind and loving to everyone we meet. This means acknowledging everyone we meet with a massive friendly smile regardless of whether they smile first or don't smile at all. Then we can also say 'hi' to them to make them feel welcome. We can ask them how they are doing to show we care about them. We can offer them some comfort by being pleasant, giving them a hug or shaking hands or/and saying I hope everything will be okay to show we want the best for them and mean them good tidings.

• Money is for giving. Every time you give someone money whether for free or in exchange for something, you are being kind and you will get good karma in the future. Give and you are kind. The more you give, the kinder you are. Every time you give money to someone, you make them happy even if they don't show gratitude. So give money to anyone and make anyone happy today. For giving, you will get good actions back to you in the future, the law of karma.