image credit: FreeBirD®
I once heard about a woman who had cancer, and was told by a Buddhist master that her healing process would accelerate by performing acts of compassion. She went back to Canada, to the fish market at a wharf in Vancouver, and bought a hundred lobsters that were still alive and set them free in the ocean. She continued, on a regular basis, saving the lives of shellfish. A short time went by, when she returned to her oncologist she found that her malignant tumor had disappeared and she was cancer free. After a while she forgot about saving lives, and went on with her life. Some years later, the cancer returned. She did the same thing, she set free shell-fish she bought, and again the cancer went away.
Now, you may say that it was this woman’s faith and trust in the advice of the Buddhist master that cured her. Perhaps this is so, but the power of compassionate acts to heal have long been recorded in Taoist and Buddhist stories. For an amazing story on compassion from India, click on the photo above. In India, it is believed that the feet of the enlightened masters are holy and hold much spiritual energy. Here is another beautiful story from the Taoist tradition:
There was an old Taoist monk who was a master in physiognomy (reading the face and body). One day he looked at the face of one of his servants, a young boy who was eight years old. He saw in the boy’s face that he would die within a few months. Saddened by this, he told the boy to take a long vacation and visit his parents. The monk impressed upon him that he should spend a long time with his family. The monk thought that it was fitting for the boy to be with his family when he dies.
Three months later, to his astonishment, the monk saw the boy walking back up the mountain. When he came closer, the monk saw in the boy’s face that he would now live to be a ripe old age. The monk was curious and insisted that the young boy tell him in detail everything that happened while he was away.
The boy told of villages and towns he passed through, of rivers forded and mountains climbed. One day he came to a stream in flood. As he waded across the stream, he noticed that a colony of ants had become trapped on a small island formed by the flooding stream. Wanting to rescue the ants, he took a branch from a tree and laid it across the stream, with one end touching the island. The boy held the branch steady until all the ants made their way safely across to dry land. Then he went on his way.
The monk thought to himself, that it was this one act of compassion that had altered the boy’s fate. It is said that just as compassionate acts can alter your fate for the better, so too acts of cruelty can affect your fate.
There are endless ways that we can perform acts of compassion. It can be as little as offering a smile to brighten the day of someone who is lonely, or it can be as courageous as what my friend Maithri from The Soaring Impulse is about to undertake. Maithri is a young doctor, a singer, and poet from Australia, who is returning to his beloved Swaziland in Africa where he previously spent a few months working with the people with AIDS.
Swaziland is the country with the highest prevalence of HIV in the world (42%). 10% of its population are orphaned children and the average life expectancy is 32 years. It is a land where there are more coffin shops than grocery stores, where aid agencies would not go, seeing it as a lost cause. And as Maithri tells it:
“I’m under no illusions about my abilities as a doctor or as human being. I am deeply aware of the immensity and complexity of the problems which plague this beautiful mountainous country and the world.
I go simply with the intention of holding a little love in my heart.
Of reaching out my hands to those who are hurting with the breath of this love inside me.
We may never be able to turn a chaotic ocean into a symphony of peace.
But what if we can affect the cup of water that we offer our brother or sister who is suffering?
What If we can fill it with kindness, and understanding and gentle listening?
If we can make it ripple with whispered hope, infuse it with a single drop of grace?
John O’Donohue says “When one little flower opens, spring awakens everywhere.”
Perhaps this is why we go to Swaziland and all the places in the world wintering in despair.
To coax the buds.”
I encourage you to visit Maithri at The Soaring Impulse and make a donation to foster the work that he and other compassionate doctors and workers are undertaking in a little hamlet in Swaziland, where hope is thin but loving-kindness is immense. If you are not able to donate, you can send your prayers and blessings to support Maithri and his team, that their love and their courage will see them through their time there.
May all beings know Peace
May all beings be happy
May all beings be free from suffering!
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
What a beautiful post. It also made me think of neuroscience studies I have read on Tibetan monks who practice compassion meditation, and how MRIs revealed their physical brains, and brain chemistry, had actually been altered by their practice. One of the byproducts was that they handled stress of any type better, and considering how many health problems stress can contribute to, it’s no wonder there are health benefits (although as your post alludes to, I believe the benefits occur on another level, but it’s interesting there are some measurements science can detect now too.)
Hi Miruh,
Firstly I must say that this is a very enlightening post and you and our good friend Maithri are both soldiers of compassion. You both put a lot of love and heart into the world and that is the ethos of compassion.
If we all realize that compassion is a vital instrument, we can all take part in life’s most beautiful dance.
This is a most wonderful post! I agree about Maithri, a wonderful soul indeed!
Compassion is so very powerful and can create more positive energy than we will ever know.
Hello Lisa
That is interesting information on scientific studies on the brains of the meditating monks. I think if our body chemistry is altered by meditating or other spiritual practices, then it is possible that a domino effect of changes in the body-mind can escalate the human evolutionary process of which the body, mind and spirit is all related. Then fate is also altered.
Thanks for dropping by, have a peaceful day!
Hello Alexys,
I am blessed to be part of this community of compassionate bloggers like Maithri and yourself.
There is much that we can do to lighten the hearts of readers through the written word, gentle reminders of what we all know on some level, of the inner beauty and joy that is the foundation of our beingness.
You say it so well, “If we all realize that compassion is a vital instrument, we can all take part in life’s most beautiful dance.” Indeed life is sweet when we are in passionate awareness of life.
Thanks for your kind comment, may the jewel of the heart’s compassion shine on you, my friend!
Hello Mark,
Yes indeed, Maithri is a wonderful soul who walks the talk. I am so awed by his passion for life.
As you say,a compassionate act has the power to heal on so many levels, and has a ripple effect from one person to countless others.
Thank you fellow compassionate blogger, may your loving-kindness reach far and bring peace to many!
My dear sister and friend,
My heart brims over with love and gratitude for all that you are.
I am deeply humbled to call you my friend,
With reverent love to you and yours,
Maithri
Hi Miruh,
Very nice post. Rich people are those who help others, those who wants to make this world more n more beautiful, those who always spread smile on as many faces as they can. I have read many posts on Maithri’s blog and he is amazing personality.
Vinod
Hello Maithri,
Likewise, I am bowing, deeply humbled to know you and to be able to share in the great work that you are doing in Swaziland in this small way.
Looking forward to hearing from you, your stories when you are in Africa.
My prayers and blessings are with you my friend!
Hello Vinod,
I agree Maithri is an amazing person, he offers so much warmth and love in his posts, a great poet and his words are deeply inspiring.
Indeed, those who give much of themselves to others are rich in spirit!
Thanks for your kind comment, your beautiful words.
Deep peace to you!
Africa is the neglected continent. It needs all our compassion & empowerment, as well as enforcement. Unfortunately because it’s neglected, much darkness finds fertile ground, together with the copious suffering of its history.
It’s interesting that I posted about compassion this week too. Altruistic behavior helps the person generating it, even if they’re suffering in that moment as well. We are part of One organism.
Hello Pamir,
I agree that it is the neglect of the common welfare of the body-politic that escalates pain and suffering, as you say, “much darkness finds fertile ground.”
I believe we are at a point in our evolution where we are learning of our ” Onesphere” as you mentioned in a recent post. And yes we are each others teachers in this endeavor.
Thanks for your wisdom sharing here.
May the loving-kindness you extend out to the world be returned to you many thousand fold!
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