Compassion and Mindfulness

Gather round, chilluns! It's storytime!

Just wanted to share an experience on my spiritual journey. For those unfamiliar with Buddhism, the work we do in meditation and in daily life is focused on expanding love and compassion for all living things, thereby working to eliminate delusions that distract from the clarity of the Buddha mind, i.e., anger, attachment to things in our current life, fear, stress. In meditation we let go of these things and reach a state of peace and clarity filled with love for all beings; this is my understanding of what Buddha mind is. And we work towards cultivating that all the time in daily life.

I had an experience a couple Sundays ago that illuminated the difference in myself from before I started exploring the Buddhist tradition and after. It was after Sunday services, and I was walking my puppy outside of my fiancee's (and now mine too) apartment. I was only paying attention to walking the dog and not freezing my buns off, when I heard a small voice behind me say, "Sir, could I get some help?"

I turned and saw a small boy walking down the parking lot towards the trash dumpster, struggling with a double armful of loose papers, grocery bags full of trash, and dropping pieces of it everywhere. So in what Im sure would have been comical to watch, I jogged over, dragging Rocky by the leash behind me, and started picking up the loose trash behind the boy. His sister came up behind us to help as well. The wind was blowing the stuff everywhere, and I found myself laughing at the spectacle of me trying to corral a high-energy puppy, prevent him from jumping on the boy, pick up the trash, drop the trash, watch the wind blow the trash, pick it up again. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

About this time I noticed a long white Cadillac driving slowly behind the two children. following them to the dumpster, with their grandmother (?) inside. I dismissed the car immediately and just felt filled with this brilliant joy in the simple pleasure of helping someone out of compassion.

We finally made it to the dumpster, and the boy and his sister thanked me. The gradnmother remained in the car.

As I was walking back to the apartment (ok, jogging...I couldnt feel my hands by this time), I stood outside of myself and observed the experience. In the past, I would have been filled with questions such as, why were these children being made to walk in the cold while their grandmother rode behind in a heated car? And I would have been angry at this injustice. But all I felt now was a compassion for the children and the clear joy of helping someone in need.

So I took from it that the practice Ive been doing in meditation and mindfulness has produced definite results. And I carried that joy and light with me for several days afterward. It's truly a positive motivation to continue, and confirmation for myself that I'm on the right path for me.

Peace,

Brandon