Self and Others

328. THE LUCKY ONES

“Instead of comparing our lot with that of those who are more fortunate, we should compare it with the lot of the great majority of our fellow men.”

HELEN KELLER (1880–1968), USA

329. GENTLE VICTORIES

“Conquer the angry man by love. Conquer the ill-natured man by goodness. Conquer the miser with generosity. Conquer the liar with truth.”

THE DHAMMAPADA

330. DON’T CRITICIZE

“If you cannot mould yourself entirely as you would wish, how can you expect other people to be entirely to your liking?”

THOMAS À KEMPIS (1380–1471), GERMANY

331. A GREATER EVIL

“Whatever an enemy may do to his enemy, a wrongly directed mind will do greater evil.”

THE DHAMMAPADA

332. THE FOUR FRIENDS JATAKA

A story in a Buddhist sutra tells of four animal friends. One day they decided to work out who was the eldest and thus the wisest. To determine their ages, they recalled their first memories of a nearby tree. The elephant remembered it as tall as himself, the monkey as a small tree, and the hare as a sapling. However, the bird remembered it as a seed, which he planted himself. In accordance with this, the animals set themselves in order, with the wisest highest, to show respect and harmony. The future Buddha was the bird, and the other animals were attendants and disciples.

333. FORGIVE EASILY

“He reviled me, struck me, defeated me, robbed me. In those who hold fast to such thoughts hatred will never cease.”

THE DHAMMAPADA

334. INADVERTENT

“He who wishes to secure the good of others, has already secured his own.”

CONFUCIUS (551–479BCE), CHINA