August 19th

"The scent of flowers is carried no father than the wind allows,
Neither the sandlewood, tagar, nor jasmine.
But the fragrance of the deeds of good men
Spreads to the end of the earth, in all directions,
Regardless of the wind."

                                     The Dhammapada 4:11 (as translated by Ananda Maitreya)

Never turn your back on a good deed. The opportunities to do a good deed are all around us. Sometimes they are easy to find like assisting an elderly person broken down on the side of the road. Sometimes they take some initiative. For me, I have continue to mess things up so frequently that I make an active effort to good deed when I see one. I suppose I hope in some way that it will outshine my shortcomings. I've been taught that the effect of deeds, both good and bad, cause results that are always GREATER than the deed itself. Picture a a calm pond when a rock is thrown in it. The ripples move in all directions all the way to the riverbank. I imagine that deeds and their effects grow in such a way. And I believe that the deeds that require some inconvenience to my selfish timetable geneally the most rewarding when accomplished.