GIVE, EVEN IF NO ONE KNOWS
Master Jun Hong Lu: Once, there was a small business owner in the USA who had repeatedly failed in his quest to strike a business collaboration with the owner of a big corporation.
One day, as he was walking out from another failed business pitch, he passed by a small tree which had been toppled by the wind. Gently, he lifted the plant, and put it back right up. To prevent it from being toppled again, going out of his way, he went to his car to fetch a rope that he used to fasten it.
Little did he know that his action was witnessed by the business owner of the big corporation who was watching him from upstairs. This random act moved him greatly and led him to seal a business collaboration with the small business owner later.
During the contract signing, the owner of the big corporation divulged, “Did you know that what moved me was not you putting the small tree back right up but the fact that you went out of your way to your car to fetch the rope to stabilise it?”
This story tells us that when helping those in need, if we are able to cast aside our self-interests, no matter how small the gesture, it becomes an act of giving.
As Buddhist practitioners, we must know the importance of helping others.
When you give, without others’ knowledge, they will be greatly moved by what you do. This is what it means by “Giving without any attachment” – a truly high state of spirituality for a Buddhist practitioner.
Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s Public Talk, Los Angeles, USA, 2 May 2015
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