Ripples on a Pond.

Every child at some point in their life at some point has stopped to throw a pebble or stone into a pond. Not far from where I lived there was such a pond, now no longer there because the road was built and it had to be filled in. We threw the stones in a kind of challenge to see who could make the largest splash. How that was ever measured I am not sure, it would be like the measurement we had to decide when the ball had not gone into the non-existent net because it was over the similarly non-existent crossbar.

At other times, and even now I find myself dropping a stone into a pool and watching the ripples slowly but surely break up the reflective picture as they move out from the point of entry. To see it at its best the aim is to have a little splash as possible and just contemplate the ripples.

Lao Tzu spoke about the ripples on a pond and this idea was later taken up by the Buddha, each to describe how a small event can have enormous repercussions.

A man was walking along the road when he saw a stranger coming towards him. The stranger looked somewhat down. As he neared, he smiled to the stranger. It seemed to have an effect on the man; he seemed to brighten up.

Later that day he remembered a past kindness that had on another day lifted his feelings. He sat down and wrote a letter to the friend.  The friend on receiving the letter felt so good that he left a bigger than normal tip for the waitress. The waitress was so surprised that she had got this tip on the same day as she had been given a tip for a horse race. She placed the whole tip on the horse to win, and it did just that. 

She collected her winnings, and on the way back to work she gave part of it to a poor man sitting on the street corner. The old man had not eaten for two days and bought himself a meal. Feeling better he headed home to the hostel where he lived. As he neared the place he saw a little puppy, clearly abandoned and looking hungry and afraid. He smuggled it up to his room and gave it what he could manage, and made it warm.

Later that night when all the residents of the hostel were sleeping, a resident let a cigarette butt slip from his fingers as he fell asleep. The bed caught fire. The puppy on smelling the smoke caused a commotion of barking. The barking awakened the whole household and everybody was saved from harm. 

One of the residents saw his lucky escape as motivation for improvement. He worked hard and one day he became a doctor and went on to save many more lives. 

All of this because of one smile. What had the smile cost? Not a thing and yet look at the ripple effects it caused.

A little act of kindness can go a very long way as it ripples from one to another. An act of unkindness can do equally as much harm.

Have a good day.