In the daily rush to arrive, are you sure . . . (Click image for video)

Karma has no expiration date.  

In our ignorance and delusion, we do not truly understand karma. What we think, say, and do will assuredly come back to us, just as surely as if we threw a ball against a wall. The cycle may take a million lifetimes, but a cause will give rise to a result—our karmic ball will bounce back.

Very likely many people will think, “Wait a minute, I believe in karma!”

We need to think again.

Do we really believe, really understand?

Have we become even a little irritated with someone or something today? That was anger, and we have not understood.

Have we declared “I want pizza tonight!” (and nothing else) or thought “Yes, that gap is enough for me to get into the other lane.” That was greed—for taste, for self-interest.

If we still have ignorance and delusion, still feel anger and craving, then we have not really understood causality. And instead of planting seeds to be born in the Pure Land, we are continuing to plant the wrong seeds, those that would see us suffering in samsara, over and over.

Peace doesn’t begin with another person . . . (Click image for video)

Helping naturally and appropriately. 

Seeing a young girl struggle to extract a paper towel from its dispenser, I reached over to turn the awkwardly-placed dispenser knob. With that, the paper towel magically rolled out. Eagerly tearing off the towel, the girl turned and looked up at me.

Her smile was radiant. I also had a big happy smile as we shared our moment of hard-won success.

Helping her had been so natural. There had been no need to judge whether she was worthy of help. She was a little girl!

No need to decide if I should be the one to help. No one else noticed her predicament.

And deciding how to help wasn’t an issue because, thanks to personal experience, I knew how to extract the towel!

And so, I offered my help unconditionally and spontaneously. By experiencing a rare flash of clarity, I had gone straight from perception to action. Looking back over what had just happened, I mused that perhaps this could be considered a rare taste of how awakened beings help. Naturally and appropriately.