Good Karma Music Stories

After Christmas night with some noble friends in beautiful Ahmedabad, India, we returned to our flat and found our watchman sitting downstairs. He was lying on the swinging chair wrapped in a blanket with a hat on. We thought it would be a nice idea to give him some snacks and warm chai tea for the breezy evening. We didn’t have any milk with us so we went two floors up to see if a friend was still awake. It was 12 AM and we didn’t think she would be! She was! She gave us the little milk she had left and we went on our way back to the 2nd floor. After the chai was done, we delivered the chai to him and he was very grateful. After, we made some rangoli ‘designs’ out of flower petals on the first floor of the flat. It was a beautiful heart shaped flower. The watchman watched us and made some nice comments on the design. It was a beautiful evening filed with gratitude, blessings, and noble friends 🙂

My wife and I decided to go to Pillar Point Harbor on Black Friday this year to buy some live Dungeness Crabs so we could release them back into the ocean. We bought 9 crabs and put them in 2 five gallon buckets (you can fit about 5 crabs in a bucket). The fisherman said that they can live out of the water for about an hour. Then we drove them to a calm beach on the opposite side of the harbor so we could release them back into the sea. We recited the mantra Om Mani Padme Hung and blew on the crabs as we were setting them free. At the end we said prayers to transfer the virtue of this deed to all sentient being. After we were done we were very happy that we helped to prolong their lives and we went for a walk along the beach and watched the sunset. It was a very nice feeling.

I work in my school library and saw a student looking through the stacks. I was moved by the book she was holding, it being one of my favorites and I led her to other books in a similar vein. A week or so later, I found her once again in the library and she was exctatic about the book.This may not be saving a life or anything like that but books are a huge part of my life and are extremely experiential. I gave this girl an entirely unique experience through something I am passionate about.

I will recite the Buddha’s name whenever I see an accident, dead animal corpse, a truck load of chicken/cows/goats on the way to the slaughter house , ambulance passing by, hoping that by doing so I can help them plant some good seeds 🙂

At Costco a guest Vegamitc vendor had free samples. People quickly gathered around to try, a mother and child in back late and maybe not going to get his. Giving him my spot, made my 6 year old self come to mind. As his eyes focused on the tray, waiting, I let him go. Mom smiled sincerely, and he got his cup of fresh fruit juice. Priceless? Well, it was free, meant more to him than me. I don’t compare to saving a life, but felt better in a way unexpected.

a customer shared with me his concerns about his daughter and her possible abusive partner. she had a black eye he said when he last visited her in the U.K. he had his doubts but did share his daughters partner was a good guy who worked hard.i listened without offering opinion but did empathise with him. i let him voice his concerns as i felt he needed to share his worries without me offering a knee jerk reaction.he left my workplace saying he would ask family members to check on his daughter and would re-assess his feelings and concerns when he next visited her.peace

Across the street from my home lives an old woman in a small cottage home. She is almost 80 years old, she has lived a long life full of friendship, dreams, losses, travels, many jobs, many homes, she has felt a lot, experienced a LOT. She still does experience, and love, and care for the world, and suffer; and live alone in a small cottage home.Now, she is ignored by her neighbors, her family, her community, she feels alienated, isolated–alone. Her wisdom is not valued. Like so many elders in our community she is safely kept away in a distant, remote dwelling, where her feelings and perspectives will not disturb our comfortable care-free existences.She wants, needs, TRIES to approach her neighbors to talk with them. But, they do not have time. We do not have time. I do not have time. Do not have time for her, do not have time simply to listen to her, so she can be heard, recognized, valued, loved.So I asked myself: “What do I have time for? What do I not have time for? What can I learn from this old woman? What can she learn from me? How do I want my neighborhood community to feel? I talk to the old woman across the street frequently, I stop when I am hurrying to get somewhere, I stop for her, and I stop for myself. She has taught me a lot, she is very wise, and has many stories she wants to share to illuminate truths about life, she is a Buddha. I wonder, “How many Buddhas are on my block?” I am grateful that I have met one of them, and I am grateful that she is my friend.This story is dedicated to my friend and neighbor–the old woman who lives in a cottage alone.