Good Karma Music Stories

A good friend of mine and I were sitting at a busy cafe in downtown Oslo. We had been discussing our different perspectives on our buddhist practices and on how to better introduce buddhism to the growing Norwegian laity. At some point in the evening a group of friends sitting to the table on my right rise to leave. In the corner of my eye I see that one of the girls has unknowingly dropped her purse under her chair. I interrupt the interesting conversation I was having by rushing over, getting the purse and calling in not a quiet voice across the cafe “Your purse!”. Needless to say she was happy and grateful, although slightly flummoxed by my loud behaviour. I felt happy and a bit surprised by my behaviour for I am usually a very reserved and quiet person. But it was also a nice mundane reminder, that kindness does not always have to be appropriate to the social situation, and an act of kindness does not necessarily have to be a comfortable act. A kind act is not, at least on the face of things, always in keeping with ones character either. To break with social norms and personality traits, it seems to me, is sometimes necessary for kind acts to come about. Of course it helped to have a good friend to give me a pat on the back, while letting the cafe resume it’s usual buzzing. Our conversation took a turn into the teachings of karma, naturally.

This story isn’t really about an act of kindness *I* did, but two that two people did for me yesterday and today. For the last few years, I’ve been telling my friends at university, through text-messages or SMS, to look at the sky whenever I think it’s particularly beautiful: an almost unnatural greenish-yellow haze near the horizon blending to an unnaturally deep purple on perfectly clear days, towering thunderclouds, those almost-completely-white overcast days that make every tree and building look like it’s been painted on paper–the universe’s canvas. I’ve had a fascination with the sky ever since going to Texas, where the sky is HUGE beyond description. (I live in New York, so my sky before going to Texas had always been hemmed in by trees and buildings, and hadn’t had the same gravity.) Some friends, as you would expect, find this annoying, but others like it and actually do go look at the sky. Some tell me it reminds them of “the little things.” One, who sent me a message yesterday, told me the messages helped her remember not to take everything in her life too seriously, to the point of constantly worrying about every little thing. Other friends have started to reply: “Oh, yes. Very beautiful! =) ” So the acts of kindness I received yesterday and today were from a friend in Nebraska (who’s sky is radically different from mine because of the 1,300 mile distance between us), who said, “The sky here is amazing tonight,” and from my girlfriend, who said, “Look at the sky. Wow.” So, reader, check the sky out–it’s beautiful!

My Wife left our house for a Doctor’s appointment. I didn’t wake her up in time to get there without rushing. While she was on her way, I called the doctor’s office telling them that she might be late. When she arrived, the receptionist told her that her Husband informed them that she would be there.Everything turned out okay. My Wife thanked me. Small act of Kindness

My friends husband had a stroke earlier this year. I took her some vegetables from the garden. I don’t have much money, or much time with life being so demanding, but just taking a few moments to give something I had plenty of, was enough thoughtfulness to let her know I care.

My family donates some money to buddhist temples for making and maintaining temple.And I always try to help people who are in need of help like beggars on the street or poor people.

Thank you for this opportunity to reflect on giving and kindness. For a few minutes, I had the awful feeling come over me that my self-image (of a selfless boddhisattva, of course) is completely wrong, and that maybe I’ve been fooling myself completely– no acts of kindness came to mind at all. There’s certainly a lot of truth to that, but after more introspection, I can remember that, yes, OK, there were one or two “grand” selfless things I’ve done…But perhaps my more effective actions have been very small, tiny ones that I like to repeat as often as possible: thanking other people for THEIR acts of kindness and generosity, via hand-written notes, sent by pony express.I’ve found that people come alive when they receive this kind of old-school message. It only requires a few minutes of time in my day, yet often recipients of my simple notes are amazed that someone actually “took the time” to simply let them know that something they did was valued and appreciated. People feel validated, lifted, touched, awakened, and sometimes much more. Someone noticed them.In closing, let me also thank you for all your generosity. It’s working, and it’s deeply appreciated.-Alan

I am looking for something, anything, to help my cousin’s husband, who is suffering from brain cancer at a young age of 40. He is now blind and partially paralysed on his right side of face and left side of body. He has trouble speaking and chewing and getting around. My cousin is strong, working and caring for their 2-year old daughter. My heart ache and my eyes tear when I see her and think about them. I hope this music can ease their pain if I can just get it to them (as my insignificant act of kindness)…amitaba