Dhamma Talks - The Kind-Hearted Mind :: Buddhapadipa Thai Temple

The world today needs a kind-hearted population so that the world will be in peace. Now we can see that everywhere is messy. We can say that the world is messy right now because of the selfish mind. Everyone wants to take and take things for himself; he never gives or shares with others. If the world had a kind-hearted mind, the world would not have become messy like this.

About this, I have recently read a story and I would like to share it with you all. This is my version; a long time ago there were five monks who lived with unconditional love and practised meditation together, in the same cave. The first one was a head monk, the second one was the head monk’s brother, the third one was the head monk’s good friend, the fourth one was a young monk who didn’t really practise and the fifth one was an old monk. One day a group of pirates came to the cave as they wanted to keep their treasures there. They tied all the monks up and would have killed them so that no one would know where they kept their belongings. But the head monk convinced the pirates not to kill them, the head pirate said, “I have to take one hostage and let the rest go”, and he asked the head monk who would be the hostage. The head monk had to select one of them to be the hostage so that the rest could be released.

Who is going to be the hostage for the rest, in the mind of the head’s monk? Let’s think; there were five monks, the head monk, the head monk’s brother, the head monk’s good friends, the young monk who didn’t really practise and the old monk. It was certain that the head monk loved his brother, and his friend, but it was not fair to leave the young monk or old monk for himself and his own brother and friend. The head monk remembered that they had stayed together with unconditional love, and practised meditation. He thought, “I will, myself, be the hostage, but it is not fair for me as I have to love myself as well as others”. The head pirate asked the head monk for the answer, “Who are you going to select to be the hostage?” He said, “I cannot make a decision”. The head pirate asked him, “Why not? You can select anyone of you all, yourself or the others”. He said it kind-heartedly, “I cannot be merciless to myself and others as I have unconditional love towards all beings”. The head pirate was impressed by this open-heartedness of the head monk, he not only released all of them but also released his mind from wrong doing and he became a good man.

This shows that the kind-hearted mind had power, as it could help all the monks out of danger, so if the whole world has such a kind-hearted mind, the world would be peaceful. Peace and happiness would spread all over the world. Then there would be no gap for selfishness, cruelty, hatred, jealousy etc. so kind-heartedness sounds very nice to the world. Why isn’t it cultivated in our life? It should be considered, shouldn’t it?