One of my colleagues has helped the monks at the Hilda Jayewardenaramaya Buddhist Center in Ottawa, Canada improve their English.

To the best of my knowledge, my colleague has never been to the center. Nor has she ever met Bhante Punna and Bhante Indaratana. Using conventional western thinking, it is hard to conceive how my colleague could assist monks she does not know.

One effective way for individuals to learn a foreign language is by watching movies in the language they are trying to learn. When he was living at the Great Lakes Buddhist Vihara in Southfield, I would loan Bhante Indaratana movies. But, when he moved to Ottawa, there was no DVD at the vihara; a situation I almost had the power to change.

The problem preventing me from buying a DVD player for the Buddhist center was the international border. Instead of sending a check in American dollars to the Buddhist devotees in Ottawa who would actually make the purchase, I needed a cheque in Canadian dollars.

Because she is not Buddhist, my colleague did not realize that she was practicing metta–generally translated as loving kindness–when she said that she would go to a Windsor bank and get a Canadian cheque; a cheque I sent to a friend in Ottawa.

As I was drafting this reflection, I received a phone call from my friend’s sister. Her brother left a few days ago for Sri Lanka and although she knows little about technology, she will talk to someone who will make sure the monks get what they need.

Metta, like violence is mimetic. As a violent act begets more violence, kindness also mimics itself as it is passed on from person to person.

I image my colleague saying something to the effect that all she did was drop by the bank; that it was I who actually spent the money for the DVD. In my world view, I spend money from my surplus; money left over after all of my needs had been met. What is the sacrifice of that? Besides, without my colleague’s help, I could not have practiced generosity.

Then there is the woman who has taken on the task of learning about DVD players and making the purchase. She will spend a great deal of time on a task for which she was volunteered. Yet she is the one who called to thank me for remembering the monks.

We each had a role to play in helping the monks improve their English and we each played our role well. But there are other roles that are equally important: the individuals who will help my friend’s sister, those who will set up the DVD once it is purchased, those who make the tea that will be drunk at various times as the project is being completed, and on and on.

Finally, we also need to remember the words of John Milton, “They also serve who only stand and wait.” Those who practice metta provided the hospitable environment in which this act of generosity could take place. And, later, they will take some generous action while I stand and wait for my next opportunity to serve.

–Steven L. Berg, PhD