Loving-kindness
I was thumbing through my books, prepping for my retreat TOMORROW and i came across this absolutely beautiful passage from Sharon Salzberg out of her book Loving-Kindness.
Paying attention to the seeds we water has been an ongoing study for me and a theme I’ve been writing about often. Our intentions are heard by the universe, even when we feel like it’s falling upon deaf ears.
“If we plant a certain kind of seed, it will inevitably bear the same kind of fruit. An apple seed leads to apples. This is the law of nature. We may plant an apple seed and then beg, weep, and protest because we want to harvest mangoes, but no amount of wishing or anguish will help to get us what we want. If we want mangoes, the only way to get mangoes is to plant a mango seed.
In precisely the same way, the intentions or motives that underlie all of our words and actions plant seeds. Certain kinds of intentions will inevitably bear fruits of the same type.
This also is an infallible law of nature. Wholesome intentions, like lovingkindness, compassion, honesty, and respect for the lives and property of others, if they manifest in action will sooner or later bear us the fruits of happiness. Unwholesome intentions-like hatred, cruelty, duplicity—will bear us the fruits of suffering if we express them in words or deeds. No action is without consequences.”
