It was February 1976 ... - Dhamma by Ajahn Jayasāro
It was February 1976. I was a teenager travelling alone through southern India. I remember climbing down from a crowded bus after a long dusty journey at the edge of a large town. It was already dark and I walked through the town looking for a cheap place to spend the night. As I rounded a corner I heard a voice shouting out to me. I looked over to see a woman sitting at the side of the road by and old cooking pot, dishing out lentil soup to her many children. She insisted that I sat down with them and take a plate of soup and some bread. I was very hungry and the simple food tasted delicious. When I looked up, I saw the woman was watching my enjoyment with a look of genuine affection and satisfaction on her face, as if she had just fed her own grown-up son rather than a stranger. Almost forty years have passed by. There must have been times on my travels when I was treated unkindly but I can't remember them now. The kindness of people like this poor woman however, living in rags on the street with her children, has never left me. Please do not underestimate small acts of kindness. They have a power and an influence and a beauty that lasts for a very long time.
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