Good Karma Music Stories

Last December I heard of a woman with a brain tumor and no family in a nursing home. My co-worker was going to take her to a concert, but the home wouldn’t let her leave. I thought it was unfair and decided to bring the concert to her. I took my kid and his friend to visit her last Christmas and sing to her. We decided to start going every month after that. Then, another kid joined us. Then we added a nursing home. Then we added another kid. Now I have 4 kids who go to two nursing homes every month for going on one year now. They play their violins and sing songs. It all started over one injustice and turned into these little kids being able to help and share kindness with so many people over and over. When bad things happend to good people, other people can turn them into more good.

Since I have retired from teaching Philosophy, I have devoted my time to spreading the Dharma. I wrote a book on the Bodhisattva way of life and published it at my own expense as a gift to all sentient beings. The book is entitled, Ocean of Compassion: A Guide to the Life of Universal Loving. I have also started, at my own expense, a radio program called The Life of Universal Loving. It is at www.blogtalkradio.com/the-life-of-universal-loving. On this program, I give teachings on the Bodhisattva way of life and feature artists whose work and lives communicate spiritual messages. I also blog on the Bodhisattva way of life on the Huffington Post’s GPS for the soul section. All of this work is a gift I dedicate to the goal of everyone reaching the complete enlightenment of a Buddha. I would very much like to have one or more representatives of Paramita on my program for an interview and to introduce your music to my listeners. Bodhicitta motivation inspires my work, now.

I like to forget my good actions immediately after I’ve performed some. One summer night, 6:00 p.m. or so, I was returning from the gym. At that time, I lived together with my parents and had no job at all. Professional future was nothing but a wander. It´s very usual up here for many people to taste some smelling hot coffee with a sandwich at night, instead of dining.So, I was coming back home from an exercises routine and, halfway, under a roof with a huge hole in, inside an abandoned house´s dirty and stinky garage, there stood that old couple, forgotten by mankind, dressed in rags. I’ve seen animals best treated than that old couple. But, despite all the poverty on this huge world, there seemed to be love between that poor old man and that humble lady, there in that absence of any material comfort, two people left astray from the so called “civilized society” which was supposed to aid them in their old age. Promptly, I decided to go home, prepare some hot tasty coffee and a juicy sandwich, and rushed to that poor stinky spot in order to still try to find them laying around. For my happiness, both of them were still there and the light in her eyes, when I gave her that fresh tasty meal in a cold night is worth more than a million thank you´s.

I used to live in Rotterdam. Frequently I took a stroll in the busy shopping streets in the Rotterdam Centrum. There often I pass by a homeless person. Frequently I (try to) to talk to him, in the hope of understanding his situation. Unfortunately his story was often incoherent, despite my best efforts.This one time, it was very late and dark. And definitely pass dinner time. I saw this homeless person again and I thought by myself “How should I help him?”. I don’t want to give him money. You never know how he will spend the money (drugs?).So I asked him if he was hungry, which he replied yes. Then I asked him what he wanted to eat. I offered him to go to a Chinese restaurant (and there were very good ones in Rotterdam.) He said he was satisfied with having a McDonald meal. After I gave him the take away, I went home. I gave him food to fill his stomach. He gave me the chance to Paramita Dana.

Just after moving to a new home my wife and I notice that the neighbors had a very noisy labrador retriever that used to bark and mourn constantly. After sone days we visited them realized that the dog was recovering from broken his leg months ago and his owners were afraid of walking him since then (he used to scape from the dog-collar, eventually he was hit by a bus), that is why he was so noisy and anxious. So we volunteer to walk him. We have been doing that for the last weeks and got very happy with our new friend.

I wanted to get the CD so I decided to do some acts of kindness until I had a story to share. First I gave money to three homeless people with eye contact and a heartfelt blessing. That seemed pretty easy. Someone saw the response of one of the recipients and told me that I made her happy. Maybe I helped to inspire that passerby to be generous, too. Then I gave leftover food I was planning for the next day’s lunch to another homeless person. He seemed very hungry.The Rev. Heng Sure told a group that there are three types of giving: material (money, food, etc); courage and dharma.My courage story is that I met with a student from Hong Kong who is studying at an American University. He is interested in the field of sustainability (in which I work). I gave him advice for how to grow his contacts and his vision of what he wants to do and told him to keep me updated every few months. That felt like a true gift of attention, my time and my knowledge and some inspiration for him to fulfill his life’s dreams.My dharma story is that I am working to transform my anger against those who are blocking policy on energy and climate change that could accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy and could help humanity to learn to live with a lighter footprint. I absorbed the advice to separate the policy from the person and to be able to love all beings as divinely connected. I also get that coming from anger (and hatred and rage) leads to half-baked messages. My dharma act will be to tell the truth as I see it, not holding back for fear that people can’t handle the truth about what we are doing to our planetary life support systems and the consequences that humanity (and our brethren living beings) will have to endure over millenia to come. I will speak this truth from a place of love, as well as urgency and passion. And with the intention of building bridges between where people are now and where we can go together, building a future based on love, as well as science and commerce.Thank you for your beautiful music and your message of wisdom and walking each step with mindfulness and intention.

Once, there was a huge black spider with long feet on the wall of my room, but, instead of feeling disgusted and smashing it with a broom, I quickly played a buddhist song in my laptop, hoping that the mantra would make the spider more compassion and it would eventually stop frightening me. When I paid no more attention to the spider for a few minutes, I looked back at the wall and the spider was nowhere to be found. I am so glad that I did not take its life.