The Meaning of Being Considerate

At a recent Interfaith Prayer Service I shared a couple of readings and thought this would be a good space to share them with others.

This first passage is from a dialogue conducted between Daisaku Ikeda and high school student representatives entitled “Dialogues with Youth.”

“The noble side of a person is manifested in kindness and consideration to others. Kindness and consideration for others resonate with both the Buddhist concept of compassion and the core Christian concept of love. Every person has grown up supported by the warmth and kindness of many people. When viewed from a larger perspective, we exist here thanks to the support not only of the people around us, but of everything on this earth and in the entire universe.

Behind each of us stands not just 4 billion years of kindness from the Earth, but the compassion of the entire universe since time without beginning. Therefore, we mustn’t slander or devalue our life. Life is the most precious of all treasures. Each of us has been given this invaluable gift and each of us is irreplaceable. Those bearers of life — the universe, the Earth and mothers — cherish their children. The most important thing for the 21st century is that we expand throughout society this absolute, fundamental consideration, this profound compassion toward life.”

This second passage is an excerpt from a letter written in 1277 by the 13th Century Buddhist teacher, Nichiren Daishonin, entitled “Three Kinds of Treasure.”

“More valuable than treasures in a storehouse are the treasures of the body, and the treasures of the heart are the most valuable of all. From the time you read this letter on, strive to accumulate the treasures of the heart!”