The story describes a man who witnessed a boy pushing his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk. This prompted the man to reflect on how people in fast-paced modern lives often neglect to help those in need until forced to stop by disruptions. He was reminded not to rush through life so quickly that someone has to throw a brick to get his attention to the suffering of others. True spiritual growth comes from developing wisdom through meditation alongside serving others through charity.

1. Story To
Reflect Upon
79
Heaven and Hell
A man spoke with the Lord about Heaven and Hell. "I will show
you Hell," said the Lord. And they went into a room which had a
large pot of stew in the middle. The smell was delicious and
around the pot sat people who were famished and desperate. All
were holding spoons with very long handles which reached to the
pot, but because the handles of the spoons were longer than their
arms, it was impossible to get the stew into their mouths. Their
suffering was terrible.
"Now I will show you Heaven," said the Lord, and they went into
an identical room. There was a similar pot of stew and the people
had the same identical spoons, but they were well nourished,
talking and happy.
At first the man did not understand.
"It is simple," said the Lord. "You see, they have learned to feed
each other."
Unknown Author
Reflection:
Selfishness, self-centredness, ego-gratification, a lack of care,
love and concern for others will lead to suffering of the mind.
True happiness, peace and joy can only be experienced when
one is able to let go more and more of the self and reach out to
others more and more.

2. Story To
Reflect
Upon 80
The Obstacle in Our Path
In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a
roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if
anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's
wealthiest people came by and simply walked around it.
Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads
clear, but none did anything about getting the big stone out
of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of
vegetables. On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid
down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of
the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally
succeeded. As the peasant picked up his load of
vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the
boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins
and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the
person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The
peasant learned what many others never understand.
Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one's
condition.
Reflection
• Many self- centered or selfish people would
not help to make life easier for others. The
DANA spirit is very lacking today.
• Many just complain about trying situations
or problems but how many take steps to do
anything positive about them?
• Our world will be a better place if more
practice mindfulness and compassion for
others.
• Good begets good. A positive selfless
action taken to help relieve the problem or
hardship of others will have good kammic
effects.

3. Don’t Wait For The Brick
Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the little boy push his
wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was
a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very
noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side
door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message:
Don’t go through life so fast that someone has to throw a
brick at you to get your attention!
Reflection
* So many people today in a fast- moving world have
become so busy pursuing their career, fame and glory and
material wealth that they hardly have time to pause, ponder
and reflect on the meaning and purpose of life.
* So many have become less and less aware of or sensitive
to the untold plight and suffering of so many unfortunate
ones. We have become more self- centered and caught up in
sensual pursuits for the pleasure of ourselves.
* Isn't it important in this short and uncertain life of ours to
do the little that we can to reach out to others ... to bring
some joy and happiness to so many unfortunate ones.
* One would have lived a life well, a life with meaning if one
lives by the maxim :
"SERVE TO BE PERFECT. ( This is the Compassion
aspect of Dhamma practice )
BE PERFECT TO SERVE." ( This is the Wisdom
aspect of Dhamma practice.)
* Doing Dana or charity is of utmost importance in the
Spiritual Path.
* One needs to develop or purify the mind ( essentially
through Meditation ) concurrently with the outreach
work. Otherwise one may be 'burnt out' ...one cannot
truly grow spiritually .