Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

used." And he gave the mantra. Thus, every day that
learned monk earnestly fed those animals, giving them
food which he converted through his meditation and the
mantra into nectar. When they died, these beings were
released from their evil condition and came to human
birth. Growing up, by their strong karmic connection,
they came to that learned monk as his disciples. Within
ten or twenty years, he had many devoted disciples to
teach.
In the Mahayana too, there are many things practiced to
help others, for the central concept in this yana is that of
the bodhisattva, one who selflessly and in every way
helps everybody. Even small things which no one asks
you to do should be performed: when you see a worm
crawling across the road, pick it up and put it among the
grass, or if you see a banana-skin that a small child
might slip on, put it out of the path; and so on. Then the
merits of such actions should be turned over to all
beings by the alliance of the perfection of wisdom with
the first three perfections.
Also, one may earn merits by speech; by saying
something agreeable to a person, for instance, or by
praising good workmanship. Usually if someone has
done something or enjoyed some success, others may be
envious—this is common, for envy is hard to destroy.
But the bodhisattva will never react like this. He will
always have a good word, a sympathetic happiness with
others' pleasures, and comes in this way to make others
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