1) Many years ago, I told a lie. Intentionally.
An acquaintance of mine made fun of me in front of others.
The usually calm and composed me caved in to foolishness and egoism.
I knew it was wrong, but I allowed my folly and ego to take control of me.
Tit for tat.
When people hurt us, we hurt them back. (It's only logical, right?)
Wrong.
I regretted it.
The boomerang came flying back to me, fast and furious.
The lie spreads like wildfire.
I had to answer questions from many people, including a direct confrontation with the victim.
Boy! That was tough.
From then on, I always watch my speech, my thoughts, and most important of all, my motives.
I keep my big mouth shut.
I refuse to make another silly mistake of false and mindless, heedless speech.
I was a 'young ginger' then.
If I had been as 'old' then as I am now, and had meditated and read about Dhamma then, I would have ignored and forgiven her.
Laughed with the group of them even, and not be 'sucked' into their political games and control dramas.
But I pay my penance now by writing it down in my blog, revealing it to the whole world.
No wonder The Buddha set it down as one of the Precepts,
"Avoid idle chatter and false speech."
Very wise indeed.
2) When I was a school going kid, I would give up my seats to the elderly. (Please understand, I still do - give up my seats to those who need them)
So, imagine my surprise when one day, years later, while I'm on a crowded bus, carrying all my 'barang barang' (my haversack and my yoga mat), someone tapped me on the shoulder.
I turned.
It was an old man.
He's alighting at the next stop, and he asked me to take his seat.
There was so many others who were standing, yet he asked me!
I thanked him gratefully and thought nothing about it.
But many times after that, when I'm on crowded buses, the elderly always alert me to their seats, or the seats next to them and invite me to sit, even though there are so many others who are standing, some even nearer to them.
When that keeps happening, you know it's not a coincidence.
I realised then that the boomerang which I threw many years ago has come back to find me.
"If you want to be happy, if you want good things to come to you,
Then BE GOOD. DO GOOD."
"Good begets good.
Evil begets evil.
This is a Universal Law."
- The Buddha
