Creating the Best in Oneself through Generosity : หน้า 169/207

On the contrary, those who had once been selfish, angry, or jealous, and then reversed their conduct by improving themselves, will possess positive thoughts, speech, and actions. When good deeds are accumulated, bad habits will turn into positive ones and they will be creating more of the very best in themselves. Both adults and children can do this; it just takes determination and conscientious practice. The way to create the very best in oneself The Lord Buddha taught the way to create the very best in oneself by eliminating greed, anger, and ignorance through the accumulation of merit. The elements of this way are: 1) Eliminating greed by regular acts of generosity. A good example can be seen in our ancestors. In those days, our ancestors would rise before dawn, and then wake their family to prepare the alms meal for the monks. The entire family had to get up and contribute. When the monks came to receive the alms offering, the grandparents would lead the children to put the meal offering into the monks' alms-bowls. After the offering, the grandparents would show their children how to transfer the merit to deceased relatives by pouring the water of dedication. In doing so, the children would be instilled with gratefulness and compassion. In families who lived far from the temple, and were not part of the route for the monks' alms round, the grandparents would ask their descendants to prepare food to offer to the monks, and they would travel to the temple to offer it there. If they could not travel due to illness, their children would go in their place. Before leaving the house, the grandparents would gather their descendants to make a resolution (wish). Our ancestors wanted their children to be acquainted with generosity, rather than have minds that were clouded or full of greed. Waking in the early morning to perform a good deed refreshes the mind with this positive act. Life is short and full of uncertainties. Thus, everyone in the family should begin their day with a radiant mind that thinks only about supporting others to do more good deeds such as offering alms to the monks in the morning. We can see that nowadays it is different. Most people today wake up with a thought about getting ahead in their careers, how they can triumph over others. Some have thoughts of deception throughout the entire day. Some always wake up late, unable to keep pace with others. These people do not perform a single good deed throughout their day, in addition to having gotten up late. When these situations occur, the whole family is affected. When one member takes advantage of others at work, he can do the same to his own family. This situation can worsen when The Warm Hearted Family 336 Blessing Our Descendants. The Warm Hearted Family 337 Blessing Our Descendants