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Periodical Reflections Western people rarely measure the quality of their lives in terms of the good they have done. Many people believe that you are "good enough" for as long as you aren't actively wicked, but really this is only the zero baseline of a good life. The measure of doing good deeds in your life, if you are prepared to meet the chal- lenge, ascends to heights "off the scale" of mortal imagination. THE CHALLENGE OF DOING GOOD BY NICHOLAS C. WOODS TO DO GOOD DEEDS, YOU NEED FIRST OF ALL TO know something long lost from mainstream Western cul- ture. You need to know the measure of good deeds, to recognise when you are being success- ful in doing good. The highest potential of good from our actions comes from generosity, self-discipline and medita- tion. These trainings are challenging because they demand transformation of the hard shell around our true per- sonality. The measure of good deeds that will transform your personality and your destiny is as follows: Good deeds are not easy to perform. Two sponsors recently went to our temple: sponsors renowned for their generosity in offering alms-food to the monks. They payed respect to the ab- bot and asked the Venerable what special deed they should do to help the temple and store up goodness for their futures. The abbot advised them to choose something personally challeng- ing something that would test their patience and commitment to see the deed through to its successful completion. The sponsors could have given food into the bowls of the monks - generos- ity in providing for the needs of the monks is recognised by all Buddhists as good deed of high merit. However, they were determined to better themselves. They could have bought enough food to serve the whole community of monks, multiplying their merit enormously. However, they were determined to do something special - set a precedent. In the end, the good work they brought to completion affected the lives of all the people in our temple and thousands of people outside. The food they offered on the 26th of August was served to all the 400+ monks and novices in our temple. It was also enough to serve over 1000 laypeople: staff and patrons from inside and outside the temple. Sitting nine-to-a-table, around Chinese folding trestles brought in especially for the occasion, the patrons each sponsored a leg of the table, raising several tens of thousands of Baht for charity - sharing in the merit of the day. All these supporters, all this fund-raising and all this festive atmosphere of sharing good deeds on "Chinese Table Day" came as a result of the determination of these two sponsors in persuading friends and acquaintances of the impor- tance of taking time from their normal busy-ness, to devote a Saturday to scaling the ladder of goodness. Kalyanamitra.org กัลยา ณ ม ต ร ๑๑๑