There was a beautiful Buddhist monastery in the middle of a dense jungle. In that lived an abbot with his trainee monks. As guided by the abbot, the trainee monks practiced the virtue of kindness.

That abbot often left the monastery to work with his family-oriented disciples. In one such situation, he was gone for a significant duration.

At that time, the trainee monks continued to practice kindness. As part of it, they began offering food to the jungle deer.

Initially, those animals were scared to venture close to the monks. Over a while, the deer became comfortable eating the food they offered. With time, the deer even began eating from their hands.

Soon, the abbot returned to the monastery. The trainee monks spoke proudly about their practice of kindness, and they mentioned the effort they had put into feeding those deer.

The next day, when the deer came to eat, the abbot watched them. Suddenly, he took a long cane and began beating those animals black and blue. The poor deer got scared and ran away from there forever.

Everyone was shocked at the abbot’s unkindness. Some trainee monks even dumped their practice and left the monastery. A few who stayed behind decided to confront their abbot.

One of the trainee monks asked, “You preach kindness, but you didn’t practice it. How could you cane those poor animals? That’s mean and unkind.”

The abbot calmly replied, “The deer ate from your hand today. Tomorrow, those will eat from a hunter’s hand. So, I taught the deers never to trust humans. You merely thought about today. I foresaw their future.”

The trainee monks felt ashamed of themselves. They even apologized to the abbot.

At that time, the abbot said, “You practiced kindness. And I demonstrated compassion. Until your kindness converts into compassion, you remain a trainee monk.”

Better Not to Judge

At times, compassion appears like unkindness, cruelty, or even rebellion. Hence, we can never judge anyone for their actions.

An act by itself means nothing. It is the intent behind that action that makes all the difference.

Since identifying intentions is almost impossible, it’s better not to judge anyone for their actions. If we have questions or concerns, we can inquire and get the others’ views before deciding anything.

It’s essential to be careful and protect ourselves. Yet, we have no right to label anyone as good or evil.

Love,
Sri Devi Om