Luang Por had searched far and wide for a teacher, yet it was simply the sight of our Master Nunspitting that told him he had finally found one.
For whenever she needed to spit, the Master Nun would keep beside her several sheets of paper — approximately A4 size, each cut into quarters. Each time she spat, she would spit onto one of the sheets; each time again, onto another sheet.
When asked why she did this, she replied that she was old and could not dispose of such things herself — she had to rely on her grandchildren to empty the spittoon. And so, if saliva, rinse water, or mucus were left floating openly within it, flies and insects would be drawn to it, and any visiting devotees who caught sight of it would find it disagreeable. Even her grandchildren, when coming to empty it, would find it unpleasant.
But if she placed paper over it as she went, then when the grandchildren came to dispose of it, all they would see was a piece of slightly damp paper — and they would not be repulsed by it. Even with her own grandchildren, she thought this carefully and this thoroughly.
This is a living example of empathy — of placing oneself in another’s position, and placing another in one’s own.
November 29th. 2017
