Is My Meditating Good for the World?

Buddhists often conclude a retreat or a meditation with words to the effect ‘may the merit of this practice benefit all beings.’ But what does that mean? How can my sitting on a cushion benefit all beings?

There are many different ways to answer this question, but let’s just start with what is fundamental—if the world contains just one less uptight, unaware, compassionless person, how could that not benefit at least a few people? And on top of that, consider the common metaphor of a rock that causes ripples in a pond. If we are warm and compassionate to the checkout person at the grocery store, is it not unreasonable to assume that she will be pleasant to the next person? And the next person in line may be more likely to be friendly/compassionate to the next person they encounter. Right?

I recently heard a monk state that he was no longer going to fly anywhere as a result of his personal commitment to positive environmental action. He was explicit in his awareness that his not flying was going to have almost no impact on global warming. Yet, it obviously can’t hurt, AND it sets an example for everyone else to live in accord with our ‘best selves.’ Picking up a piece of trash as you walk around town probably isn’t going to have a material impact on other people who continue to throw trash out of their car. But why not make what impact you can on the problem by doing your individual part?

How many times have you refrained from doing something first because you thought the ball was in the ‘other person’s’ court? We only have this one moment to live our best selves. What are you waiting for?