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There is the well-known story, to those who are familiar with Buddhist Teachings of the beggar woman, whose heart was always with her Lord Buddha, whatever her circumstances. The love that poured out from her heart to her beloved Lord was so strong, that its energy reached and touched His heart, simply because it was so simple and unconditional.
Here it becomes imperative to realize, from this story that it is our intentions, and our secret motivation for every action that determines the karmic outcome of its consequences, not on the grandness of the scale on which they are performed.
The story goes that during the lifetime of the Buddha there was a beggar woman who subsisted on the charity of those who felt obliged to give away something as alms to the unfortunate and poor. She relied on the quality of the 'joy of giving' in other humans, and was nicknamed "Relying on Joy".
Everyday she would watch all the nobility, including kings, aristocrats, and other rich people line up outside the Buddha's temple to make costly offerings of silver and gold, and fine foods. Her heart always longed to do something for the Buddha, and she yearned to be able to make some kind of offering, to gain His blessings.
{{/usCountry}}Everyday she would watch all the nobility, including kings, aristocrats, and other rich people line up outside the Buddha's temple to make costly offerings of silver and gold, and fine foods. Her heart always longed to do something for the Buddha, and she yearned to be able to make some kind of offering, to gain His blessings.
{{/usCountry}}One day she decided to offer her day's earnings to the Buddha. At the end of the day she had received just one coin, which she knew would not be enough to even light one little lamp before Him. Nevertheless she went to the grocer to buy oil, and he informed her that the coin was not sufficient payment for it. However, when he learnt that it was meant to light a lamp of love before the Buddha, he felt charitable towards her, and gave her the oil.
The beggar woman went to the monastery of the Buddha, lighted the lamp, and said, "I have nothing to offer but this tiny lamp. But through this offering, in the future, may I be blessed with the lamp of wisdom. May I free all beings from their darkness. May I purify all their obscurations, and lead them to enlightenment."
At dawn, when Buddha's disciple Maudgalyayana came to collect the lamps, he found that all the other lamps had gone out, yet the beggar's lamp was still burning, and full of oil. Thinking that there was no need for the lamp to burn through the day he tried to snuff it out, but it just would not blow out.
The Buddha was watching, and told him, "Maudgalyayana, do you want to put out that lamp? You cannot, you cannot even move it, leave alone put it out. If you were to pour all the water of the oceans into this lamp, it would still remain burning. Because this lamp was lighted with pure devotion, stemming from purity and love of heart and mind. This motivation has made this lamp's flame indestructible."
The beggar woman approached near, and the Buddha blessed her and prophesied that she would be the perfect Buddha called, Light of the Lamp!
As Buddha said:
"Karma creates all, like an artist,
Karma composes, like a dancer."