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The car sticker above comes from my friend, TY Lee, who hosts the website http://loveusnoteatus.com/
The other day, my husband sent my car for service, and an elderly pakcik (that’s “uncle” in Malay) saw the sticker and said he liked it very much. Since I always keep a supply of these stickers in my car, my husband gladly gave him two.
The pakcik then went on the say that animals have an aura about them, or even, a certain kind of “power” that we humans do not know about. He said, “If you are kind to an animal, never think it’s a waste because the animal cannot repay you. It can. In ways that you will never be able to understand.” Then the pakcik went on to say “budi mereka kuat, tapi dendam pun kuat” (that means, their gratitude is great, but so is their revenge). Never hurt an animal, he said, they will remember.
I’d say the same of humans, I guess….
I recall now what my Hindu friend told me when I first gave him a copy my book, Pawprints. He said according to Hindu teachings, the best way to redeem your bad karma is to be kind to animals. He did not say why, but I guess that’s because good deeds are always measured by how noble and selfless one’s intention is. If a good deed is performed with no expectations of reward, it then qualifies as a truly noble and genuine “good deed”. Animals cannot say thank you or give us anything in return (or so we think, the pakcik says now), yet we still help them.
From where I come, it’s not about noble deeds or glory or even karma, it’s all about doing what is right.
Look deep inside your heart, and you will know what is right. And that knowledge must not remain as mere knowledge. It has to be translated into action. And then, the intention and the action blossom into something pure and beautiful because the right thing has been done.