Selflessness is the perspective of regularly focusing on benefiting others rather than benefiting oneself. I cultivate it by never acting with only my interests in mind. The opposite is selfishness.§
Comparing the actions of one who is selfless to one who is selfish§ |
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|---|---|---|
Situation§ |
Selflessness§ |
Selfishness§ |
On a committee where you have developed the solution, you…§ |
deflect credit for the solution to the entire committee.§ |
make sure all know it was you who came up with the winning idea.§ |
When your parents need a babysitter for your younger sister so they can go out to dinner together, you…§ |
see the need, and volunteer for the task before they even ask.§ |
announce that you have other plans for the evening and suggest they hire a babysitter.§ |
On a cleanup team at school, you…§ |
stay beyond the deadline to make sure the task is fully completed.§ |
walk away at stopping time, leaving the burden of finishing it to others.§ |
Gurudeva explained: “As soon as he begins to turn inward, he begins to nourish his spiritual body. It starts to grow within the emotional body. It grows like a child, fed by all of his good deeds. All of his selflessness and selfless actions toward others feed that body. All of his working with himself, conquering instinctive emotions within himself, is food for that body, as it draws from the central source of energy. All of his selfishness and greed and giving power to the instinctive elements starve this spiritual body.”§
ASSIGNMENT: For the next two weeks, when working with others in a team project, do a little more than your fair share.§
Date you began this assignment ____________________§
MY THOUGHTS ON THE BENEFITS OF SELFLESSNESS: 
§
