One quiet morning, the Buddha sat with his students beside a still pond. He picked up a single small stone and dropped it into the water. Plip. Where the stone touched the water, a tiny circle appeared （漣漪）.
The little circle grew into a bigger circle, and then a bigger one, spreading out until the gentle ripples reached every edge of the pond. “One small stone,” the Buddha said, “touched the whole pond. Your kindness is like this stone.”
When you help one person who is sad or hurt, that person feels less suffering. Then they are kinder to someone else, and that person is kinder again. Loving-kindness (Mettā) wishes others happiness; compassion (Karuṇā) wishes that no one suffers — and like ripples, even a small act of compassion can change the whole world. Because we are all interconnected, we are one.