Once, there was an old beggar woman who wanted to make an offering to the Buddha. She only had one small coin, so she used it to buy some oil. She then took it to the monastery, lit a lamp, and placed it before the Buddha. “May I be blessed with the lamp of wisdom?” she said. That night the oil in all other lamps went out, but the woman’s lamp kept burning. The next day, the Buddha’s disciple came to collect the old lamps. When he tried to blow out the old woman’s lamp, it kept on burning. The Buddha was watching this, and said, “Even if you pour all the water of oceans, rivers and lakes into this lamp, it will keep burning, because it was offered with true devotion and purity of heart.” He then blessed the woman with wisdom, as she had asked.
Moral: Our motivation determines the fruit of our actions.
