John Block writes in "American Way":
On the Chicago-bound plane out of Los Angeles International Airport, I sit elbow to elbow with a middle-seater -- a slender Asian lady who is middle-aged like me -- playing solitaire on the computer. A book in a language that I cannot discern rests in her lap.
I try to sleep; then I try to write. I can do neither, but somehow the hours pass. I think, “At least I am in an aisle seat and am able to stretch my left leg.”
When the 757 touches down, a passenger in front of me applauds and I activate my cell phone. There are 11 new messages. The first is from my sister, and the next two are from my wife. I already know what they both want to report, so I hit delete three times. The fourth is from my project supervisor: “John, I’m so sorry about your dad …” Then she says in that gentle lilt of hers that she is sure that I’d been a great son. Dry-eyed the whole morning and throughout the flight, I unexpectedly well up. I twist my head left. Commanding myself to keep quiet, I continue to watch the aisle as we head toward the gate.
I feel 9E wrestling in her purse and then a hand patting my own. I turn back. With her eyes locked on mine, she holds up a tissue. I try to smile as I wipe my cheeks. “Thank you,” I murmur. She nods. Then she lets me take her hand and squeeze it. As I pull my luggage from the overhead compartment and into the busy aisle, she nods again.
In Sanskrit, the term "bodhisattva" denotes those beings who live wisdom and compassion with no hindrance in the mind. May we all sit next to - or even better yet become - bodhisattvas like the passenger in 9E. As well as recognising that buddhas and benefactors constantly surround us.
