Mutual Aid: The Heart of Civilization

 ~ By Ajahn Jayasāro ~

Recently, I was sent a beautiful vignette. It concerned the great cultural anthropologist, Margaret Mead. On one occasion she was asked what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture. Presumably, her questioner expected the answer to involve some kind of ancient tool or artefact. Instead, she answered that it was a femur (a human thighbone) that had been broken and then healed. She explained that for creatures in the wild a broken leg is a death sentence: the injured animal cannot hunt, make its way to a watering hole, or escape from its enemies. A healed broken femur shows that the person received assistance. Someone helped them by binding up the wound, carrying them to safety, nursing them until they recovered. Margaret Mead concluded that in her view civilization begins when people start helping each other through difficulties.

I found these words very moving and my mind keeps returning to them. They reinforce my conviction that mutual aid is not just the beginning of civilization, but its heart. It is only when we dare to go beyond the narrow, suffocating prison of self concern that in our inner world we can open ourselves to the Dhamma, and in our life in the world, we can help to create a society worth living in.

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"Food for the Heart", a series of Dhamma teachings handwritten weekly is posted on the Buddhadāsa Indapañño Archives page with Ajahn's kind permission.

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For other teachings by Ven. Ajahn Jayasāro, please visit the Panyaprateep Foundation website.