Before Helping Others, Ask If You're Okay

If your mind is full of affliction, what you give carries that affliction. If you're spinning in suffering, your gifts won't contain peace. You can't teach English without knowing it; you can't teach compassion without having it. The Saṃyuktāgama's double-arrow parable: ordinary beings take two arrows — physical and mental suffering. Deal with your own arrows first. Self-benefit isn't selfishness — it's ensuring what you give out is clean.