Y not said: “If only we were able to always put ourselves in the shoes of ‘that other’ most of these questions would not even arise.”
That is really the bottom line. In fact, that was Buddha’s advise to the people of Kalama in the Kalama Sutta.
Put it in another way: Nibbana (cooling down), starting from the very basic level is to remove greed, hate, and ignorance (greed and hate arise due to ignorance).
- So, if a given action causes one to be uncomfortable that is due to greed, hate, ignorance arising. This is what is called “taapa” (or “heat”) in Satipatthana. One should avoid such actions.
- On the other hand, returning a lost item to the owner (whenever possible) is a non-greed, non-hate action done without ignorance. That always lead to joy in the heart in both people, opposite of taapa.
Both actions lead to cooling down of the mind.