Apple

You can begin doing away with selfishness through giving. If people are selfish they do not feel good about themselves. And yet people then to be very selfish without realizing how it affects them.

You can experience this at any time. Notice it when you are hungry. If you get a couple of apples and then the opportunity arises to share them with someone else, a friend for instance, you think it over. Really, the intention to give is there, but you only want to give away the smaller one. To give the big one, well, it would be a shame. It's hard to think straight. You tell your friend to go ahead and take one but then you say, "Take this!" and give him the smaller one. This one form of selfishness, but people don't often notice it. Have you ever seen this?

In giving, you really have to against the grain. Even though you want to give the smaller fruit, you must force yourself to give the bigger one. Of course once you've given it to your friend, it feels so good. Training the mind by going against the grain in this way requires self-discipline. You must know how to give and not nurture your selfishness. This is called going against the grain in a correct way.