Selfless kindness directed even at inanimate objects is held up as an ideal

Evidence

But there were six statues and only five hats. So the old man took off his OWN hat — his only protection against the storm — and tied it onto the head of the sixth Jizo. Then, bareheaded in the snow, he walked the rest of the way home. … When he got home and told his wife what he had done — that he had sold no hats, and had given away even his own hat, to keep some cold stone statues warm — she did not scold him at all. “You did a kind thing,” she said warmly. “That was exactly right. We will get along somehow.” — , A Year of World Stories, 8454

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the ‘kindness rewarded’ tales and to the curriculum’s reflections on selfless action (also recall the Gita’s acting without attachment to fruits). — connects to: Small kindnesses toward the helpless may yield great returns — , A Year of World Stories, 7706; One act of kindness toward a humble creature can change a god’s destiny — , A Year of World Stories, 8261; The kindness-rewarded, greed-punished tale recur in nearly every human culture independently — , A Year of World Stories, 9258 (+1 more)
• SEED: Angle: a cross-cultural meditation on why ‘impossible’ kindness — offered where no repayment or even acknowledgment is possible — is treasured as the highest form.

Related

• One act of kindness toward a humble creature can change a god’s destiny (similarity 0.82)
• Small kindnesses toward the helpless may yield great returns (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• The kindness-rewarded, greed-punished tale recur in nearly every human culture independently #corroborates (0.70) — , A Year of World Stories, 9258
• Gratitude in folklore can demand the ultimate sacrifice of life itself #expands (0.55) — , A Year of World Stories, 8823