evidence: "Ye cannot live for yourselves; a thousand fibres connect you with your fellow-men, and along those fibres, as along sympathetic threads, run your actions as causes, and return to you as effects." -Henry Melvill (1798–1871), influential British priest [...] A basic tenet of Buddhism is that all of our actions have consequences, and that we need to live responsibly, as though our every thought, word, and deed has an effect somewhere, on something. Hearing this story brought this teaching home to me quite profoundly. When I turn the thermostat up in my house so I’m a bit more comfortable, or drive to the store because I don’t have the time to walk — these casual little actions I undertake as an individual have their consequences, some of which can ultimately be quite dire.