Today was the saddest part of our journey. The closer we got to the Buddhist temples, the more beggars we encountered. These are not people who are lazy or have nothing better to do. They are truly on the margins of society. We saw children, women and men who were amputees, completely deformed, crippled, burned, or just so old that they could hardly move. Our hearts went out to all of them.
Long ago, I had decided that I will give when I am asked. This was hard to do, there were so many and I did not just want to give money, I also wanted to give a smile or some encouraging gesture. Perhaps I am just fooling myself but I wanted them to see that they matter. I realized that we could give and leave, they however, would receive and stay -- a fate ultimately harder than ours would ever be.
It amazed us how respectful the beggars were. When we came out of the 1st temple onto a large square, one beggar came and since we gave him a little money, ALL the beggars on the square came. They encircled us like a flock of birds. They were so nice: just smiling with heartwarming smiles which communicated an eternal truth: we are all just part of one human race, all trying to survive and making our journey here on earth the best we can. They did not get into our personal space, nor did they pull on us, nor did they make us feel uncomfortable. Not at any moment for instance were we worried that one of them would grab my wallet with all our money. They were happy with receiving whatever we were willing to impart and did not want more than was given. At the end when we had given to and smiled at everyone who was in the large circle around us, I was especially touched by one sweet old lady. She looked quite haggard, ancient really, like an old knotty tree, still standing in spite of the wind, hardly any teeth, clothes in shreds, no worldly possessions and yet this lady touched me deeply. I think that the term lady is the only term befitting her, notwithstanding her appearance, for she had compassion and love for her fellow man. After we were done divvying out to all the beggars she urged us on to come with her. She wanted us to bless her friend's life who could not come to us because his disability and she had taken it upon herself to lead us to him. She wasn't thinking of herself, she wasn't greedy, she was compassionate! There are truly kings and queens among beggars. Another lesson learned!
The other beggar who moved me deeply was a little boy. We found him near Beijing Road which is the main shopping street in Guangzhou. He sat there all by himself on a little platform that had wheels and a box nailed to it for the donations. This little guy was about 7 (my guess), horribly deformed (feet were on backwards) and he had hydrocephalus. He was clearly mentally challenged and his caregivers had pulled down his pants and sawed a hole in the platform so he could relieve himself and they would not have to come all day. Lethargically, he was sucking on some crackers, his eyes were kind of dim. No light in them, no interest for the world. I bent down to put some money in his box when when all of a sudden I realized that he would not benefit from it -- he couldn't with his disabilities. I still donated because I do not know the mentally of people who would put a little child by himself on the street all day long. Perhaps they have no other choice; perhaps by earning his keep it enabled him to secure the little care that he did get. Either way I did not want him to be negatively affected, but I also did not want to walk away without giving to him instead of giving to whoever collected his money. I squatted down beside him and pulled some peanut M&Ms out of my purse. I think in the States you would get arrested for giving candy to a strange kid but in China no one cares. I gave him a M&M and he clearly had no idea what to do with it. It was big and bright and blue. I pulled out another one, put it into my mouth and motioned him to do the same. He sort of spit out his cracker. He was very slow, so the entire thing seemed to happen in slow motion, and then he inserted the blue shape into his mouth. No expression at first, he just started sucking on it, then he chewed and all of a sudden he gave me the biggest smile, blue teeth and all, chocolate squirting out between his teeth. I don't know if he ever had chocolate before but he clearly liked it and it made him very happy. He just couldn't keep from grinning.
As he smiled, the same thing happened that happened when the beggar lady urged us to meet her friend: All of a sudden we could see the little guy's spirit -- who he really was not the deformed body that represents him on this earth. He aroused such compassion in me and I felt a kinship towards him, just one human being to another. It is interesting how we find kindred spirits in the most unlikely of places. Indeed he is a special child, just like all children are.
I am so sorry that I cannot go and care for him often, but I hope that tasting chocolate brightened his day just a bit. I will definitely go and visit him when I am in Guangzhou the next time, only I hope he wont' be there and will have met a better fate replete with peanut M&Ms.
P.S. Dear children, I did not tell you these stories to show how grand I am to donate, it was really nothing, and I do not fool myself into thinking I have made a difference in their lives; although the opposite is true, they made a difference in mine. However, I would like you to have compassion towards those who have less, always. There are many. Whether you will find them in China on a trip half way across the world or right at your school, lonely and without friends. Always give of yourself, that is when miracles happen that is when you can show true compassion that is when you can share one human being to the next, just like our greatest example!
P.P.S. I did not take any pictures of those I described, it did not seem right. The pictures I am posting here are of beggars in Guangzhou, but they are street scenes taken mostly from the car, so you can see for yourself. I think gratitude for our easy and wonderful life is in place.
Long ago, I had decided that I will give when I am asked. This was hard to do, there were so many and I did not just want to give money, I also wanted to give a smile or some encouraging gesture. Perhaps I am just fooling myself but I wanted them to see that they matter. I realized that we could give and leave, they however, would receive and stay -- a fate ultimately harder than ours would ever be.
It amazed us how respectful the beggars were. When we came out of the 1st temple onto a large square, one beggar came and since we gave him a little money, ALL the beggars on the square came. They encircled us like a flock of birds. They were so nice: just smiling with heartwarming smiles which communicated an eternal truth: we are all just part of one human race, all trying to survive and making our journey here on earth the best we can. They did not get into our personal space, nor did they pull on us, nor did they make us feel uncomfortable. Not at any moment for instance were we worried that one of them would grab my wallet with all our money. They were happy with receiving whatever we were willing to impart and did not want more than was given. At the end when we had given to and smiled at everyone who was in the large circle around us, I was especially touched by one sweet old lady. She looked quite haggard, ancient really, like an old knotty tree, still standing in spite of the wind, hardly any teeth, clothes in shreds, no worldly possessions and yet this lady touched me deeply. I think that the term lady is the only term befitting her, notwithstanding her appearance, for she had compassion and love for her fellow man. After we were done divvying out to all the beggars she urged us on to come with her. She wanted us to bless her friend's life who could not come to us because his disability and she had taken it upon herself to lead us to him. She wasn't thinking of herself, she wasn't greedy, she was compassionate! There are truly kings and queens among beggars. Another lesson learned!
The other beggar who moved me deeply was a little boy. We found him near Beijing Road which is the main shopping street in Guangzhou. He sat there all by himself on a little platform that had wheels and a box nailed to it for the donations. This little guy was about 7 (my guess), horribly deformed (feet were on backwards) and he had hydrocephalus. He was clearly mentally challenged and his caregivers had pulled down his pants and sawed a hole in the platform so he could relieve himself and they would not have to come all day. Lethargically, he was sucking on some crackers, his eyes were kind of dim. No light in them, no interest for the world. I bent down to put some money in his box when when all of a sudden I realized that he would not benefit from it -- he couldn't with his disabilities. I still donated because I do not know the mentally of people who would put a little child by himself on the street all day long. Perhaps they have no other choice; perhaps by earning his keep it enabled him to secure the little care that he did get. Either way I did not want him to be negatively affected, but I also did not want to walk away without giving to him instead of giving to whoever collected his money. I squatted down beside him and pulled some peanut M&Ms out of my purse. I think in the States you would get arrested for giving candy to a strange kid but in China no one cares. I gave him a M&M and he clearly had no idea what to do with it. It was big and bright and blue. I pulled out another one, put it into my mouth and motioned him to do the same. He sort of spit out his cracker. He was very slow, so the entire thing seemed to happen in slow motion, and then he inserted the blue shape into his mouth. No expression at first, he just started sucking on it, then he chewed and all of a sudden he gave me the biggest smile, blue teeth and all, chocolate squirting out between his teeth. I don't know if he ever had chocolate before but he clearly liked it and it made him very happy. He just couldn't keep from grinning.
As he smiled, the same thing happened that happened when the beggar lady urged us to meet her friend: All of a sudden we could see the little guy's spirit -- who he really was not the deformed body that represents him on this earth. He aroused such compassion in me and I felt a kinship towards him, just one human being to another. It is interesting how we find kindred spirits in the most unlikely of places. Indeed he is a special child, just like all children are.
I am so sorry that I cannot go and care for him often, but I hope that tasting chocolate brightened his day just a bit. I will definitely go and visit him when I am in Guangzhou the next time, only I hope he wont' be there and will have met a better fate replete with peanut M&Ms.
P.S. Dear children, I did not tell you these stories to show how grand I am to donate, it was really nothing, and I do not fool myself into thinking I have made a difference in their lives; although the opposite is true, they made a difference in mine. However, I would like you to have compassion towards those who have less, always. There are many. Whether you will find them in China on a trip half way across the world or right at your school, lonely and without friends. Always give of yourself, that is when miracles happen that is when you can show true compassion that is when you can share one human being to the next, just like our greatest example!
P.P.S. I did not take any pictures of those I described, it did not seem right. The pictures I am posting here are of beggars in Guangzhou, but they are street scenes taken mostly from the car, so you can see for yourself. I think gratitude for our easy and wonderful life is in place.
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