acts of charity

 Charity starts at home so be kind to yourself and love yourself.And when you feel sorry for yourself,remember there are people in 10 times worse situation than you and for those who have everything,do remember there are many who have nothing so help others even when you know they cant help you in return.

    I always remember mom giving clothes to a homeless old man who used to live below the staircase near our shop at night.But of course dont be cheated by syndicates that traffick the old and disabled to milk sympathy from the public,thats disgusting to exploit the old and disabled.

    I try to budget frugal expenditure so I get some savings and make a small contribution to . . charity like the Taman Megah Disabled Childrens Centre where Jun had his birthday party there some years ago.I also donate food n provisions to TiRatana orphanage and old folks home and my friends charity for teaching stateless kids Buku Jalanan Chow Kit.Our contribution may not be much to shout about but i believe every drop will make a difference.

    When we went to holiday in Myanmar years ago,i asked the guide to collect some contribution from the group and donated to the orphanage there.Whether in big or small ways ,the Boddhisatva vows to save all sentient beings from suffering and so she delay her own entry to Nibbana to help all sentient beings.The teachings of Matteau Ricard on Altruism says on Dalai Lamas wisdom "We all share the same human nature,feel the same emotion of joy and sadness,benevolence and anger and are all trying to avoid suffering.Thus as human beings we are basically the same,no difference between men and women today and in the Buddhas time,no more than there is any basic differences between Easterner and Westerner.

Matteau Ricard looks at how medical research looks at the neuronal plasticity of the brain."It became clear that,until one dies,new neurons continue to form in certain regions of the human brain up to 1,000 a day.This is occurring throughout life.The finding looks at the possibility that we have more control over our  own brain capacity than we ever thought possible."Ricard looks at effects of altruistic love meditation on social connection,lessening unpleasant effects of physical pain and slow down the aging of cells.

   Ive made a small contribution to my ex colleagues Siti Rahayu NGO Buku Jalanan Chow Kit as she has made sacrifices and given up a stable career to pour her energy to educating refugee childrens and stateless children without citizenship.I sold some of my collection of books to my colleague who made a small donation to her charity.Ive  been thinking of how I can do my part to help the people of Sri Lanka and will discuss with Chief Reverend on my plans when the people are suffering from dire shortage of fuel,medicine and basic food.Theyve suffered a lot from a civil war,a tsunami and now a man made economic crisis.My two holiday in Sri lanka impressed me with their hospitality and i wish to return the favour in any small way.How I wish for inner peace when all around me is not at peace.