Last night on my way home I saw a man on the sidewalk with nothing beyond his elbows. I believe in the dictum "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" as much as the next person. But how do you teach a man with no hands how to fish? So I pulled out the bread I'd bought for the next morning's breakfast and offered it to him. I wasn't sure if you could eat it on his own but he motioned to just place it before him so I did. As a ascended the steps into the subway station I turned back to see him with his face to the ground, devouring the food like a ravenous dog. And my heart broke. It broke for him and it broke for the thai people. In Thailand very few people would be compelled to help such a man, much less even pity him. Such a person a scorned as a victim of his own bad karma from this life or a previous life. How can a religion that denies compassion to such a or be considered good? But lest this becomes a bashing of Buddhism or buddhists I must say that a poorly practiced, good religion is just as bad as if not worse than a bad religion. So often we as Christians fail to apply the Apostle's words to the church in Corinth: "the parts of the body that we think less honorable are indispensable ... [and] we bestow the greater honor."
And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not why they do." Luke 23:34
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