Yesterday I experienced true generosity…
Actually it doesnât matter what the gift is but what matters to me is the sincerity. I really value sincerity a lot because it is a rare quality and it tells me I can trust a person and they genuinely care and are grateful.
I wanted to tell you all about a gift I received yesterday which was so incredible… I was coming back from a visit to Wat Pho and also to the Chao Phraya River with Ethan, Seng Piow and KB. Returning, we saw this homeless lady who was getting ready for bed on the pavement. You know, she was moving her things about, and just organising herself and I was watching her as we were in a traffic jam, she was very perky and busy with her preparations.
So I asked our taxi driver to pull over and asked Ethan to go and give her some money. What happened next really amazed me.
I was sitting in our taxi and watching from a distance, and I saw Ethan give her the money. After that she spun around and grabbed the best thing she had, and tried to get Ethan to take it. I was shouting at him not to take it because I didnât want to take anything from her, but she kept insisting and she followed him all the way to the car. Ethan kept trying to leave and politely tell her no but she didnât let him go. She was really insistent that Ethan take it and of course I didn’t want to take from what little she had… I was trying to give to her help and here she is giving to me!! But then when she came to the car, I looked at her and I realized she was so sincere. She looked insistent… so to let her give meant alot to her.  So I told Ethan to take it from her, because to not take it from her would hurt her more.
And thatâs not all. After Ethan accepted her gift, she got on her knees and prostrated. I watched all of this…Â I mean, she REALLY prostrated â she was there on the street which was cold and wet, and she was prostrating her thanks to us. Itâs not as though I gave her a huge sum, just enough for her to get by until I go back and find her again (and I AM going back to find her again and help her some more) but she was so grateful. And there I am sitting there in the car, dry and comfortable and with the air-conditioning on. I was totally embarrassed because this woman is on her knees on the street and prostrating in thanks.
I wanted to share this with you all because the experience really moved me and inspired me. Even someone who lives on the streets and has nothing, still has something to give. Still so generous… She really wanted to give us something in return even though she owns nothing but what we would consider ‘trash’, so she gave us the BEST OF WHAT SHE HAS. She has great material poverty but she is definitely not poor in terms of her spirit. This woman has no home or roof over her head, and after I gave her the money, I saw she was so happy. We saw her go and get something, maybe food Iâm not sure â but she has NOTHING and we have so much. How come she can give when she has nothing, AND be so grateful to receive?
Iâm going to use her gift to make prayers for her and offer it on my altar to the Buddhas so she can collect merit. Her offering WILL NOT GO TO WASTE. I will also take some of her things and insert them into a statue on the Ladrang altar, so she can continue to collect merit. I want her to create a connection to the Buddhas so that in a future life, she can meet the Three Jewels and learn the Dharma, and she WILL meet the Three Jewels.
Everyone, please think and contemplate. What do we have to complain about? How come we have so much but we find it so difficult to be generous? Iâm not talking about generosity that is monetary or through expensive gifts but genuinely giving from our hearts.
I humbly request you all to give. Give tirelessly and continuously. When you die, what can you take with you? Ultimately nothing belongs to you so give and never get tired of giving, and never get tired of making others happy. If you are Buddhist, GIVE. If you are Christian, GIVE. If you are Hindu, GIVE. If you are Muslim, GIVE. Be generous and be kind, and live to give to others. Give your money, give your time, give your energy and give your effort HAPPILY AND UNCOMPLAININGLY AND WITHOUT HESITATION. Do it with a smile and because you GENUINELY want the other person to be better because you gave to them.
I am still so amazed and inspired and humbled by the ladyâs actions, and I really rejoice in her generosity. I will go back and find her and I will do more for her. I pray so much that in the future she can meet the Dharma and the Buddhas because I really want her to be okay.
Humbly, Tsem Rinpoche
P. S Since we met her, we have gone back to give her money for food and will return again. It would be so good to have a Kechara Soup Kitchen in Bangkok.
This is the bag the lady insisted that Ethan take… such a humble offering but it really means a lot to me
The bag’s contents… it doesn’t seem like much to you and me, but everything is clean and neat, and properly kept or folded… the lady obviously treasured them very much
There was an envelope of used lottery stubs she picked up here and there, some cassettes and empty cosmetic boxes, and also a leather organizer
Inside the leather organizer, again everything was neatly folded and filed. All the old lottery tickets were put together, her saved up advertisements were put together. Also she had some writings and notes but I can’t read it because it’s all in Thai
Some cassettes of Thai music – This will be inserted inside a Buddha statue as an offering so the lady can collect affinity and merits with Buddha.
Papers and bottle cap
dear Rinpoche,
thk you for sharing this, i really really…. touch abt it.
i thought that generosity is only giving materialistic, how much or how many to others(the more the grater).but is not abt the figure and valume, its abt our giving attitude from the sincere heart(mind).
chee k.s
Dear Rinpoche,
is not about the value of the gift or the money. It is the heart that counts. I would love to assist in KSK Bangkok if have the opportunity
Alex Hay
Dear Rinpoche,
This is really a very touching story and it brings tears in my eyes. She doesn’t have a lot, but she is so generous and sincere.
She reminds me of my grandparents. My grandparent did not have a lot, but they were very generous, helpful and sincere to people. My grandfather always told me to be grateful and be forgiving. He was not rich but he was always contented, happy and serene.
This lady may not be rich in terms of money but I am sure she is rich in her heart.
Start sharing and giving without agenda, we will definitely find the true happiness within.
I’m so touched after reading this. i don know what to say..
She shows dignity and strength, bless her..
Dear Rinpoche,
I rejoice in this Lady’s sincerity & true generosity!
Many of us (including me) will be very embarrased after reading this touching story! We will realise how little we have been giving back to the society and to all those who had been very kind and generous to us.
This Lady is truly extraordinary. She has demonstrated the perfect example of generosity. We should follow and practise giving with true sincerity as shown by this Lady.
Thank You for sharing with us an exceptional story and a teaching on giving.
With Metta,
Tat Ming
So much to learn in just one post and one homeless lady. I thank Rinpoche sincerely for putting this post up for all of us. I also thank and make prayers for the lady for if it wasn’t for her, there will not be this post. Her sincerity has touched the hearts of many and will be a great example for all of us.
I hope whoever who reads this will share my aspirations to make prayers for this lady as well!
Thanks Rinpoche for sharing this experience in Bangkok, such a inspiration to many of us..she is truly RICH from the heart!!
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this touching experience with us. She is a homeless who has nothing but she insist to repay Rinpoche’s kindness with the best thing she had with her immediately when she received Rinpoche’s money. Where by we have everything yet so hard to give. Some people even find it offensive when they were asked to donate just a few ringgit to a temple. Yes, we definitely need to contemplate.
Dear Rinpoche,
I felt humbled after reading this story. She re-newed my motivation to do something more today – GIVE.
Thank you for this teaching. _/\_
Outer wealth does not bring you eternal happiness. Only inner wealth can generate you long lasting happiness and contentment. It’s not like economy crisis, you face the risk of losing all your money, but with inner wealth, no matter what circumstance you face, it does not go away.
I see the sincerity and gratitude in this old lady’s action, she taught us it’s not necessary to be rich (in terms of outer wealth) to give. Love and care are something priceless that you cant buy with money but something you can always GIVE to others.
Thank you, Rinpoche for sharing this experience with us. The more an individual have, the more we are reluctant to give…the least the person has, the more the person would give away. It has become an attachment when we have things. When there are abundance of materials, food, and etc, we forgot the value of giving from our heart with sincerity, and giving for fame and glory. This lady has truly give with sincere and she is so thankful just to receive the help given to her. I thank her for giving me this lesson.
This is a really touching story. A woman who has nothing still have something to give. That is true giving. I guess that it is also non-attachment to anything that made her able to give her prized possessions. A lesson to be learnt. Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this lovely story.
Dear Rinpoche. Thank you for posting this blog. I am really amazed by the true generosity of this lady. It serves to remind us that generosity is more than giving material things but more about giving from the heart. It is about the sincerity. The amount and value is also relative to the affordability to that person. Perhaps for those of us who have some possession, we feel that we do not have enough, hence we crave for more and the act of giving is against that craving.
For those who really feel that they already have enough then giving is easy. It is all in the mind.
This lady really feel that she have enough and the fact that she rejoice enough to prostrate to the giver shows she is really in a contended state of mind. She rejoice is every good fortune however little. We can also learn from this.
So toughing… by just reading the event that took place, i could feel her sincerity. I can only imagine how it must have felt to actually witness it. She showed us the true value of an offering, it is not how much it’s material worth is, but from where the offering came from which is from the heart.
Thanks Rinpoche for sharing the touching story.
It reminds me of some similar stories from KSK volunteers. They met some clients who are very grateful. One of it was an old man living at the corridor of a shop at night, he is very poor and dirty. Everytime the volunteer sent him food, he starts looking for things to give back. Sometimes was sweets, sometimes coins, sometimes 1 riggit note…he just wanted to express how much he appreciate the help.
He might be unfortunate to be on the street, but he is so grateful. Same as Rinpoche’s story, it teaches us a lesson to appreciate what we have and stop complaining.
May they have better life, and meet Dharma!!
I am humbled by Rinpoche’s amazement with this dear homeless lady’s generosity when the most unconditional giving person I have met in my life is Rinpoche.
The lesson I learnt from Rinpoche is selflessness. I will never end thanking Rinpoche, my Guru for the precious learnings in my life.
im speechless reading this post by Rinpoche, knowing that a homeless lady being so grateful for the help provided, and how great generosity showed even she has nothing much on her. The homeless lady gratefulness and generosity sincerely from the heart really put me to shame, it is something i must learn from this lady.
Thank you for sharing this with us Rinpoche, Tashi Delek.
This is a truly touching story about giving from the heart, unconditional giving. Coming from someone who has so little, who was giving her worldly possessions in that one gesture, it strikes at one’s heart ‘s core. I find myself thinking:’Have I ever been that generous in my life?’
This sweet homeless lady graphically portrays what is said in the Lamrim about the Perfection of Giving.There’s no thought of “I’ in her giving.
Thank you, Rinpoche, for sharing this touching story and for giving us a teaching in the sharing.
Thank you, Rinpoche for sharing this touching experience with us. She showed us what true giving is. She may not have material wealth but she truly has an abundance of inner wealth.
I am so happy that she has the merits to make this sincere offerings to Rinpoche. May she be protected by The Three Jewels in this life and future lives.
This old lady reminded me of a real cool story about an old lady wanting to see Buddha but had nothing to offer. She cut her hair and exchanged it for oil and offered oil lamp to Buddha. In the temple of hundreds of oil lamp, as Buddha turned the wheel of Dharma a strong wind blew out all the oil lamps except the one offered by the old lamp. Her lamp could not be blown out because it was a lamp of sincerity, offered by the old lady who had nothing but exchanged her hair to make an offering to Buddha. I wish if only I could have half her sincerity. I would be a good start for me. This story always inspire me to give and give sincerely.
Lovely story. I used to work with a poor family in South Phoenix doing grief work with their 3 grandchildren as mother had died young of cancer, was on my caseload. The family wanted to give me something, once was a can of peaches. Sometimes you must allow them to give, as is a reciprocal act and preserves their dignity. Namaste.
Having been homeless myself this touches my heart
I was sincerely stunned when this kind lady kneel down and prostrate to me… I was speechless, stunned and felt ashamed of myself. It was drizzling wet, hard stone pavement and she was in her torn clothing and shorts and she was living outside!!! If she gets sick, she’ll suffer a lot!
I am thinking to myself, she didn’t choose to live in such state, she didn;t choose to leave her family, she didn’t mean to not earning or working.. she didn’t want any of these but she is grateful. She is thinking about “others” even in a situation like that. And don’t get me wrong, she wasn’t mad or anything. She sincerely “SMILING” and got down her knees and thanked us.
The other day, Su Ming, Wan and I returned to pay her a visit, brought warm drinks and food for her as it was a raining day… She was preparing to got to her “cardboard bed”, she even politely talked with a smile and also trying to dig something to give it back to us. It was a bag of old clothing, but we insist that it’s cold that she should keep it. Guess what she said?
“That’s all I have, people would come and bashed me up and take my things away, and I had to move from time to time…” That really brought tears to my eyes… She rather us having her “only things” because she thinks we are good people… How selfless with so much gratitude!
Please make prayers for her. Please bless her that she will have a better life.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this experience with us. Rinpoche always gives love and care to everyone he meets.
I was very touched after reading this story.
Dear Rinpoche,
Very shy to tell you i hardly write to you in your blog
um….. she is great, i have a lot to learn from her, she is amazing. I wish that in the near future i too could be like her, full of love & generous without strong material attachment in life.
Many many Thanks… Lastly I Wish you good health always.
Hi Kevin,
Interestingly, I also had the same thoughts when i read this heartwarming and touching story. I still hv the cd of the old movie which i think was a Japanese production.That scene somehow was most memorable for me which stayed in my heart through the years.
Yes, actions which are pure and sincere are very rare. When there is an example, it make me realize I have to work harder to close the gap.
I am so happy for the old lady to have met Rinpoche due to her pure prayers from past. Thanks to Rinpoche , this encounter and story will definitely bless many as sure as it had done for me.
Money and time. We have both of them, or one is more than the other.
Or I give excuses like I don’t have much money, and I don’t have much time. I am used to receiving things with conditions. And I give with conditions as well. I seldom give without expectation in return.
I have taken so much from others. Can I reciprocate as much?
Thank you for opening the hearts of so many, including mine.
The lessons and the blessing went both ways, no doubt. Thank you again for your most beautiful posts. I will take this lesson with me through the day.
I think this was a karmic meeting for all involved
Wow! Thank you Rinpoche.
Few years back when a friend and I was in Shanghai during winter, I saw a mother with 3 kids begging by the roadside at 3am and it was freaking cold(-2). I was crying from the moment I got into the taxi all the way back to the hotel. I was so sad seeing them beg in the cold in the middle of the night. I went back the next night and they were there again. We donated a few hundred RMB to them and asked them to go home.
The story above reminded me of that and it brought tears to my eyes because the old lady gave was so grateful and happy. Its a joy of being able to help people without hoping for anything in return.
Dear Venerated Rinpoche,
From here in the Himalayas I have been reading your blogs and find them inspiring, beneficial and most profound.Thank you specially for the Vajrayogini teachings! The gift you have given this woman by enabling her to earn continous merits through her gift to you is the greatest of all.Thank you Rinpoche for inspiring me with your great Compassion!
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for sharing this incident. Your explanation has given a good insight to the understanding of what does generosity means and how one should practice it in our daily lives.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for sharing this incident. Your write out has given me a good insight to the understanding of what generosity means ans how one should practice it in our daily living.
What a beautiful story Rinpoche, and humbling too, i got quiet emotional reading it. I can imagine how you wanted to help but didn’t want the lady to be without her treasured possession and she wanted to repay your kindness.
I’m not sure why but it reminded me of the story of Asanga and the dog and the old lady who saw the golden foot of Maitreya.
Dear Rinpoche, thank you for sharing such a wonderful story. The lady is indeed materially poor but spiritually wealthy. She’s teaching us that even a homeless person can be generous and sincere in her own ways. We always take for granted that generosity always have to be in terms of money and truly in this case it’s not. Really moved my heart reading this. Thank you for spreading the love in Bangkok.
Dear Rinpoche, thank you for sharing this story with us. It’s so touching that this lady is materially poor but spiritually wealthy and generous and so sincere. We take it for granted most of the time that generosity has to be in the form of “money” and truly in this case, even a homeless person can be so generous & sincere with the little that she has. Thank you for spreading the love in Bangkok.