Being hit with wooden rulers
How to truly help others?
"Helping others"
It's so often our reply
To what we want to do
With our lives.
But how do we know our 'help'
Is truly of benefit?
In 2007 I paid the school fees
For a Nepali girl called Sunita.
She dropped out within weeks
As the teachers were hitting her,
With wooden rulers,
Hard.
Very hard.
I remember feeling
So lost as to what to do
For this wonderful girl.
I remember feeling
So lost as to what to do
For this wonderful girl.
I once saw a huge crowd of Indians
Push and trample each other
Running, rushing,
Hurting everyone in their path.
Turned out someone was giving
Free food in the temple.
This act of kindness
Could have costed
Some hungry souls
Their eyesight or their limps.
A (safe-guarded) photo of me and my Nepali friend in 2007. I hope she is well.
I really want to know:
When are we of benefit?
And when do we dis-empower?
When to give
And when not to give?
So when
A Buddhist monk and teacher asked
"What is helping?"
I really wanted to know
His views
I'll share them with you here:
He said
"Giving Food?
Shelter?
Protection and safety?
Education?
Emotional support? Love?
All very, very good
The world needs many people who bring hope
In these wonderful ways.
“The greatest way to benefit someone is to give them the ability to let love, compassion and insight florish”
- chokyi nyima rinpoche
Yet, the monk asked, what about,
If you believe in reincarnation,
The next lives of those you help?
Gosh that’s a whole new way of looking at it, isn’t it?
If you truly wish to help others,
This Buddhist monk said,
"Help them spiritually.
Teach them to be kind, compassionate, fearless.
And show them
The path to true freedom".
Now I am left to ponder
How to teach fearlessness?
I guess we teach by example.
So I'm practising
To let be.
To stop interfering.
To let life unfold.
To trust.
And I start by courageously
Bringing light and love
To all my own
Fears and darkness.
And record on video
How I go about doing that,
So it may benefit others.
Dear fellow Inner Pilgrim
If you like to join me
You are ever so welcome.
Inner Compass consists of four steps, and in the third we are going to face our fears.
May us conquering our own inner obstacles
Be an inspiration for others.
With love and fearlessness,
Karin
Photography, with gratitude: Unsplash.
