Live Meaningfully

Many friends often asked me what's merits and how to make merits?? The dictionary says - Spiritual credit held to be earned by performance of righteous acts and to ensure future benefits. There are many ways to make merits. Having kind thoughts and heart is also making merits, not to mention doing charity and prayers. 

Everyone of us are using our merits or karma to trade with each other. This man has high merits and he's your senior superior at work. The one with the highest merits is your CEO and employer, the examples go on. One needs merits to live, survive and even the ability to speak, have meals or own the clothes on his body. Without them, we might become poor hungry beggars. Even a popular movie star, singer or politicians need merits to have supporters. When finished, they often fell in disgrace unless they knew how to keep making them like Li Ka Shing, Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt, Bill Gates, Tom Cruise and many others!

I don't consider myself wealthy at all but I count myself as extremely fortunate. I have enjoyed my life too much and have flown around the world when I was just a student. Simple, I just boarded a plane from Malaysia - Singapore - Hong Kong - US - UK - Malaysia. I only returned after I completed my studies and travelled the whole America during every break. I even got deported from Canada for illegally entering by mistake without passport. How stupid but sweet I was!

I became a changed person after seeing the world's poorest, most hungry and many dying cancer patients in KL itself. Once I helped the Hospice to provide transport to ferry the Stage 4 dying patients to hospitals for a few years. They went for blood transfusions, chemo, radio therapy and operations. They became my closest friends and shared their fear, pain and tears with me. They all died within weeks and months but left behind words of wisdom that has etched in my hearts for life.

This beggar was lying motionless in the streets of busy downtown Bangkok. I would not know how to help him as he looked too sick. Money might be useless to him. He could be our father or brother.

There are many beggar couples in Bangkok. I thought their children have thrown them out or they were begging to bring food for their sick and handicapped children. I should not make guesses or think of how they ended sitting there on the filthy floor. We should help right away, isn't it? They could be our parents.

In India, their beggar population definitely take the top chart! You have heard much stories about the poor slums in Madras and Calcutta. Why are there so many poor and hungry people? I was made to understand that they lacked of merits from their past lives.

In America, there are thousands of beggars which they call them "Homeless Bums" or "Vietnam Veterans". Veterans because they claimed that they fought the Vietnam War and ended up as poor beggars living on the streets. Most of them were fakes as the US Govt had tried to help shape back their lives. The above guy was hanging out at New York's Times Square. There are plenty of low paying jobs in Manhattan. I won't pity him.

This homeless man sat at the quiet corner in downtown Boston. Most of them smelled of alcohol but I often still sympathized them as their freezing Winter was often brutal like -10 degrees!!! WTF!

 

This man sat by his home-trolley at the Manhattan's Chinatown. At night fall, he would sleep under the bridges or pavements. It is sad and pitiful as they often don't have much choice. Again, I believe that we need MERITS to be able to lead and live a comfortable life. I have stopped complaining that my bedroom is small or my TV has not gone plasma yet.

We need to do charity everyday as we spend away our good merits everyday! When we have finished them, we go broke, become sick and maybe die! If you complain that you have no time to do charity, it's real bullshits! We can do it anywhere, anytime!

Give a dollar or two to every beggar. Donate 5 dollars into every donation box at McDonalds, KFC or Jusco. Give a hundred to build your church or temples. Treat your colleagues and friends to have decent meals. Cook extra and pack into boxes to give the homeless beggars at Pudu area at night. There are so many sleeping on cardbox boxes! Guess how did I know this?

Make Merits Now! 

Life Will Be Meaningful For You & Him.