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YOUTH
WHY CHARITY?
I looked back at him and said that I couldn't, but the hat and gloves were his if he wanted. He paused and thought for a minute, then accepted them. He thanked me and I hurried off to work. As I walked on, I contemplated whether I handled the situation well from a Jain perspective. It was at that point that I decided that rather than help the homeless by giving them money directly, donating non-perishable vegetarian food products or clothing (excluding silks or leather) to food banks, charitable organizations, homeless shelters or individuals was preferable.
Just about a month later, I received a letter from a research organization asking for a donation. This time, I didn't write out a cheque because I knew for certain that the company directly tested their chemical products on animals and caused them undue suffering. Had I written out a cheque, I would not be supporting the Jain principle of ahimsa. In other words, by supporting their unethical research I would be building bad karmas for myself.
This brings me to my final point on donations. The way I see it, you should give for the sole purpose of giving to a worthy cause and not expect the favour to be returned. Your motives and intentions also play a part in determining the worth of the charitable act. Knowing that you have helped and made a difference should continue to drive you. Similarly, it is really not necessary to put on a big act and boast about all the times you donated your valuable time, effort or money. Once again, you would just be collecting bad karma if you did that. When faced with a multitude of requests we need to stop, think and act in accordance with Jain principles. We need to consider to whom we should give and why, so that we are not violating and consequently upholding the principles of the Jain way of life. I do not claim to be a Jain expert or know all the rules. Far from it. In fact, I am just the average young person trying to make sense of the world around me. But I am trying to live a Jain life the best I can.
Archna Shah is 22 years old and lives in Canada.
Charity should be unconditional and selfless
Archna Shah discusses what charity means to her
T HAPPENED OVER A YEAR AGO BUT I remember it like it was yesterday. I was on my way to work one Monday morning, walking down one of the busiest streets in the centre of the city, when my gaze fell upon a homeless man huddled against the entrance of a Starbucks coffee shop. He was visibly shivering in the chilly -15C temperature, clad only in a threadbare winter jacket over a thin T-shirt and ripped jeans. He had no scarf, hat, gloves or winter boots on. He was staring longingly through a Starbucksí fancy frosted door. He looked hungry and drained as though he hadn't slept for days. As I approached him I pulled out my wallet, dropped a $20 banknote in his collection hat, gave him a warm smile and walked on.
Just about an hour later, I was walking back on the same street to run an errand. I spotted him again, still crouched in front of Starbucks. I let out a sigh as I passed him, for I saw that his collection hat was still. empty, less the $20 I dropped. But he had a six pack of beer next to him, four of which were already opened and consumed. As far as I was concerned, he had the choice of buying a hot meal (preferably vegetarian) to fill his empty stomach. Instead, he chose to squander the money on alcohol. Needless to say, I was not pleased. The consumption of alcohol by oneself does not fall in accordance with the Jain way of living. Neither does the money from a
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donation used to purchase alcohol, as in this case. Just as an aside: from my basic understanding of Jainism I know that alcohol consumption alters and distorts your senses and perceptions and puts you in a frame of mind that is not fully capable of making good, right and authentic decisions. In addition, the bad karma will also become attached to the person who donated the money. So, I decided not to make the same mistake again in the future, not to give cash 1 directly. Despite the incident, I had not lost my quest in helping the homeless and making their lives a little bit more tolerable. I understood that it was the homeless man's previous bad karma that endowed him with a life on the streets. Yet I still wanted to help.
About a week later, my brother was cleaning out his closet. He found a brand new pair of warm, insulated gloves and a matching hat that he had recently received as a gift. He wasn't keen on wearing them, so I took them and decided to offer them to the next homeless person I saw on the way to work the following day. It was sunny and about -20C with the wind-chill that day. I stepped off the bus and lo and behold, there was another homeless person just a few feet away. He sat curled up on the edge of the sidewalk, his hands and ears severely frostbitten. I slowly approached him, kneeled down and asked if he had any use for a brand new pair of gloves and a hat. He looked at me right in the eye and asked if I could spare some change instead.
Why Charity?
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