It is nice to know that there are many charitable people in SHC. I hope the spirit of giving will continue because it is fun and you get a sense of peace. Singaporeans in general are alway quick to give money to international disaster relieves and whenever there is a hard-luck storey in our local newspapers. Many people are happy to give to baggers and monks in our streets, even when street bagging is illigal here.
But very often I observe major confusion with giving for charity and trading for better returns. When we give to charity, by definition, it should be a one way traffic with no personal returns other than…feel good.
Many years ago, my wife literally picked up a dirty old man living in Pulau Ubin. The man was about 80 years old with totally no income. He lives in an abandoned and delapidated school building. The village people give him free food regularly but he has no toilet facilities and walking is difficult for him, so he does not clean himself and defecate near where he sleeps. With the help of a few volunteers, the man was cleaned and eventually put in an old folks home. He had $800 ‘coffin money’ which he carefully guarded. The money was passed over for safekeeping to the Old folks Home Administrator. We visited him regularly, but as he gets older and becomes senile, he starts scolding us and accuse us of stealing his money each time we visited. The adminterator always laugh it off but I was young and felt indignant. Eventually we stop visiting the man.
Now, that I am older and becoming senile myself I come to realize that I was not really charible because I had actually expected gratitude in return. If I was really giving for charity, I should not have been affected by his scolding and continue to give……like the Administrator do.
When we give and hope to go to be honoured or go to heaven or gain merit points for better rebirth, is it charity or trading?
I recently made a tedious detour from my trip in Northern Thailand to see if I can help an orphanage started by a Singaporean. About 100 meters before the village there was eracted a huge religious icon announceing the village and its orphanage. When I reached the village there were even more religious icons everywhere but I see no children in the orphanage. We ask the few people people around and they say ’sometimes there are children’. It is obvious that the Singaporean has been very successful in propagating his religion but I did not see the same level of emphasis in looking after disadvantaged children.
Again, is this charity or has charity been used to spread religion?
It is always a big concern now whenever we give, whether we had made the sacrific to the correct cause and whether the money has gone to the correct people. But we must also ask ourself if we have done the sacrifice in good faith or just trading.
Let’s hear you views.
Till then….. 
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