|
|
||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Chapter 10 - The Wondering Practitioner I saw a few homeless men shabbily dressed, resembling the 'hundred-patched suit' worn by the Chinese monk Ji-gong. The 'hundred-patched suit' denotes a beggar outfit patched using one hundred pieces of worn cloth. The homeless men sleep in parks, bus-stops, underground walkways, overhead bridges and at the arcade of buildings. I take a special interest to how these homeless eat. There are two homeless men who always wait outside a restaurant, paying close attention to the customers inside. Once the customers finish their meal and stand up to pay their bills, the homeless will rush into the restaurant and scoop all the remaining food on the dishes over to their plastic plates at lightning speed. They do this before the waiter gets to clean the table. Their action is as smooth as silk. Then you will find the two men enjoying their hot and tasty meal at the back alley. Most customers would not bother with these homeless. After all it's leftover food and you can consider it an act of charity. The employees of the restaurant have chased the homeless away but gave up after several attempts. This is not a crime of theft, as the remaining food is meant to be disposed. Since the homeless want it they can have it. The only concern is that the homeless may affect the image of the restaurant, and thus drive away the customers. There are also the lazier homeless people who search through the trash bins of the restaurants for maybe a rotten fruit, leftover bread, a lunch box or a pack of meal. Once found, their faces light up with joy as they know they do not have to go hungry for one meal. If they should find a wine bottle with half a bottle of wine left, that will be as good as hitting a lotto jackpot. That will surely send everyone screaming and laughing. The modern day homeless reminds me of the Venerable Mahakasyapa during the time of Buddha.
The life of the ancient wondering practitioners and the modern day homeless spells little difference. I feel that the one thing that separates them apart is the fact that ancient practitioners sought spiritual liberation and enlightenment of truth, reaching the shores of Nirvana despite the incredibly difficult conditions under which they had lived. And the modern day homeless is confined by the need for survival, thus symbolizing poverty, suffering and struggle. I wonder if one day I would morph from a solitary old man into a wondering practitioner. Will I rush for the leftover food from my own disciples? What will become of me then?
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|