為善

明輝:

你說不明白為何學校要你參加義工活動,只去探望那些獨居老人一、兩小時,根本沒什麼作用。

某晚,我與多年不見的大學同窗歡聚,電視台正在直播某慈善機構的籌款節目;於是,大家不期然地談到「為善」這話題。

當時,我和大家分享了兒時一件與行善有關的趣事 :幼承庭訓,遇著有需要的人,便應施以援手。有一日,我在路上見到一位老伯獨力肩負一塊大木板而行;於是,我便上前托起木板一角,希望減輕老伯的負擔;完全沒想過老伯以肩托負木板要講求平衡,我這輕輕一托,弄巧反拙,讓老伯肩上木板失去平衡,差點便整塊跌下來了。事後,雖然被老伯教訓了一頓,但我也明白到行善要量力而為,且不能任意妄為。

很多好友也都分享了他們為善的經驗:有朋友將名下物業以象徵式租金,租與社會服務機構;有朋友在國內捐助了十間以上的山區小學;有朋友到清貧地區做義工,教導山區小孩英語、數學,也有朋友在香港探望露宿者、到老人院做義工等等。大家都認為每當看到受助者,展露開心的笑容時,便是最佳的回報,即使過程多辛苦也值得。「為善無近名」,他們這些善舉全發自內心,不求名利回報;若非機緣巧合,相信他們也不會提及。

所謂「勿以善小而不為」,為善無分大少多寡;只要能力所及,我們都應為社會貢獻一點力量。

下星期六,學校義工隊去探望獨居老人;明輝,你會參加嗎?

曾老師

 

Charitable Deeds

 

Ming Hui,

You expressed that you do not understand why the school wants you to volunteer and partake in charitable activities. I understand that you are skeptical of the visits to visit the homes of the aged for a couple of hours and it is redundant and meaningless.

I recalled a reunion dinner with my university classmates, and a fundraising program me by a local charitable organization was aired on the television that evening. Our topic of discussion over dinner was about “charity”.

I recounted with my classmates an interesting act I did during childhood days. Since a very young age, my parents taught us to extend a helping hand to anyone in need. One day, I saw an old man carrying a large and heavy plank of wood and walked down the lane with difficulties. I went up immediately and grabbed one end of the plank, hoping I can help relieve the load from the old man’s shoulders. Never did I expect the old man lost his balance of the load, and the plank plummeted onto the ground! He almost fell and hurt himself because of the incident! I was reprimanded by the old man for causing the incident, but I learnt a lesson through this episode. I understand that we should only help others within our own abilities, and not to make the matter worse by offering to help without understanding the circumstances.

Many of my classmates shared their experiences and the charitable acts they did. Some of them rented their properties at nominal rates to charitable organizations serving the community, some of them donated generously towards secluded village schools in mainland China, and some went to volunteer at poorer villages and some volunteered to teach the students in remote schools English and Mathematics. Some of my classmates care for the homeless, while some volunteered at homes for the aged. All of them agreed that their greatest satisfaction is when they see the smile on the faces of those they helped. They did all these charitable deeds not to seek fame or recognition, nor expect any reward. If we did not bring up the topic about doing charitable deeds during dinner, I believe none of them would share their individual experiences.

There is a saying “do not assume an act is insignificant and thus avoid doing it”. It is impossible to weigh the significance of any charitable deed. We should all contribute towards the society and offer any help within our own abilities, no matter how insignificant our efforts may seem. All of us can contribute in our own ways and at our own pace.

Our school volunteers will be paying a visit to senior citizens who resided alone next Saturday, will you be interested to join us?

Teacher Zeng