The poor, the sick, the criminal, and the outcast

I just posted some questions (and my answers) on another site regarding those who are often neglected or abused. I am posting these questions here as well, along with my answers. Here are the questions: How do you perceive your connection to such people? Do you feel compelled to reach out to them? Are there limits to what you will sacrifice to reach out to such people? Do you see such outreach as an obligation or an opportunity? Of those who are shunned, misunderstood, feared, or exlcuded in western society, which group personally offends, repulses, or otherwise makes you feel uncomfortable the most?

Here are my answers:

How do you perceive your connection to such people?

My Christian experience tells me that all are created equal in the image of the Divine, and that what I do to any of us I do to all of us, to the Christ-nature that shines through all of God's children. In this sense I am reminded of the story of St. Francis of Assisi and the leper. Because Francis came from a wealthy merchant family in Assisi, he had many attitudes he had to deal with in loving others. He biggest weakness was lepers. I would imagine the reaction of disgust and fear would be at least as bad if not worse than some people's reaction today to someone with AIDS (especially as Hanson's Disease causes disfiguration). Well, the story goes that he was traveling one day and saw a leper in rags on the side of the road ringing a bell and yelling "Unclean! Stay away! Unclean!" Despite his initial reaction, Francis walked over to the man, put his arms around the leper, and hugged him. He even kissed the man's cheek. Francis felt a great swell of joy and peace. Later that night, he had a dream in which he saw the beggar again, but when the beggar drew closer, Assisi could see that the man he had embraced had been Christ all along.

My Humanist background suggests that all humans are from a common biological family as members of the network of living creatures on this planet. We all have the same capacity to feel pain and pleasure, joy and sorrow, and we are at our best when we look out for one another. To give a concrete example, by ignoring the health care disparity between rich and poor, the impoverished communities become a lab for creating virulent new drug resistant strains of disease that will not hesitate to spread to the wealthier communities. When we help others, we are really helping ourselves.

My Buddhist exposure confirms both of the previous insights by suggesting all sentient beings have Buddha-nature, that is, they are all self-aware aspects of the Ultimate Reality from which creation constantly springs. Being interdependent, then, what one does to others impacts oneself. Or to put it another way "He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye" (Siddhartha Gautama, a.k.a. the Buddha).


Do you feel compelled to reach out to them?

I feel that when I am really exposed to them, in a genuine way, I can't help but want to do something. But it is all too easy to be caught up in consumerism, commercialism, and other distractions. You know there are people suffering, but you feel disconnected from it. I don't want to reach out to feel like I am doing good works and being a "good" anything, i.e., I never wanted to do such things to feel like a "good" Christian, or a "good" Humanist, or a "good" Buddhist. It comes down to making yourself vulnerable by decreasing that sense of separation from those whom it is easy to judge or disdain. I think Lila Watson, an Aboriginal activist from Australia, expressed this very well: "If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is tied up with mine, then let us work together."


Are there limits to what you will sacrifice to reach out to such people?

Yes, at least for now. I am not defending that. Ultimately it will come down to whether I can get past such limitations. I think it is easy to imagine these limitations only involve time or money, but there are other resources and commitments that are important, and I think it gets back to letting go of our own hang-ups and seeing charity as being a form of spiritual materialism, where we think we ought to be lauded for our giving. And that really limits what we do. How we act. And this matters because it is one thing to be generous at Christmas or when the United Way campaign at your office gets its pledge drive under way, or even to be generous when we volunteer at places like soup kitchens. But what about other times, when it so easily becomes "out of sight,out of mind"? I also think there is a danger in limiting who we think is suffering. Many times the poor, the ill, and the outcast, come to a sense of Presence in their lives long before those who live what are materially comfortable lives. So can we share, can we share more than just things like money, and can we share ourselves without hesitation with everyone we meet? I cannot claim to do so just yet.

Do you see such outreach as an obligation or an opportunity?

Getting back to an earlier reply, I would say it depends. I feel like we should see such things as opportunities. Both Christianity and Buddhism emphasize that adversity and people who set themselves up as our enemies are actually our greatest teachers, and we should have great compassion for such people who are in the end harming themselves to give us an chance to grow and to practice what we preach.


Of those who are shunned, misunderstood, feared, or exlcuded in western society, which group personally offends, repulses, or otherwise makes you feel uncomfortable the most?

I would say abusers. People who abuse those physically weaker than themselves. That would include spouse-beaters, children beaters, rapists and molestors, those who participate in animal cruelty, etc. I don't think Jesus or Buddha take sides - their messages are open to all. But I think that would be the group that I have the most trouble with as far as seeing the image of God, or Christ-nature, Buddha-nature, etc, in them.

--
If you like, feel free to share your own answers to these questions in the comments section.