Artemio was a miserable beggar...lonely, homeless, hungry, dirty, dispised. He passed his days begging for alms from passers-by. A begging bowl in hand, he dragged himself from door to door, from shop to shop, from street to street. The only thing Artemio could call his own was his big, dirty, heavy begging bowl! He used his begging bowl not only to ask for alms but also to eat...and bathe...and sleep...after all, his begging bowl was the only possession he had in this world. Artemio thought of himself as a very poor and miserable man. He felt himself to be mean, repulsive and no good. He thought and felt to himself to be inferior to the rest of man.
Artemio would always say to himself..."What an ugly poor man I am! I am useless, good for nothing. I am a parasite...nobody likes me...no one will ever like me. There is nothing I can give to others. I am fit for begging only...I do not deserve to live." In his relations with others, Artemio sometimes showed himself shy, withdrawn, insecure...some other times he behaved mean, nasty and spiteful. Whenever he saw others better off than himself, he felt sad, depressed, jealous, resentful, desperate. He hated others for being rich...and what's worse he hated himself for being poor.
One day, in one of his begging rounds, Artemio stopped at the door of an antique shop. He stretched out his arms and put forward his begging bowl. The shopkeeper looked at Artemio with antipathy. The he looked at his big, dirty, heavy begging bowl. He kept staring at it and finally with a touch of curiosity said, "Show me this dirty, stinking bowl of yours!" The shopkeeper took the bowl in his hands and examined it closely. Artemio was watching intently and impatiently. The shopkeeper kept examining it. He scratched it and in surprise he exclaimed, "What a funny sort of beggar you are! You need not ask for alms. You can give alms to others!" Artemio replied, "What? What are you talking about? Do not taunt me, sir! Don't make fun of a poor miserable man like me!" The shopkeeper answered, "Miserable? Poor? No man! You are rich! You are richer than I! Stop begging. This big, dirty, heavy begging bowl of yours is made of pure gold!"
I received an email from across the waters which read:
Please visit 2001 |
THE BEGGING BOWL
