One night just after the five-day retreat, I took a big bag of chocolates to my husband. Since he was in the mood of going out, he suggested that we take a walk along the beach in Long Beach. We walked to the end of th beach and as we are facing the ocean and enjoying the cold, fresn ocean breze of a foreign country, a man with long hair came towards us on a bicycle. He told us that he had no job and no home. I immediately realized that he was a "beach angel" - a homeless person. Since we had decided to leave the hotel at the last minute, we did not take much money with us, except some small change and the big bag of chocolates, which were a snack for my husband. Therefore, we gave him the bag of chocolates and change. The man opened up the bag of chocolates right away and asked us whether we would like to eat some. He was not greedy and did not want more than he needed. He even wanted to return half of what we had given him. I told the man to take the chocolates and share them with his friends. He was pleasantly surprised and expressed his gratitude to us before leaving on his bicycle.

Looking at his youthful receding figure, I sighed and remembered that during the closing lecture of the retreat a day before, Master had mentioned that even though some human souls are highly evolved they choose to be born poor, as refugees or the homeless. These kinds of choices are the most difficult sacrifices. They came from heaven, yet they want to create opportunities for us to develop by humbly choosing to be one of the unfortunate. The ocean wind on the beach was really cold - much colder than winter in Formosa. It was already midnight, so we intended to quickly go back to the hotel. Then from the other end of the beach, there came another man with tangled hair down to his shoulders. This time, I immediately realized that he was also a homeless person. As he got closer and closer to us, we noticed his embarrassment to request offerings while being obviously fearful of being rejected. My husband and I quickly gathered all of our remaining change together, put it into his bashful hands, and told him to go and get a cup of hot coffee. He was a little surprised and then happily said, "Happy New Year!" This time it was our turn to feel surprised because we actually realized that tomorrow was going to be New Year's Day. In a foreign country, the first "Happy New Year" greeting actually came from a homeless person. We did not know who had given whom warmth. On our way back to the hotel, the cold ocean wind was still blowing. However, I felt the unmistakable warmth of the night.

Who Gave Whom Warmth My Most Beloved Replace Evil Thoughts With Benign One