The Measure of Love

Hi there and a belated Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to you all! I know, I know, the festival is over but we at the temple have been so busy that I have not found time to write.  Many devotees came to the temple to offer prayers to Lord Buddha during the festival and brought with them lots of mooncakes as well.  Head Nun very generously gave two boxes of mooncakes to Lao Lo and asked me to take them to him.

Ning and I set off one evening and had almost reached Lao Lo's hut when we came across a group of old people sitting by the roadside. There must have been some 6 or 7 of them and all of them looked very tired. We stopped and asked where they were going.  An old man in his 80's who appeared to be the leader told us that they had left their village a few days ago as their home had been destroyed by a fire and now they were travelling to another village, hoping to start anew.  He mentioned the name of the village and I recalled having heard Head Nun speak of it.  He said they had run out of food and money and didn't know what to do. There were three elderly women in the group together with two young children, who were crying and obviously very hungry.

"But the village is very far from here," I said, "You'll never be able to make it before nightfall."

The old man looked devastated.  "What are we going to do?  The women and children are tired and hungry and we have no place to go."

"I know!" said Ning, as an idea struck him. "Why don't we take them to Lao Lo's place, they can stay there to rest before continuing their journey.  He won't mind."

It was a good idea and the group gratefully accepted our suggestion.  Ning ran ahead to tell Lao Lo and when we reached his hut, we found him waiting for us, his hands outstretched in a warm welcome.

"Come in, come in," he said, gathering up the two children in his arms.  He soon got a meal organized for them - rice, veg, fish and of course mooncakes.  The children were so hungry that they kept asking for more. Lao Lo readily agreed that the group stayed for the night and by 9 p.m., he had tucked the children into his own bed. He had also borrowed some mattresses from his friend, Ah Hoe for the old men and women to sleep on. The leader of the group was so grateful that he hugged Lao Lo,.tears rolling down his withered cheeks.

It was a very touching sight. We had never seen so much love given out in one single night and by someone who had so little to give.

"But where will you sleep?" we asked Lao Lo, seeing that there was no room in the hut for him.  Lao Lo winked at us and said, "I love to sleep under the stars.  You can find me on the porch if you need anything."

Suddenly I felt so ashamed as I looked at the old men and women sleeping so blissfully on the floor .  I have such a good life at the temple, meals every day, a soft bed to sleep on, yet at times I complain about this and that. I think Ning felt the same way, judging from the look on his face.

The next morning, we found to our surprise and delight that Lao Lo had hired three trishaws to take the group to their new home. We packed for them as much food as they could carry and gave them a grand send-off.  The joy on the old people's faces was indescribable. Lao Lo had saved them from a long tedious walk to the next village!

The measure of love is when you love without measure, someone once said.  How true.  Bless you, Lao Lo.