Millionaire Panhandler

In the news, there is a millionaire beggar in Beijing, China. Believe it or not, he earned  enough money from his work and bought two expensive apartments there.

The millionaire panhandler pretended to be a crippled man, and worked near the busy subway stations. After he had been arrested by local police who accused him of violating public order, he confessed that he monopolized his lucrative business by threatening and beating other beggars out of his controlled territory.The police advised passengers not to give money to beggars along the city's highly connected underground lines.

My blog is titled Fast Edi Thoughts and Comments. I am supposed to share my thoughts and comments with you, but while I can't help laughing, I just don't quite know what to say about this story other than the following:

This kind of swindling happened before, not only in China, but also in other places, including the United States and Hong Kong.

In the U.S. (I forgot which city. It was probably New York or Los Angeles), there was a university graduate, a psychology major, who dressed up in shabby clothes each day and worked near the busy subway stations as a panhandler. Then in the evening, he changed to wearing nice clothes and hanged out in the nightclubs to drink, dance and have fun.

When I was a child and teen living in Hong Kong, I remember there was a beggar sitting near the Star Ferry terminal almost every day. He was a blind man (?) always wearing dark glasses and playing harmonica, while people kept dropping coins to his pan. I heard from my friends that he was a rich man who owned expensive real estate and had two wives.

I hope the above stories will not harden your heart, and make you completely stop giving money to the poor and homeless. Yes, it is possible that some panhandlers may be swindlers, or use your money to buy drugs or alcohol, instead of food and necessities, but that is not your negative karma. Your karma is still good and positive, because your motive is to give and help someone. Certainly in each case if you are suspicious, you can decide not to give.  

How do you become a millionaire? Stop buying lottery tickets. Become a panhandler. Just kidding !!!