Every time on the way to my mother's home, I would see a vagrant, dressed in rags and slightly mentally disturbed, searching for food among the trash. Looking at him, I would always feel sad and empathetic. It occurred to me many times that I should buy him some food. However, my mind consistently created trouble by saying the silly question, "There are so many people on the street. How embarrassing it would be if he rejected your offer!" This continued to trouble me as time passed.

Once at the night market, I saw him standing in front of a noodle stand, as if he was begging for food. At that moment, I felt the urge to ask the owner of the noodle stand to cook a bowl of noodles for him! However, my ego got in the way again, "What if the owner refused to cook it for him? Or if he did cook it, what if the vagrant refused to eat it?" Once again I failed to turn my intention into action. My inner "general of courage" was again defeated. I went home, feeling upset. As I opened one of Master's News magazines, my eyes fell on an aphorism that seemed to be meant for me. Master said, "There are two things that cannot wait: one is spiritual practice, the other is doing charity." Exactly! I asked myself, "What are you waiting for?" This bolstered my courage. I told myself that it was time for action.

The next day, when we were passing a supermarket, my husband suddenly suggested that we get some ice. I immediately asked my son to buy a bag of apple bread as well. Then we came to the familiar street. The car was traveling fast as we passed the man. I turned back to look at the familiar figure and before I had even spoken a word, my husband, a non-initiate, had stopped the car and backed it to where "Mr. Homeless" was. Deep in my heart, I prayed to Master to give me strength. As I forced myself to offer him the bread, he gently raised his hands and accepted it gratefully. It was so natural and simple; none of the complicated scenarios that I had imagined happened. As we drove away, in the rear-view mirror, I saw him gazing down at the bread and then at our departing car.

As though relieved of a heavy load, I was overwhelmed with the joy of having emerged victorious over my ego. I thought of just how great that homeless person was, and I appreciated the fact that he had awakened my inner compassion and given me chance after chance to overcome my prejudices and habits. Of course, I was even more grateful to Master; it was Her aphorism that gave me the courage and strength to conquer my ego.