I attended Catholic mass with several friends this past Sunday.
On of the reading was Luke 21:1-4. Here we are presented with a destitute widow making an offering in the Temple. Rich people made a great show of giving large amounts while this woman gives only a tiny sum of money — all she has, probably.
So the question was, “Who gave more?” And more so, have we, those who sat in the pew, given all that we could to life, to each other and to God?
Sitting there I thought of the final scene of the movie ‘For Love of the Game,’ where Billy Chapel sat talking to Jane Aubrey at the airport:
“I used to believe–I mean, I still do … that if you give something your all, everything you have, it doesn’t matter if you win or lose … as long as you risked everything, put everything out there.
And I’ve done that.
I did it in my life. I did it … with the game. But not with you.”
In truth, much of my life has been sham. Even when married, I gave my all to work and to my desires, but never to my wife or my true love. In this area, I can unequivocally state, I never gave my all to anyone.
As Julian Green quoted, “The greatest explorer on this earth never takes voyages as long as those of the man who descends to the depth of his heart.” So as a Buddhist, don’t worry about the money you give. Instead, search your heart, discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.