82. Should We Give Money to Street Beggars?

Question: There are increasingly more street beggars these days, and they beg in many different ways. In the past, whenever I encountered one, I would almost always give something—sometimes 10 or 5 yuan if I had no small change. But now I sometimes wonder: am I helping them, or harming them? I ask everyone: when encountering such a situation, how should one apply one’s mind? Should one give or not?

Answer: Venerable Jinghui always kept some small change in his pocket. Whenever he encountered beggars, he would give them alms. Someone asked him, “Some of those beggars are frauds. Do you still give to them?” The Venerable replied, “Whether they are genuine or not, they are pitiable. To beg is to relinquish one’s dignity. Is a person who has relinquished their dignity not pitiable?” He also said, “Moreover, they at least give us an opportunity to practice generosity.”