Sister Mahala was asked to help settle an argument among friends about how to respond to panhandlers. Give or Don’t Give? They wanted to know who was right and who was wrong. Knowing the bottom line in these encounters was not the bottom line, like most sages, she did not answer the question. Instead, she said:

“Being approached by a beggar is simply the experience of a pray-er who draws near to you and treats you as if you were God.

Whereas, approaching a beggar is simply the experience of being a pray-er who draws near to the beggar and treats her as if she were God.”

~ Dan Miller, © 2020. All Rights Reserved.