My First Time Volunteering in Kechara
Before I met H.E. the 25th Tsem Rinpoche and Kechara, I was working and climbing my way up the career ladder to satisfy and fulfil my thirst for materialism. I always thought that was my main goal in life, just like many other people. However, as the years went by, I began feeling as though my life had come to a bottle neck and that I was stuck in this repetitive cycle. I began to question myself, “How much more of this do I want to chase in life? Is this the sole purpose of life or is there something bigger and more meaningful behind this?”
Despite having a stable career in a multinational company and a loving wife with two beautiful princesses, I always felt something was missing but I did not know what it was. Finally, I found the answers to all my questions when I met Rinpoche and began volunteering in Kechara.
My spiritual journey started back in 2008 when I first stumbled upon Kechara Paradise in 1Utama. The exotic statues and beautiful displays on the shelves caught my attention. Out of curiosity, I stepped inside and I am so glad that I did. There were many questions in my mind about Buddhism and from that fateful day, I began learning and understanding more about it from the Sunday classes held in Kechara House. This later led me to attend the Lamrim class which is essentially Buddhist bible study.
Justin Cheah giving a briefing to all volunteers at Kechara House 2 (our old premises)
During that period, I did not participate in any volunteer work; neither did I join any of the weekly pujas (Tibetan for prayer) held in Kechara, as I was still searching for more answers as to what Buddhism was really about. I did not join the pujas as I did not know the meaning behind everything then, and did not want to follow the chanting blindly. There is nothing wrong in doing so as it is very good for anyone to join the prayers to receive blessings from the Three Jewels. However, I wanted to understand what the rituals were about and gain a deeper understanding of Buddhist philosophy before participating.
My first voluntary experience was giving out food to the homeless living on the streets of Kuala Lumpur. It all started when Justin Cheah (Kechara Soup Kitchen’s Project Director) approached me during one of the Lamrim classes that I was attending. Justin explained the origins of Kechara Soup Kitchen and how its work had helped many people and families. To be honest, at the time I was not very keen on volunteering for such activities as I did not support the idea of giving food to people who were capable of doing something for themselves but instead chose to sit around waiting for people to feed them. Of course, now I understand that there are many genuine cases where individuals really need such help.
Kechara Soup Kitchen vest back then in 2008
So with that mindset, I declined Justin’s offer but the following week, Justin asked me again. This time he asked me to join him and another friend to recce a new area in Chow Kit to see if there were any homeless in the area on Sunday night (when KSK first started, it only distributed food on Sunday afternoons till evenings). I still felt reluctant but could not decline his request for the second time so I finally agreed to tag along. This was the beginning of my spiritual volunteerism.
Before the recce, Justin briefed me on the dos and don’ts and told me to stay near him at all times. We started by walking around the Chow Kit area with a few packs of vegetarian food and drinks to be given away to any homeless person we encountered. As most locals will know, Chow Kit is a messy place. We walked along the main road and back lanes and found some homeless sleeping on the sidewalks. It was definitely an eye opening experience for me to see so many people sleeping on the streets.
Justin Cheah giving a briefing before we started our round in Chow Kit
We got to know more about the background of the homeless and I was surprised by some of the stories they told. Some had jobs but were not financially able to rent a place to stay. I came across a father and son sleeping on the pavement next to KFC. The father had trouble looking for a steady job as he needed to look after his special needs son. He was left with little choice but to beg for money and look for food scraps every day. Another case I encountered was a mother and her baby sleeping on the sidewalk. She was looking for her husband who was working in Kuala Lumpur. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find him anywhere and worse, she had no money to take the bus back to her hometown.
My first volunteering work distributing food to the homeless in Kuala Lumpur
After this experience, I realised there were indeed many genuine unfortunate cases where people were left with little choice but to live on the streets. This in turn made me open up to the idea that we should give them food to at least help them through a hungry evening. Even though it is a short term solution, it is an effective way to befriend them and to understand more about their backgrounds so we can help them in the long term.
The following weeks, I continued to volunteer with Kechara Soup Kitchen and eventually, the number of volunteers grew so much that we changed the weekly food distribution rounds to Saturday night.
A group of volunteers doing food distribution at night
Some of the topics that I learned in Sunday Dharma class were compassion and selflessness. I could relate these values to my Kechara Soup Kitchen experience. Being compassionate is not just about giving food to the homeless/needy; it starts from the preparation of the food all the way to loading it into vehicles. We must pack the food in such a way that it is convenient for the homeless to unpack. Most importantly, we must arrange the food packs in a proper manner so that they are not damaged on the way. All this is actually a training in mindfulness, to think of others so that we can provide good quality food and service. On the way to the distribution route, volunteers inside the car would look out for any homeless people on the streets while the driver would solely focus on driving cautiously. When it comes to giving out the food, we have to be aware of the surroundings and be polite because ultimately, we want to gain their confidence and trust so that we can help them in other ways. After gaining their trust, we can get to know them better and then help them through job placement, sending them back home, reconnecting them with their families, etc.
I am truly glad that I did not turn down Justin for the second time as the streets of Kuala Lumpur were where I truly experienced the practice of Buddhism for the first time. This has led me to where I am today. I must also thank my guru, H.E. the 25th Tsem Rinpoche for his teachings and for setting up Kechara Soup Kitchen so that many of us have the opportunity to contribute and help others and eventually ourselves.
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Thank you for sharing this article. I think we should help and care the homeless and poor because they might faced with some problems such as job loss, family problems, illness or some sort of misfortune that have led to their homelessness. By helping the homeless and poor, we are not only helping the needy but also helping us to be a more generous and caring person.
I’m glad that you understand Liang Jing! 🙂 Yes you’re right, we should have some sympathy for these people who do not have a home to go back to. Simply by just saying we feel sorry for them will not help them nor ourselves, I have always believed that sympathy and kindness should be transformed into actions that will relieve others from their sufferings, even just for a small moment. By helping others, we are also helping ourselves, broadening our mind to know more and accept all kinds of situations that we may stumble upon.
Indeed there are people who abuse the kindness of soup kitchens and take advantage even when they don’t really need to. But there are genuine people who are trapped in the cycle of destitution whether by circumstance or by their own mental constraints. It’s not always easy to make the distinction when soup kitchens extend their help. But important is that help is rendered, whether deserving or not.
Thanks Nicholas for sharing how you started on your dharma journey not too long ago. You are an inspiration. While many who also started off way back then, have since dropped off along the wayside, some may still be today at the same spot as they were back then without making much spiritual progress, you have in contrast, gone far ahead.
Thank you, Nicholas, for sharing with us how you started with Kechara. It is very inspiring to learn that Nicholas started volunteering at KSK, no doubt being nudged to do so, but it was with noble and unconditional intention and had gone all the way since then.
Each and every one of us has unique affinity, hence, different preference in setting our foot out of our comfort zone to start benefitting others. It is because of this reason; Rinpoche initiated many departments so that people with different preference can find an area that calls out to them.
I hope more people will volunteer their time for a cause, it not only make our life more meaningful but also expand our horizon as well as benefit many people along the way.
Thank you Nicholas for sharing your journey. I always like to read people’s spiritual journey and look at the different and various reasons why people start and journey.
Nicholas’s article reminds me of my journey with KSK in the early days too. At that time when I joined KSK in year 2010, we usually started our activity on Saturday night around 8pm. We would setup a “factory line” to pack all the food and drinks into individual plastic bags (now no more plastics bags!) to be given out to clients. We would usually start the food distribution at around 11pm and we have to drive from PJ to KL areas; and we would finish our “rounds” at around 2-3am. Those were the days.
In the later year in 2010, there were a surge in volunteers and that’s when I started to stop volunteering. And I am glad to see KSK has grown strongly and steadily over the years. After “retiring” from KSK for about 6 years, a few friends and me came back to volunteer regularly in KSK (once a month). It is always good to be able to contribute back to society in whatever small way.
I thank everyone in KSK for working hard to run this NGO, so that we can contribute. But most thanks is to Tsem Rinpoche for starting KSK for His vision to benefit many.
Kechara has many avenues for anyone to connect with, and Kechara Soup Kitchen(KSK) is one of more interesting ones. It is service to the homeless and hardcore poor of Klang Valley. When KSK first started it focused mainly on the homeless people, as times changed, as there were a lot of hardcore poor in Klang valley, the focus diversified to setting up of foodbanks that will supply the hard core poor of Klang valley.
Not only that, now there are much more services offered to the Homeless like medical services and also hair cuts provided for free to the clients of KSK. We call the homeless ‘clients’ because it is because of them, KSK has its purpose.
Thank you Nicholas for sharing your experience in volunteering and working full time in dharma. You showed a good example on the importance of contributing our time and effort to the community and to bring awareness that our life is not only about chasing for money and career. Life is not only revolving about ourselves but the community.
Kechara Soup Kitchen is one of the 13 departments set up by Rinpoche to help the homeless. I volunteered once in the food distribution and it was indeed an eye opener for me too. There are just so many people out there that need help. May more volunteers join Kechara for all their noble activities in helping and benefiting others.
Rinpoche knew that people would come into Kechara via different doorways.Hence, he had many departments of Kechara set up to provide these many doorways. Thus, with his skillfulness and great compassion, we have each found our way in through these doorways.
Many a Kecharian , like Nicholas, has had their Kechara Soup Kitchen experiences feature as an important step in their journey into Kechara . Distributing food to the homeless, stopping to talk to them and to listen to their sad stories, after gaining their confidence, these have always touched a deep chord in the hearts of those who have had such experiences.
I am happy for Nicholas that at the prime of his life, when many would have been looking into avenues to rise in their careers and reach new peaks, he was able to stop in his tracks and to look deeper into life and to see that there was more in life than all these pursuits in search of trappings of worldly wealth and success that would never bringing true happiness and contentment.
Having studied the Dharma , he was able to see firsthand how compassion and selflessness were translated on the ground into the whole hearted effort of giving to the poor, homeless and needy.
Nicholas has come a long way on this journey,with the support of his lovely wife and three young children. He is like an icon for anyone new to Kechara .His Guru Devotion and spirituality are not shrouded in mist. They are real and can be seen in the efforts and care he puts into his work as a member of the Kechara Forest Retreat team.
Thank you Nicholas for sharing your Dharma journey with us. I guess everyone has their very own story to tell about how they came to know Rinpoche and also Dharma. Volunteering in Kechara Soup Kitchen is really an eye-opener for many people. Different homeless ‘clients’ will have different set of story but end of the day, some of them really need our help and should go all the way to assist them. Through the kindness of Rinpoche who founded Kechara Soup Kitchen, we were able to give service and benefit others.
With folded palms,
Vivian
Thank you Nicholas for sharing your wonderful journey joining Kechara.You set a good example and inspiring journey which motivate younger generation to join in volunteerism.It would also encourage them to spend their time wisely and meaningful helping the homesless.
Your spiritual journey was an interesting one,may you be blessed and good health ,to continue contributing your service at KFR .
Thank you Nicholas for sharing with your beginning of the spiritual journey in Kechara. Indeed, we will never know how to contribute or help anyone if we do not use our eyes to witness and our ears to hear the sorrow of the less fortunate people, especially from those homeless people who are sleeping on the streets every night. You have given us a good example and a lot of encouragement to work more for Dharma in many aspects starting from the planning works, preparations, being on the spot with full participation and continuing to encourage others to join the Dharma activities through our body, speech and mind.
Most importantly is, we are fortunate to be blessed and guided by Tsem Rinpoche, who has never given up on us with many Dharma teachings, encouragements, motivations and kind advice given to us in the most effective way for us to engage and stay on the path in our Dharma journey. May Kechara continues to grow and spread the Dharma to the ten directions to benefit more and more people until samsara ends.
Thank you with folded hands,
kin hoe
Dear Nicholas,
I did not realise that you started with Kechara from KSK. When I met you, you were with Kechara Care and quite often at he Ladrang.
And now you are with Kechara Forest Retreat, taking charge of many aspects of KFR. You have travelled a very interesting and varied career path with Kechara and obviously Dharma work is never stagnant. What’s next?
Regards:
DM