Buddha's compassion

Oh! virtuous disciple
Clad in pure white clothes
Offering alms and refreshment
In the serene shrine room
Redolent with pleasant fragrance
Of soft, resplendent flowers
Jostling in an array of trays

Oh! Devout disciple
Proffering elaborate platters of
Fruits and sweet meats
And beseeching with piety
In front of mighty God
In the adjoining devala
In the immaculate temple premises

In the name of my teachings
On this noble Poya Day
Look around to see
The baby crying endlessly
Sucking the emaciated breast
For mere survival
On the mother's warm lap
Who is sitting dishevelled
Donned thread bare rags
Under the sweltering sun
A scene that evokes the days
Of yore of my self-mortification
In which I was lying
In swoon almost dead

- Sarath Sandacan