Speaking of Food...Give us this day our daily bread...

Dear Diners,

This was new to me, but many of you have probably heard of it already.

It's called a Beggar's Bowl. From what I understand some Buddhist nuns and monks use begging bowls to get their daily food. Those who put food into the bowl do so because they believe they will be blessed. The monks and nuns receive the food with trust that it will sustain them and not harm them. For all concerned it is a religious experience.

I wonder how effective that would be here in America? I'm not so sure a Buddhist nun in Lexington would be able to rely on a begging bowl. I'm not so sure I would even do well enough to try it.

One thing I do know--there are those, even in Lexington, who each day are dependent on their beggar's bowl. We pass them in the street each day. Usually, they will stop us and ask us for some change. Occasionally, they don't get the chance, for we have stepped across the street in order to avoid them. "Just for fun we yell, get a job!"

Will you fill my beggar's bowl? What if you didn't know me?

Embarassingly apatheistic,

~Bill