Karma - Place of Birth

30 November 2008
Shanghai Bund, Shanghai China

I was at the Bund today, one of my favourite spot in Shanghai. I seems to spend a lot of time here each time I visit Shanghai. As usual I am taking my own quiet stroll and this 'artist' incident unfold in front of my eyes.

I am not too sure what actually happened but when I reach the point of the event I saw the policemen chasing an artist. They actually caught him by hand just a few feets away from me. The snatch his art and force his hands down and took him to their 'cart' (something like a golf cart). The artist tried to explain or argue at some point but the policemen ignore his protest. They then let him walk away but confiscates his art work. The artist mumble something and then walked away but quickly turn back and beg the policemen to let him have his things back. Instead of letting him have the artwork back the policemen destroy, like tearing and cutting his art work into pieces. They were all gone in those seconds of destruction. Dissapointed the man I can see in his broken spirit walked away.

I am not a Saint in this situation therefore I am not judging who is right or wrong. Like I say I don't know what actually happen in the first place or did the artist deserve this kind of treatment? I am not here to cry out about fairness or human rights but at that very moment I just mumble to myself this is China.

To me the revelation for me is that your doing (karma) decides your place of birth and that play a role on your living standards. Some people are born to 'good' countries and some 'not so good'. Countries with opportunity, equality, good education system or good health care they all shape our lives. Some children are born in Africa but they are adopted and grow up in a luxury of Beverly Hill in America. Surely life would be different in these two places. If is not karma I don't know what it is.

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