p.s.: Are you sincere?

Let me start by asking you this one simple question - Are you a sincere person?

Don't have to think too long. It's just a simple question... Or is it?

So most of you would say "yes", well that is no surprise and no doubt, in my mind, that you are being true to yourself in answering that question.

But what do you really know about sincerity? Do you really think what you do is really sincere?

What does sincere means anyway?

Quote the definition of sincere:
sin·cere (sn-sîr)
adj. sin·cer·er, sin·cer·est
1. Not feigned or affected; genuine: sincere indignation.
2. Being without hypocrisy or pretense; true: a sincere friend.
3. Archaic Pure; unadulterated.

To me, it means doing something with the right intention from the heart, not driven by extrinsic motivations, not driven by benefits it gives.

So imagine this, a person is a philanthropist, he does charity all the time, he donates money to organizations, he never hesitates to help those in need.

But there's one question you may ask, what is/are his motive(s)? 



One might say, if that person is a politician, his real motive is to gain popularity, to get public support, to buy the peoples' heart so that he can further strengthen his position and staying power in the world of politics.

So tell me, is that sincere? Well the answer is an obvious No! No explanation needed.



Well then what if the person is just a wealthy businessman who happens to have a lot of spare money?

His motive, like the politician, might also be to gain popularity. If he's really a business-minded person, he'll surely be taking advantages of the publicity he gets while he does charity to further promote the name of his company. I'm not saying that the person does charity just to get more publicity, he might really be a kind-hearted person who really wanted to help other peoples, but deep down inside him he knows that doing charity will bring himself collateral benefits, and that's what motivates him.

Now then, can you label this business man as a sincere person? It's debatable, but surely more people would agree that "No" should be the answer. 



What if this person is just a typical person you will find? A normal middle-class person, let's say, with Buddhism as his/her religion. Tell me then do you think that person is sincere in doing those charities?

Most of you might say:

"Yes of course he's a sincere person! How could you question that? He doesn't have any hidden agendas."

True, to an extend. Let me ask you, "what drives him to be a philanthropist?"

Your answer: "Religion?"

"There! Gotcha!"

"Huh?!"

You see, that is what motivates him. As a Buddhist, he believes in Karma. What he does is, while in his charity act, he gives benefits to others, and in this process he hopes to collect enough merits in his life, so that HE himself can reap the benefits later.

"What benefits?" You asked.

Well as a Buddhist he would have believed that when a person do good things, more good things will happen to that person; when a person had collected enough merits, that person will be promoted to a higher dimension and possibly achieving "Moksha" (The highest happiness, free from suffering).

So in the end, what he or she really hopes for is to get the benefits for himself/herself. So that means that person has a motive, or rather, hidden agenda. Now tell me, can you consider this as a sincere act then? Well my answer is... No!

I don't see any difference that sets this person apart from the previous two mentioned above, the only difference is that this person will only receive the benefits when he/she is dead(which is not much of a use anyway).



Well let's move on to another classic example. 

A Christian doing charity? This is so much easier. 

The answer is... an obvious... No!

What might be that person's motivation? He/She might be doing charity just to please the God, which is a motive anyway. He/She might be buying himself/herself a ticket to Heaven and eternal joy, which itself is also a motive.

You see, whatever philanthropy that person does it all goes down to getting benefits for himself. Try asking a Christian this question,"Why do you do good things and help other peoples?".

I'm VERY sure the answer will be something like this,"Because I want to go to Heaven."

That's the typical answer you'll get. If not eitherway, it will be the "Propagating religion" answer, which itself is much worse in terms of sincerity.

So tell me, am I wrong at labeling this person as insincere? 


So...
Extrinsic sincerity? Intrinsic sincerity?



What do you really believe in?

Do you believe in doing good things so that good things will happen to you? Or do you believe in doing good things because it is good?

My philosophy is - If you want to do something, let that something be the reason, and not something else.

I study because studying gives you knowledge, not because I want to show to other peoples that I'm smart. I play music because I like playing music, not because I want to show off my skills to the world. I do charity because I like to help other peoples, not because I want to gain popularity or fame.

And let me end by quoting something from a Boyzone's song :) - "Don't love me for fun, girl ... ... Love me for a reason, and let the reason be love"


So ask yourself, what do you really want?



Ask yourself...






That's all for tonight. Till next time, cheers~