施不望報 / 施不望报
shī bù wàng bào
"give not hope repayment"
The literal breakdown should make it clear: giving help or kindness to others without expecting anything in return.
(An aside here: I teach my students all the time to do literal breakdowns for everything, as this will help them see the wood/forest from looking at the trees, apart from learning the original meaning of all the characters in a word or phrase, which would help them arrive at the final meaning when they see them in different permutations.)
I help a lot of people in a lot of ways -- for free, without wanting anything in return: massage; house sitting (three months each time, and lumbered with fiddly tasks, as well as more major house problems); cat sitting; gardening; food shopping (and delivering to their door); mentoring for studies; even looking in on their elderly neighbour for them while they were away on holiday; etc.
So, why do I feel hurt by their slamming the door in my face when I appeal to them for help (only in my desperate moments)?
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