20141218 - 法入心行遍寰宇To Serve the World and to Spread the Dharma
Tzu Chi has been in service for nearly 50 years. For all these years, the number of Tzu Chi volunteers continues to increase. At this time every year, we have certification ceremony in each community to add new volunteers to the Tzu Chi family.
So many people have come forth to become bodhisattvas. Because there are so many of them, we are able to expand Tzu Chi’s work globally through all these years. So, the number of countries where Tzu Chi has been to provide disaster relief has already reached to more than 80.
Tzu Chi has been able to reach all these countries because there are living bodhisattvas nearby to reach these countries to provide relief. This reminded me of what my Master told me more than 50 years ago when I took refuge under him: “Working for Buddhism and living beings”.
Yes, these words are always with me as if I am hearing them everyday. My master said to me: “You and I have a very special affinity. From now on, you have to work for Buddhism and living beings.” These six words. I have dedicated my life to fulfill these six words for nearly half a century. For nearly 50 years, my work is not done yet. In the first 40 years of Tzu Chi, and I did was to help living beings.
After 40 years. I wanted Tzu Chi volunteers to start learning the Dharma, to learn it mindfully and take it to heart, not only to take it to heart, but also to carry it out in action. Therefore, for our sutra adaptations, we started incorporating sign language for each word of the verses to help people take the Dharma to heart so that they can sing and recite the verses at anytime, anywhere.
Around the time of Tzu Chi’s 40th year, we started promoting Buddhism hoping everyone can take the Dharma to heart. Actually, before this initiative, you have already been practicing the Buddha’s teachings and have been serving as living bodhisattvas without knowing you are doing it.
You have been giving of yourselves to help people in need without seeking anything in return. Your hearts have already been trained to serve and every one of you displays the Bodhisattva spirits in your actions. When you serve people, you always do it very sincerely. So now, when you listen to the Dharma now, you can learn it very quickly, because the teaching matches your experience walking the Bodhisattva Path.
First, I want everyone to walk the path easily. After you walk the path very easily, you find it easy to be a bodhisattva. Everyone, you are now all bodhisattvas and have already been walking the Bodhisattva Path.
In my recent Dharma talks on the Lotus Sutra, I keep on emphasizing the vastness and profound wisdom of the Buddha. Now that you have volunteered in Tzu Chi for so many years, everyone, you truly need to cherish your time and focus on learning the Dharma and be a bodhisattva.
In Kaohsiung our volunteer Mr. Duh has made his own home an accessible venue for local Tzu Chi volunteers to go and listen to my Dharma talk every morning. Every day, they take notes of my Dharma teachings and write it down very neatly.
Every volunteer mindfully takes my Dharma teachings to heart. For my tour this time, starting from Changhua, I see volunteers put together a lot of their notebooks on display. Since then, every office I visited volunteers have also followed suit. Especially in Kaohsiung there are many notebooks.
On the first day, there are over 500 notebooks. Yesterday, I was told that there are over 700. Today, more notebooks have been brought over. As I went over one of the notebooks, the writing was very tiny and filled up the page. Volunteers in Kaohsiung are smart and thoughtful. They prepared a magnifier for me to help me easily read the tiny handwritings. I read the notebooks with the magnifier. Their writing was so neat!
They rewrote their notes after initial note taking. We have been walking the Bodhisattva Path for the first 40 years. Forty years later, for nearly 10 years now, we have been focusing mindfully on learning the Dharma.
Those who have learned the Dharma are able to get rid of their afflictions and have peace of mind. My wholehearted wish is for my disciples to learn and take in the Dharma now at the same time serving as bodhisattvas.
You and I share the same aspiration of taking on the huge challenge to alleviate suffering in this world. This is our vow. The theme for this year’s Year-end Blessings is to treat everyone with genuine sincerity, bring auspiciousness to our world, and work hard to guide the public to create blessings.
That’s right. This is our goal for the coming year--- bringing auspiciousness to the world and inspiring people to do good deeds to create abundance of blessings. This will depend on whether we can treat one another with genuine sincerity.
Volunteers should cultivate sincerity, uprightness, integrity, and honesty, and practice loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and selfless giving.
Therefore, we have to have this genuine sincerity toward every person and serve as an example for others, just like Tzu Chi volunteers in Canada set a role model for newly-naturalized Canadian citizens showing and guiding them how to serve and contribute to their new country through their own volunteering experience.
If Tzu Chi volunteers in Taiwan and around the world can do this, we will create boundless blessings. We see volunteers in Africa. We love them wholeheartedly and they opened their hearts and bring forth their inner riches. We see Tzu Chi volunteers in Africa, tough poor themselves, still helping the people in need. Despite being materially poor, they have become spiritually rich. That is why they can be so happy because they have purified their hearts and are content with their life.
We can do this, if we set our mind on it. Today’s certification is just the beginning. You must not think that after receiving your certification, you do not need to volunteer any more. I have to tell you this what you do is what you gain. You gain nothing when you stop volunteering. I just recognize you now as Tzu Chi volunteers and living bodhisattvas.
You are only embarking on the Bodhisattva Path now. Do not forget your aspiration. Do not forget this initial aspiration you have now. Now is only the beginning to become an official living bodhisattva. Do you understand? Understand.
This red envelope comes from the royalties of my publications, which I share this with you all to thank you for your contribution this year. I look forward to everyone giving of yourselves to help all living beings in the world where you manifest the Buddha’s teachings through your actions and help spread the Dharma. I am grateful to you My blessings to you. May everything go smoothly for you in the New Year. May you steadily walk the Bodhisattva Path.
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