20141227 造福富足教慇實 To Create Abundant Blessings for the World
Being safe and well and for everything to be auspicious are what everyone prays for. Yet, rather than just praying for it, it’s better to make it happen, by doing good. If we can be sincere in doing good deeds, we will naturally bring auspiciousness to this world. When we are sincere in dealing with everyone and everything, we all become role models for others to follow. We must learn from each other to put good thoughts into practice. Then we will create an abundance of blessings for the world.
This is something that every Tzu Chi volunteer in this big Tzu Chi family needs to learn and practice in their life. Starting last year, I have been stressing to Tzu Chi Malaysia volunteers the need to pull everyone’s heart together and to pave the land of Malaysia with love and to recruit more kind hearted people as bodhisattvas. When they have more bodhisattvas in various regions in Malaysia, wherever disasters occur, bodhisattvas will go to those who are in suffering and sow the seeds of love locally.
As the seed of love sprout and more people are inspired to become bodhisattvas, a network of love is established. Then we will know the location and status of the disasters and how to best provide help to those in need. Especially now, we need to unite all Tzu Chi volunteers of Malaysia to work hand with one heart. We saw Malaysia’s worst floods in decades due to a particularly high amount of rain, which has been brought by the seasonal north-east monsoon.
We see that the extreme weather has brought flooding to several states in Malaysia. Tzu Chi volunteers quickly mobilized and surveyed the extent of the flooding. This is the responsibility of living bodhisattvas.
When the need arises, they seize every moment to help those in need. This can be found in the Buddhist sutras, “As karmic conditions ripen, go and seize the opportunity to serve. “ When the causes and conditions come together, we must quickly seize the opportunity to give. In times of disaster, the most urgent need is to feed those who are affected by the disaster. If we can reach them, we must first send food and water so people will not go hungry.
We see how large the inundated areas are, and with relatively few Tzu Chi volunteers there, how are we to proceed with the relief? We must have a lot of volunteers to care for the flood affects and we need to decide on ways to help so that stores and companies can quickly get back in business. This is how to really help all the people impacted. Wherever there is a disaster, everyone in this world should be helping. Because we all live under the same sky, on the same Earth and breathe the same air, everyone’s lives are interconnected.
Only when we care for each other and give of ourselves with love will we bring auspiciousness to our world. This requires everyone to be very sincere at heart and give of ourselves with love. We also saw Christmas celebrations in Tacloban, Philippines, which went well this year after last year's devastation from Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). Since the disaster, Tzu Chi sincere love and care has always been there, helping the typhoon survivors to recover and rebuild their lives.
Tzu Chi also guides them to love each other and all are welcomed to become Tzu Chi volunteers. Though they are all Catholics, being a volunteer does not change their faith. We only keep encouraging them to love each other. Yesterday, we received the news that the Pope is going to the Philippines and Tzu Chi volunteers are invited to meet with him. In this disaster, Buddhists and Catholics came together in the name of love, working with each other to help the people in need, so peace and harmony can be among us.
Otherwise, look at the humanitarian crises around the world. They stem from people’s attachment to different values, so people take sides and fight against each other. As a result, there is not a day of peace in this world. In Jordan, we see that many man made calamities have occurred in its neighboring countries, resulting in numerous refugees fleeing to Jordan. Among them, many are from Iraq.
The Catholic churches in Jordan have been giving shelter to these displaced people and contacted local Tzu Chi volunteers for help. After Tzu Chi volunteers arrived at the church, they saw that the needs were going met by Christian charity organizations as well as the local government so the situation was holding out, but Tzu Chi volunteers offered the refugees love and care. By October this year, they had more needs Tzu Chi volunteers were contracted for help again.
The weather was getting bitterly cold, and these refugees were suffering tremendously. Some families truly needed our help Tzu Chi volunteers went assess the situation and immediately carried out an aid distribution to provide food, blankets, and cash to the people in need. In a word, the refugees have felt genuine sincerity and thoughtfulness from Tzu Chi volunteers. They have felt utmost sincerity and respect from a Buddhist organization coming to help them. Though they were in the receiving end of aid, they were well respected.
They can feel this all because of the presence of the power of love. Such sincere giving of love and care is what we must do when helping others. Living in this world, having a faith means learning to give of ourselves. That is the true purpose in life. Religion, as I often emphasized in my talks, is to guide people to have a right purpose in life. There must be a purpose for us to be here in this world. We must choose what our vision and purpose are. Of course, the most joyous, cheerful, and blissful one is to be a person who can help people in need.
This is our people. Moreover, we must learn the teachings from our religion. Christians also have their teachings, which is universal love of all. Buddhism also has its teachings. Our teaching is to care for all people with loving kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity so that we feel people’s suffering as our own, just as if we were them. When they are in hard times and suffering, it breaks our hearts. When they are in pain or suffering injury, our hearts for them.
Because we cannot bear for them to suffer so, we reach out to help them, just as if they were our loved ones. When our actions can help remove their suffering, it gives us joy and we seek nothing in return. This is practicing the Buddhist teachings. Seeing their difficulties lightened, even if only for awhile, we are very happy that they can enjoy some relief from hardship. That already gives us joy. In conclusion, being a bodhisattva is actually very easy. It all being with a thought of love for others.
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