20150302悲智雙運寬心胸 To Have a Broad Heart with Compassion and Wisdom
Looking at the world, the times we live in, and the people, think about it, disasters are happening frequently around the world. We really should see the world with a correct perspective, a broader vision and a bigger heart. For Taiwan to be safe and well, the world needs to be peaceful. When there is world peace, Taiwan will be blessed.
Look at the Ebola outbreak that has started in West Africa since last year and is still ongoing. It has shocked the world and frightened people very much. However, countries in West Africa are poor and people live in hardship. Medical facilities and supplies there are also lacking. When the outbreak occurs, countries there have a hard time containing the virus or stopping it. What is helping to spread the virus? That is due to the local funeral rituals. When a person dies, during the funeral, people will approach the deceased and kiss the corpse to say their farewell.
Therefore, it is very difficult to prevent the spread of this virus. People must exercise wisdom to discern right from wrong very clearly. Ebola is a really deadly virus. Medical scientists have issued warnings. Government’s ban on traditional burials has also been announced to the public. However, people still follow the traditional burial rituals. This shows how people’s superstition, hinders them from accepting wisdom and trusting scientific evidence and views. This is really making the situation helpless.
We also saw in Venezuela, though rich with oil production, it has faced a widespread shortage of necessities. Its neighboring country proposed a commodity swap: exchange oil for toilet paper. This country’s situation is desperate. Although Venezuela is oil-rich and a wealthy country, when shortages of commodities occur, being rich can hardly solve the problems. We saw that when Venezuelans went shopping for clothes, food or other products, they had to spend almost a whole day in very long queues to buy the things they needed.
This shows very clearly to us that in life, wealth does not promise us abundance. Being rich in love is even more important than being rich in material goods. Such love and compassion must be spread equally among people. People should not just focus on measuring their wealth or competing with each other in material possessions. When society is not at peace or people’s hearts and minds are not in harmony, there is no way for society to become rich and have plentiful commodities. Therefore, we should cherish all kinds of resources in our daily life and love and care for Mother Nature.
We see a very heartwarming story that happens in Seattle, U.S.A. There is a little girl who sees crows standing on the birdbath platform. Every day, she provides them with fresh water and leave some peanuts and other nuts on the platform. Later, she found that the crows often come with gifts of shiny trinkets, such as necklace to repay her for her kindness. We see the love from this girl, which shows the caring love of the human world. We also see the crows living their life as animals, but they also have the Buddha nature as said by the Buddha.
They also have feelings for the girl and know to repay her kindness. She’s such an adorable little girl! Seeing this story, I see hope in the world. When we do what must be done, there is hope. We must have faith in this saying of the Buddha: “Everyone has Buddha nature.” The Buddha spent a long period of time in pursuing the Dharma and guiding living beings. He worked unceasingly and perfected his virtues. He accumulated merits and perfected virtues by working with people and helping them while nurturing his wisdom and practicing the Dharma.
There’s a Jing Si Aphorism that says when we are moving forward and someone is trying to hold us back, they are actually helping us to develop the strength to move forward. So, we should be grateful. Don’t’ interpret it as they are setting us back. It’s all right to have set backs. We should turn around and say to them: “Thank you for helping me to develop strength.” Such is the same spirit in the Buddha’s time. The Buddha was full of love and gratitude.
The Buddha hoped that everyone can harbor such spirits. The only wish that the Buddha had was for people to be like him, completely emptied of afflictions and to bring out their pure wisdom. This wisdom is like a perfectly clear mirror, able to reflect the mountains, rivers, oceans and lands, as they appear before the mirror. Yet, the mirror will not be obstructed by the images. No matter how impure the objects are, the mirror can reflect them, but never be tainted by them. Therefore, our wisdom should be like this. No matter how impure our world is, nothing should affect us and obstruct, our wisdom like a perfectly clear mirror.
Everyone, we have to truly realize this—the power of live lies in giving of ourselves. We also see on the news that during the past long weekend in Taiwan, many people went out to have fun. Tourists attraction sites in central and southern Taiwan were crowded with people. This caused traffic congestions on the roads. Moreover, people were also injured at various celebratory activities when they pushed and shoved each other. We also see the medical outreach by Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital. Supt. Chien and our medical staff went to a fire station to provide free health services to police and firefighters.
These police and firefighters work to protect our society with little attention or understanding from the public. So, we need to have people in society who truly understand give of their love with empathy, compassion and wisdom to care for them. I am truly grateful. All in all, there is the power of love hidden amongst people. There is a group of volunteers always doing the right thing and serving our society. I am very grateful to them.
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