20150306 惜水積善‧深植慧根Nurturing the Vitality of Love in Society
The drought in Taiwan this year has alarmed everyone. But some people are still very wasteful of water and others say they’ll just buy more buckets to store water. It has never occurred to them that if the water levels in reservoirs keep falling, how many days can the water they store last them?
Everyone should know that this drought will affect us all. So, in our daily living, we need to keep our actions in check and learn to use our resources frugally. Then, when others people are in need, we can share what we have with them.
At my Dharma talk this morning, I spoke of how we should have deep faith like how the roots of a tree should grow deep into earth so the tree can grow tall and flourish. Trees can help to retain water. When it rains, tree roots will absorb the rainwater, which can then gradually seep into the earth. Grasses and flowers are also the same.
Early in the morning, we often see dew drops on the tips of tree leaves. It’s not raindrops, but dews that form at night. When dew accumulates, they can nourish plants and the land. Likewise, if we hope to accumulate blessings, we need to give with love. That’s why we must inspire love in more people.
For everyone to enjoy peace and safety, people’s minds need to be peaceful. When people’s minds are full of love and goodness, our society will be harmonious and peaceful. But, if people’s minds are in disharmony, there’ll be turmoil and unrest in society, which is truly not in good thing. So, we should praise good people more often.
I often say that I’m very grateful to Tzu Chi volunteers. Our society is like a small island on the sea. It is also like a tiny leaf in the ocean, which cannot withstand high winds and waves. But when high winds and turbulent waves occur, we need to have deep faith, stay calm and pray sincerely. I also hope we can pool together our love and work together to give our love to more people and bring peace to their minds. Only then can our society be harmonious.
Look at the fire that broke out in Banqiao, New Taipei City on Chinese New Year’s Day and how Tzu Chi volunteers worked with other charity groups to clean up the house of a family. Such is the love of our society. So, we must keep inspiring love in more people. There have indeed been many disasters in the world. Take a disaster in 2000 for example. On October 31 that year, Typhoon Xangsane devastated northern Taiwan. On the same day, a Singapore Airlines aircraft crashed at CKS International Airport in Taoyuan.
In the midst of the typhoon, Tzu Chi volunteers immediately mobilized to carry out relief for those affected by the typhoon and to help with the rescue work at the airport. Despite the storm, many firefighters rushed to the airport to help. While some Tzu Chi volunteers were helping with the rescue work, others quickly collected ginger from everyone to prepare hot ginger soup for those working at the airport. Seeing how they worked in the storm, our volunteers were worried that they might get hungry. So, they cooked hot meals for them, including breakfast.
That was what happened 15 years ago. That day, apart from the devastation brought by Typhoon Xangsane, an airplane also crashed. But see how Tzu Chi volunteers went to bring aid in the heavy rain and strong wind regardless of their own safety. Due to the typhoon, many places were flooded and out of power for days, so people couldn’t cook meals at home. So, Tzu Chi volunteers set up a central kitchen at our office in Neihu to prepare boxed meals and wade through floodwater to deliver them to people from door to door. This was what we did back then.
We could do so much work as we’d inspired many people to give with love. When we give with love and inspire love in others, whenever disasters strike, there’ll be people reaching out to those in need. And where they serve, they give willingly and without any complaints. This is the vitality of love that we need to nurture in our society and we really need to cherish this vitality of love and goodness of Taiwan.
That’s why there are so many Tzu Chi volunteers serving in every corner of society every day. Through giving, they’re nurturing the vitality of love in society, which is accumulated bit by bit. Only with this vitality can our society be filled with hope. Vitality is like heat and sunshine. Without sunshine or light, crops cannot grow well even if there are soil and water. Likewise, when we cook we need to have fire or heat. Only then can we cook delicious dishes. So, we can’t live without heat. Similarly, we need to have warmth and love within so we can nurture goodness in us. This is very important. In all, we really need to nurture the vitality of love and let its root deepen so our wisdom will grow.
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