2015/03/23淨穢不同源於心Our Mind Can Shape the World
The teachings that the Buddha passed down to us over 2,000 years ago explained very clearly to us what a world filled with impurities is like. Impurities that have been generated and accumulated are now witnessed by us and are impacting us. Mpurities are multiplied and accumulated as a result of people’s ignorance. Where does ignorance come from? From our mind. Our mind is very powerful. With this powerful force, our mind can shape the world to be good or evil.
A good environment can purify people’s minds, transform our world into a pure land and create harmony and peace in our society. An evil environment will fill the world with impurities, twist right and wrong and create upheaval in society. This powerful force also disturbs the peace in people’s minds. When people’s minds have gone astray, not only will ignorance and unwholesome intentions fill their hearts, it’ll also manifest externally, like the garbage, we see strewn all over the land.
We also see news from Indonesia. Recent heavy rains caused many areas to be flooded. Tzu Chi volunteers have been active in disaster relief. When Indonesian volunteers came to see me, I mentioned to them again that after the flood receded, debris accumulated in the river and sewage system should be removed quickly. With their influence, the local government has activated soldiers and other professionals to join the clean-up efforts.
Look at the debris, clogging the river after floodwaters receded. They are so mindful to quickly clean up the debris while Tzu Chi volunteers provided water and hot meals to the soldiers. This is collaboration between citizens and the government.
We should follow their example and care for and support each other by working together so that when a disaster happens, be it a flood, storm, or other disaster, afterward, people can work together with one heart to clean up the massive environment. Everyone must be mindful to achieve this.
In Taiwan, we see a group of recycling volunteers genuinely protecting the land. Every time I see them, they are always cherishing and protecting the land. They sincerely give of themselves by collecting recyclables that others do not collect because they don’t sell for much money. Every month we collect a lot of Styrofoam goods. We couldn’t collect all of them. Some people don’t know it’s recyclable.
Some people just don’t collect this, because it doesn’t sell for much. But we still collect it. We do it to protect the Earth. If not done, the Earth will soon be destroyed. This year is the 25th year of Tzu Chi’s recycling work. This path has been arduous and full of challenges. Volunteers do recycling not for the money they recyclables sell for.
They are concerned about not polluting the land. People don’t usually recycle this as it involves too much work. It’s too much trouble for them so they just throw it away or burn it which creates garbage or pollutes the air. Every volunteer in the recycling station loves the Earth with such sincerity. Doing recycling there takes Dharma. Dealing with these piles of garbage is a form of cultivation. Although they face dirty and reeking garbage, they embrace recycling as spiritual cultivation.
Their work helps them to fully understand that everything in this world is impermanent. When they got hold of an audiotape or a videotape, they would carefully dismantle the cassettes, separate out the plastic tapes and organize the messy films. Then they went on to sort the other parts, such as the hard plastic covers. These all have to be separated. Be it a videotape or an audiotape, volunteers handled them with equal mindfulness.
From working with home appliances that were sent to the recycling station. Tzu Chi volunteers get to see the making of finished products. This understanding has inspired their wisdom to cherish the Earth even more. They repair the appliances for reuse or dismantle them in fine detail for reproduction. This is Tzu Chi’s recycling.
If Tzu Chi does not do recycling for all that we can see, mounds and mounds of recyclables will truly become useless garbage that goes into landfills and causes great damage to the land. Good quality resources would truly go to waste and be gone. We recycle plastic bags. Most people treat them as garbage. Seeing that, our recycling volunteers used to feel very sorry about it. Tzu Chi inquired with vendors and confirmed that actually plastic bags are recyclable if sorted properly.
Therefore, in the past two or three years, we put in a lot of effort in recycling plastic bags. For people with financial needs, Tzu Chi does not interfere with their collection of recyclables for income. For everything else, what recyclables they don’t collect, such as those of low value, Tzu Chi volunteers will collect. While carrying out recycling, if we learned of people who depended on collecting recyclables for a living, we’d pay them a visit to help them.
People who used to live on collecting recyclables have become our care recipients. On average, there’re about 2,000 charity cases per year. Basically, as long as new cases are found and reported to us, we will conduct a home visit. In this way, Tzu Chi does not deprive people of resources or income; far from doing this, we go to take care of them based on their personal needs and family situation.
During all these years, Tzu Chi has been dedicated to recycling. Be it 25 years ago or now, Tzu Chi maintains the same mindfulness in caring for the environment and humankind. We see so many elderly volunteers happily sorting out recyclables. I don’t know what the future holds as issues arise to remind us of impermanence. People’s ignorance and unwholesomeness have caused a lot of impurities, not only in the external environment around us. All in all, inwardly, we should be vigilant and aware to guard our hearts and minds
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