20150707戒慎防颱‧發露懺悔 Mitigating Disasters by Awakening Pure Love in People
Tropical Storm Linfa is expected to move westward, but it could still stagger and change its course. Also, as it is quite a large storm, even after its center has moved away from Taiwan, outer rim could still bring about strong winds and high waves. So, please do not go to the beaches. Once something happens, not only will our society pay a price, it will be most regrettable if lives are lost as every life is precious and such consequences are irremediable. So, everyone must be aware of this and be cautious and alert.
Lately, it has been very hot. In Portugal, over 100 people have died during the sweltering heat there last month. This is how hot it is in Europe now. The weather has really become very erratic, but this is only a result of our actions in everyday life. In such hot weather, everyone will turn on air conditioning. But when every house uses air conditioning, although it is very cool inside, hot air will be expelled, making it even hotter outside.
Here in Taiwan, we see a family who live an environmentally friendly lifestyle. They don’t want to live a comfortable life at the cost of other people’s suffering. So, they don’t use air conditioning, which will expel hot gases to the environment and cause everyone to suffer. They had used air conditioning only once.
I remember on day, we had an air conditioner in our living room. So, that night, the whole family slept in the living room to enjoy the cool air. After that day, the air conditioner was gone.
My company wanted to discard the air conditioner, so I took it home. But as I was sleeping that night, I realized that we were building our happiness on others’ pain, which was wrong.
We live in an alley. When our neighbors turn on air conditioning, all the hot air blows our way. It is very hot. So, they’re enjoying the cool air at the cost of our suffering.
They’re truly full of wisdom, and that’s why they will think of others. When they were enjoying air conditioning, they thought of how others would be affected. In fact, everyone should sweat because it is normal and good for our health. If we don’t sweat, heat will be trapped inside our body, which is unhealthy and will do us harm. So, we must live in accordance with the cycle of the four seasons. When we do that, isn’t that the most healthy lifestyle?
So, living in this world, we must follow Nature’s law. Seeing how erratic the weather has become, I’m really very worried. The dust explosion in Taiwan this time has injured hundreds of young people whose parents are still very anxious and worried. When the accident happened, these young people were having a lot of fun. All of a sudden, they were burned dn their skin ripped open. They’ve suffered a lot.
So, we need to pray with pious sincerity. Everyone in Taiwan should pray sincerely. Climate conditions have become erratic, and we need to awaken to the lessons they bring us. See how alarming disasters occur due to Nature’s elements being imbalanced, and how people’s minds are in disharmony, causing them to lose sight of their direction in life. How are we to bring harmony to people’s minds and Nature’s elements?
We need to inspire people with our sincere love and help them find the correct direction in their lives. That’s why I hope that Tzu Chi volunteers can hold prayer gatherings and invite everyone to attend. Take Malaysia for example. From July 3 to 5, they staged a musical adaptation of the Water Repentance text. They’d prepared for it for an entire year. The musical adaptation was a great success.
We also heard their sharing. See how genuine and sincere they were! Many of them were so moved that they choked with sobs. They are all entrepreneurs. One of them even knelt down to repent to his wife, and his wife also knelt down to hug him. He did that right in front of so many people so we can imagine how deeply affected he must be. See how he repented for his past mistakes and how his wife forgave him.
Through repenting, they let bygones be bygones and their minds became as pure as a clear mirror for their untainted love to shine forth. It’s really very moving. See how a group of local entrepreneurs beat the drums at every presentation. The sound of the drums have awakened everyone’s love. Everyone has been awakened and their pure, untainted love has been inspired. Over 70,000 people attended the presentations and everyone’s hearts were united as one. Our volunteers in Taiwan should really learn from them.
In 2011, we also held a musical adaptation on repentance in Taiwan, and Taiwan had enjoyed peace and safety over the last few years. But, as unenlightened beings, we are forgetful and our mind is always flipping back and forth between good and evil. So, I hope Tzu chi volunteers across Taiwan can review the teachings on repentance and remind people of them.
Look at the ships of compassion they formed during the presentations. Seeing how so many people’s hearts were united as one like this, I’m truly very moved.
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