20150708匯愛啟慧致祥和 Giving with Love to Bring Peace to the World
We’re grateful that Tropical Storm Linfa eventually moved farther west than expected, so it didn’t make landfall in Taiwan. However, there are still two typhoons on the sea. So, here in Taiwan, we should still be cautious and heighten our vigilance. We should also pray that no matter where the typhoons are heading they’ll not bring disasters to the areas they affect so people there can be safe and sound.
This I show vigilant and sincerely pious everyone must be. Take the people in southern Taiwan for example. They believed in the weather forecast and quickly took precautions against Tropical Storm Linfa. Since they were humble and were making preparations. Nature had mercy on them and left them alone.
So, we really need to be humble and cautious and hold Mother Nature in awe and reverence. Man is indeed very insignificant. That said, when we harbor unwholesome thoughts, the unwholesome karma we create will still be very destructive. So, in the world we live where good and evil are always at war, we must nurture a heart of sincere piety. In this world, there are indeed many disasters.
For example, the U.S. state of California has entered its fourth year of drought which has killed 12.5 million trees in California’s national forests. In a severe drought like this where even big trees cannot survive people will understandably also be affected. So, we really need to live with vigilant care. In our daily living, we must cherish water and use it sparingly.
Nature’s elements have become imbalanced and climate conditions have changed. See how some areas suffer from drought while others are affected by flooding. Living in this world, whether we’ll bring about blessings or disasters all depends on our actions. Disasters will occur when we speak unkind words, do bad, or give rise to evil thoughts. All these are harmful to both ourselves and others.
Not only that, they’ll also bring disharmony to our world and cause impermanence to strike more often. Take the recent dust explosion for example. It happened in an instant, but those who were injured will have a long and arduous battle to fight. It is a very hard time not only for the injured, but also for medical personnel and their families. Take a grape farmer for example.
His son was also injured, so he has to take care of him. But this is the time for harvesting grape. What to do? After Tzu chi volunteers learned about this, they told the farmer that they’d help harvest the grapes for him. Yesterday, our volunteers started harvesting the grapes.
They harvested over 1,000 boxes of them which were all purchased by our volunteers and other kindhearted people to share with hospitals caring for those injured by the dust explosion. The love and support we receive are very meaningful to us. Such is the warmth of love.
I hope that this force of goodness can serve as our support and sincere blessings for every one of the injured so as to bring them peace, ease the pain they’re suffering, cheer them up, and bring them and their families comfort. This is what everyone can do for them. Such love is very heartwarming to see. We also see our volunteers in Taichung.
What they’ve done moved me very much. Last year, when I went to Taichung they told me about a family they were caring for. In the family, there are a brother and sister. Their parents were divorced for a long time. Their mother has a mental condition and lives in a nursing home. So, the brother and sister live all by themselves.
The brother suffered from developmental delay when he was a child and the sister was unemployed. When Tzu Chi volunteers visited them, the y saw that a 20-year-old banyan tree next to the house had severely damaged the house as its aerial roots had hung down to the roof, entered cracks and crevices, and penetrated the roof tiles all the way down to the ceilings inside the house.
They’d lived in the house like this for a long time. The roots also grew on the walls outside the house and eventually penetrated the walls and grew very thick and big. Seeing that, our volunteers decided to repair the house for them. Starting from last September, they went several times to clean up and repair the house.
They climbed up to the roof to cut the trees into several pieces, removed the roof tiles one by one, and carried them down. Every time, around 50 volunteers went to help, and some were in their seventies or eighties. On New Year’s Day this year, after the repair work was down, the brother and sister brought their mother home.
Our volunteers seized the opportunity to teach the children to be good to their mother and to take care of their house. Now, both of them have jobs, but we’ll continue to care for them. See, wherever there are people in need Tzu Chi volunteers will be there. See how the tree had grown into house, causing every room to leak except one.
The brother and sister had lived like that for years but see how our volunteers have repaired and given the house a brand-new look. This is a good start for the family. I hope everyone can give with love like this. With everyone’s love, may our society be harmonious, people’s minds be purified, and the world be peaceful.
首頁 