20151016有禮達理善循環 Creating a Cycle of Love Around the World
See how extreme weather events have greatly impacted global food production. Today is World Food Day. On this day, we should be aware of global food shortages and be reminded that the food we have on our plate is precious. Truly, food does not come easy. Each grain of rice and every drop of oil are the result of hard work and should be cherished. In this world we live in, agriculture is under threat as many young people have left farms, leaving older people to do the farming.
With erratic climate conditions, the lack of manpower, etc. how can so many people in the world get enough food to sustain themselves? Given our current situation, we need to find a balance---With the land we have, if more people are willing to serve and work hard, we may be able to sustain our food resources and climate conditions can become less erratic and abnormal.
We see that Typhoon Koppu is likely to continue strengthening. It is possible that it will continue toward the vicinity of Taiwan, so we truly need to be on high alert. We also see the severe flooding in Myanmar. Last time, Tzu Chi volunteers traveled over ten hours from Yangon to two of the worst affected areas to give out aid. This time, they went to another two flooded areas which are two hours away from Yangon. So, we can imagine the scale of the disaster.
The local Tzu Chi volunteers and our volunteers from Malaysia all went to survey the disaster areas. And they learned that what the farmers affected by the flood needed the most were rice seeds. So, that was what we needed to distribute. The local government was going to distribute to the farmers rice seeds but rice traders had milled the seeds into rice to be sold for a better price due to the lack of food.
Therefore, we had to purchase rice seeds from other regions. Before our distribution, we had to visit the farmers to better understand their needs. Many of them are poor and have to borrow rice seeds from others. But twice in a row, their crops were destroyed by floods caused by torrential rains. As they were preparing to borrow more seeds, Tzu Chi volunteers showed up, so they did not need to borrow again. They were very grateful that they did not need to borrow more seeds this time because Tzu Chi would provide rice seeds to them.
We also see Mr. U Thein Tun. Since he received help from Tzu Chi, he has been saving a handful of rice before cooking every meal to help those in need. Instead of spraying pesticides on his crops, he speaks kind words to his rice plants. Now, he is training to be a Tzu Chi volunteer. This time, the area he lives is not affected by flooding. It looks that they’ll have a bumper harvest.
As he keeps encouraging people not to use pesticides and sharing his experiences with them, many people have been inspired to do the same. They save a handful of rice before every meal to help the needy and speak kind words to their rice fields every day with a heart of gratitude.
“When I sow the rice seeds, I harbor good thoughts. Under my care and love, I believe I’ll have a good harvest.
I don’t want to kill lives, so I just tell the insects to finish eating and go away. I don’t use pesticides because they’ll leave and not damage the crops.
We see every household there reaping a good harvest. We also see Mr. U Thein Tun in Tzu Chi’s uniform. See how he’s taken in the wholesome values we shared with him and been filled with gratitude and inspired to help others. So, many people have also been inspired to set aside a handful of rice to help others. Seeing this cycle of goodness truly makes me very happy. Nothing is impossible as long as we try our best to do it.
The mutual love and care between people was also demonstrated by members of Tzu Chi Int. Med. Assn. on Long Island, New York, U.S.A. See how they held a free clinic to serve minorities in that area. It was truly a touching sight to see. In the Philippines, free clinics are regularly held to serve people with eye conditions. When many impoverished people learned about the service, they felt like they’d seen the light and were very happy. I’m truly very grateful to our volunteers.
We need love in the world. The power of love can do great things anywhere in the world. Such love can feel like the warmth of the sun in the cold winter. This year, Tzu Chi has been serving in Lesotho for 20 years. Our love continues to spread there. In Lesotho alone, there are 1500 volunteers. The local volunteers are all very kind. It brings me great joy to see them giving so happily. Everyone is very grateful to Taiwan and Tzu Chi. I am very happy to see how love spreads in Lesotho like this.
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