20150818行正軌道人世安 Following True Principles for a Peaceful World
Typhoon Soudelor has brought severe devastation to Taiwan, and Tzu Chi volunteers’ effort to help clean up the disaster areas ended only two days ago. When I asked our staff who went to Wulai, Taipei to help with the cleanup whether it was tiring, they said they were tired out. The disaster areas were flooded and covered with thick mud, and everyone working there had to wear a mask because it’s been many days and there was a foul stench there.
Wulai was renowned for its hot spring, so there were many tourists. After the flooding this time, the septic tanks there spilled over, so the mud was mixed with feces, etc. sending out a terrible stench. Our staff said that they thought they only had to deal with the mud; it never occurred to them that they also had to cope with the stench. For the disaster this time, Tzu Chi members had worked over a week, and the work was really strenuous.
Many volunteers working here are older than us, old enough to be our parents or even grandparents. The cleanup is truly hard work. Even we are tired out.
All the basements in the disaster areas were filled with mud, which were even more taxing to clean up. Just imagine how firing it must be to clear the mud out from the basements. Even our young volunteers said that they could only work for a few minutes, and then they had to take a rest. That’s how tiring the work was. But thanks to everyone’s help, many stores resumed businesses yesterday, and the streets are very clean now.
Thanks to Tzu Chi volunteers’ help, we’re able to recover like this.
You came to help us out. Thank you very much.
In areas affected by Soudelor this time, many people are now very worried that another typhoon is approaching Taiwan. They said if the typhoon comes again, they’ll have to evacuate and leave their homes behind. Indeed, I’m also very worried about the typhoon, Goni, which is continuing to strengthen. There is another typhoon, Atsani, which is heading toward Japan. Taiwan is a small island.
So, wherever we are, we must be on guard and pray with sincere piety. May other conditions come together for the typhoons to weaken so no one in Taiwan or Japan will be affected. Only when the typhoons weaken can everyone be safe and well.
We also see that in Bangkok, Thailand, a bomb blast occurred at a shrine at around 7 p.m. last night, killing and injuring many people. The shrine is a major tourist attraction. See how people went there happily for a visit but were affected by such an incident. Also, in China, a series of massive explosions occurred at a toxic chemicals warehouse at the Port of Tianjin, causing great casualties. Now, everyone is worried about how the chemicals released from the warehouse will affect the soil, water, etc.
See how impermanence can strike in the blink of an eye. So, living in this world, we must harbor a heart of sincere piety. Only when our mind is calm and peaceful can our society enjoy peace and safety. True principles reside in everyone’s hearts. As long as we follow true principles, we’ll walk on the correct path and our society will be safe and peaceful. Peace and safety are brought about by man. So, we need to share wholesome teachings with more people so everyone will live out true principles and walk on the correct path in life.
This way, our mind will be in harmony and we will get along with one another. To create such a pure land on earth, we must start with our mind. And be it doing recycling workor listening to the Dharma, we can not only gain insight into many truths, but also learn to benefit our Earth, get along with everyone around us, and change our unwholesome habitual tendencies. So, when we see people with afflictions, we should invite them to learn the Dharma and take part in our study sessions.
Over the last few days, our volunteers from China came to the Abode to share their work with us. From their sharing, I learned that an elderly volunteer has been listening to my Dharma talk and taking notes diligently. She has written 15 notebooks already and see how neat her writing is! Our volunteers in China are very diligent indeed. Be it listening to my Dharma talk organizing study sessions, or inspiring more people to join Tzu Chi, they’ve worked hard to do it all.
Apart from learning the Dharma together and listening to my Dharma talk, they also do recycling work and share the Dharma with others. Hearing that, I was truly very happy, and completely immersed in the joy arising from having learned how diligent they are. It is truly very moving. We also see our volunteer training camp in the Philippines. Many of our local volunteers there are Catholic, but they saw no religious barrier and attended our training camp along with everyone.
They even took part in the Lotus Sutra Bowing Ceremony and the walking meditation with a sincere heart and shared their thoughts with everyone. See how orderly they were! Indeed, as long as everyone works together with one heart, there’s nothing we cannot achieve and no place we cannot reach. To attend the training camp, our local volunteers from different parts of the Philippines traveled a long way to Quezon City in Metro Manila. This is how we should pass on the Dharma to more people and give with love wherever we are.
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