20150901誠情入群啟善念 Protecting the Environment and Purifying Our Hearts and Minds
Before school started, due to the escalating cases of Dengue fever in Tainan, Taiwan, many parents were worried that their children would be bitten by mosquitoes at school. So, Tzu Chi volunteers went to help clean up schools in Tainan. They were very happy to help as they knew what they did could help to safeguard children’s health. Wherever mosquitoes were likely to breed, our volunteers would carefully clean it up.
They not only cleaned up places where everyone could see, but also every crook and cranny, corners, gutters, etc. to make sure it was clean everywhere. After the cleanup, I hope that teachers and students will regularly clean up their schools to keep their surroundings clean and tidy. If they litter or do not take care of their environment, the cleanup effort will be in vain.
So, it is very important to encourage everyone to keep the environment clean. And to protect the environment, everyone must start with their surroundings. If everyone can keep their surroundings clean, then our environment will be clean as well. When we keep our own surroundings clean and help to keep others’ surroundings clean as well, then the entire environment will be clean and everyone will enjoy good health.
Nowadays, the effect of global warming has become more and more worrisome. As temperatures keep rising, major disasters will follow. So, the only solution is for people to reduce their desires. Desires are like raging fires, which will burn down the field of our mind. So, when we give rise to desires, they’ll rage within our mind like fires. That’s why we must reduce our desires, and this is what everyone in the world must do.
The Buddha often speaks of collective karma. Since we’ve created unwholesome collective karma, we have the responsibility to do something together to care for the environment we’ve damaged. Otherwise, as temperatures keep rising, glaciers will melt, causing sea levels to rise. And when sea temperature rises, global warming will worsen faster and faster, bringing about more and more intensive and devastating disaster.
So, what every one of us needs to do is to take good care of our hearts and minds, reduce our desires, and be content. Our life is good enough, so we must cherish the resources we have so they can last longer. When the things we have are still useable, we must not throw them away at every turn. If we can do that, the amount of garbage will be reduced. Less garbage means less waste of resources. This is a virtuous cycle.
If we don’t waste our resources and can make good use of them, we won’t keep manufacturing so many things, which will create carbon emissions to pollute the air. All this is interrelated. So, protecting our environment is not rhetoric; it’s an action we should take. See how Tzu Chi volunteers work to care for the environment. For every corner and every crook and cranny, they’ll reach their hands in to dig out the garbage there.
Many people are creating garbage, but we must not be frustrated and give up our effort. If we do, garbage will build up very soon. So, everyone must do their part to help. This is possible when we invite everyone to give with love. Over the last few days, we saw that Tzu Chi volunteers in Malaysia cultivated together at our Jing Si Halls in Penang and Kuala Lumpur. My monastic disciples from the Abode also went to Malaysia to share our Jing Si Dharma Lineage and Tzu Chi path with everyone and remind them to benefit humanity, inspire goodness in people, and love and care for one another.
Over the years, I’ve been encouraging our volunteers in Malaysia to inspire more people to give. When they’d recruited 300,000 donating members, I encouraged them to work harder and recruit one million members in one year’s time. When they had recruited one million members, I again asked them to set their goal at two million members. If everyone’s goodness can be inspired, our society will become a better place as everyone will abide by true principles.
When everyone treats one another with genuine sincerity, their love within will help to purify their hearts and minds. So, I truly hope our volunteers can work with one heart to spread love across Malaysia. Malaysia covers a vest area. But see how our volunteers in Penang and Kuala Lumpur have spread love around the country like how ripples spread out on the water. This year marks the 22nd anniversary of Tzu Chi Malaysia.
We see how our volunteers in Penang seized the Independence Day holidays to hold an event to celebrate their anniversary. Over 200 people, including our nurses, dialysis patients, etc., got onstage to perform. These dialysis patients receive treatment at our free dialysis center in Penang as they lead a difficult life. Apart from giving them free treatment, our staff and volunteers will also share wholesome teachings with them and inspire them to serve as our volunteers.
The anniversary event was very heartwarming. It was really a very special occasion. If everyone could spread love like this, purifying people’s hearts and minds would not be difficult at all. So, it all depends on us. Protecting the environment is everyone’s responsibility, and purifying people’s hearts and minds is our mission. These are what we need to do with all our hearts.
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