20161212不忘初心菩薩行Staying Committed to One’s Initial Aspiration on the Bodhisattva Path
Hello everyone. My name is Tang Shaofan. I’m 90 years old this year, and I’m from Pingtung City. I’ve been a documenting volunteer for 18 years. I hope that by documenting Tzu Chi’s activities, I can bear witness to and record Tzu Chi’s history.
In Pingtung, there was a Tzu Chi volunteer, Mr. Tang, who was 90 years old this year. He was a documenting volunteer. Using his video camera and with a sense of mission, he documented Tzu Chi’s history, a sutra treasury for Tzu Chi.
What he did is truly remarkable. He was strong is spirit, had good stamina, and walked on the corrected path. In June, when I was about to leave Pingtung, he was there with a group of volunteers to see me off. After the end of November, I went ot the Pingtung Tzu Chi office again.
When I went inside, I saw Mr. Tang in the hallway. However, in just six months’ time, he looked completely different.
In the hallway, he very carefully took out a letter he had written and read it to me.
Dear Master, I want to thank you. Master, in this lifetime, you teach me Buddhism in your Dharma talk every day. I am grateful to Mater and fellow Tzu Chi volunteers for chanting the Medicine Buddha Sutra and giving me blessings.
In my next life, I would like to return to this world for cultivation. I want to join the Tzu Chi family again, become a young bodhisattva, and Thank you, Master.
You’ve been living your life to the fullest, and have done the things that need to be done. You’ve lived a fulfilling life, so do not worry. Calm your mind. Keep my words in mind because you’ve taken the Dharma to heart. I give you blessings.
Whatever I said to him, he accepted it joyfully. He was at ease. He said he would keep my words in mind. I heard that after I left Pingtung, he was hospitalized in Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital. Nevertheless, he still wished to spend his last days in Hualien to become a silent mentor. However, in the early evening yesterday, I heard that, Mr. Tang passed away peacefully.
We see that he joined Tzu Chi at the age of 75 and had been living a fulfilling life. He not only cared for his own family but also did his part in contributing to society. In joining Tzu Chi and helping others with the spirit of a living bodhisattva, he contributed greatly to society.
Despite being 90 years old, he stood very straight and did not look like a 90-year-old man. However, he still came to the end of his life. To live to 90 is quite long, but we were all sad at the loss of such a good person. I still remember our conversation in June.
In July, he even documented Tzu Chi volunteers’ relief efforts after Typhoon Nepartak hit Taiwan. When I visited Pingtung again he looked very different.
This is how life is. Time brings about changes. Thus, we should always remember that life is impermanent, and that we should serve others with the power of love. If we mindfully give of ourselves, we can transform people’s minds and change society for the better.
This year, Mr. U Thien Tun, a volunteer from Myanmar, was certified. He joined Tzu Chi and completed the training. For the past several years, he had transformed his life. In the past, whenever the planting season arrived, he had to borrow rice seeds at a very high interest rate. To borrow one bag of rice seeds, (he had to pay much more in interest.)
What harvest he had left was only enough to feed his family, and there was no rice remaining for him to sell.
When Tzu Chi volunteers went to Myanmar for disaster relief, they form affinity with the people in Myanmar. They gave farmers free rice seeds, so they don’t need to borrow.
Mr. U Thien Tun has been very mindful in learning and taking in Tzu Chi’s Dharma. He truly practices the teachings in daily life and remains firm in following the Dharma. He is very diligent.
He is also a role model and the first farmer from Myanmar to become a certified volunteer. He has been very mindful.
When he came to Taiwan to be certified, I told him, “After you go back, do share your story, inspire more people to think and do what you do, and spread wholesome teachings. This is what I’ve encouraged him to do.”
Taiwanese businesspeople in Myanmar are also very supportive of Tzu Chi’s efforts by working together with local volunteers to spire people in Myanmar to do good. With the power of love, we work together in harmony, pursue a common goal, and support one another along the way.
How long can one’s affinity with Tzu Chi last? Mr. Tang lived to be 90 years old. He was a good disciple of mine, and I feel that 90 years isn’t long enough.
But, it is the law of nature. He believed that he would return to his world, and he wanted me not to worry. He never deviated from the correct path and remained peaceful to the end.
All in all, to remain clear-minded with memories for cultivation and not deviate from the correct path is most important when we return to this world. In today’s morning Dharma talk, I said that we should always remember our initial aspiration we made eons ago. No matter what conditions and circumstances we’re in, we should not lose our aspiration and still be dedicated to seeking the Dharma.
For M r. Tang, I believe that when he is reborn, he will start his Bodhisattva Path early.
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