Date: July 11th, 2010 (Sunday)
Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Bodhisattvas Worldwide Caring for People in Need
(In June 26th , 2010 at Jing Si Abode in Hualien County.)
A Haiti Volunteer’s E-Fu-Lan’s sharing:
“When I was packing the instant rice today, a deep feeling came to me.
Master must have wanted to see the instant rice get packaged quickly too. So that it can help the people in Haiti.
Now that I’m in Taiwan and I’ve helped packed the instant rice,
I hope that this instant rice can help people in other countries, because I want to serve as a bodhisattva."
(She is a seed) and this seed has already sprouted and is growing into a sapling.
In June, we held a training came in Taiwan for Tzu Chi volunteers worldwide.
Among them were three Haiti volunteers.
They were very mindful.
See, in January, Haiti experienced a major earthquake.
In the aftermath, Tzu Chi volunteer went there to distribute foodstuffs which were transported there by plane.
We transported instant rice which does not need to be cooked and can be made just by adding water.
When we arrived there, we saw that the disaster affected almost everyone and it seemed the entire capital was devastated and it seemed the entire capital was devastated.
The country needs to be rebuilt and the citizens need a lot of aid.
How to do this?
Tzu Chi volunteers applied the experience from their years of disaster relief work.
Also, they learned from the way Tzu Chi responded to the Philippines’s Typhoon Ketsana disaster, where we launched a relief work program.
So, in Haiti, we launched the same program, where we got locals involved where we got locals involved in cleaning up the surrounding areas and if they participated in the cleanup, we would give them a meal.
Each participant could receive meals for his or her entire family.
Such a relief work program gave the locals an opportunity to contribute their efforts to help themselves so it raised their spirits and morale.
This was one of the ways Tzu Chi supported them.
Tzu Chi volunteers were in Haiti for four months.
(At the end of this emergency aid phase,) we were also concerned about who could help people in need there afterwards.
So we hoped that locals could be inspired to continue this work.
When there are locals who are Tzu Chi volunteers, then Tzu Chi aid work can continue locally.
Finally, we see these “seeds” sprouting.
When these Haiti volunteers came to Taiwan this time, (they were inspired).
One volunteer especially asked to become my disciple and said he wanted to spread my ideals there and to serve as the thousand-handed Bodhisattva of Compassion.
I asked him: “How many people does it take to have 1,000 hands?”
“Five hundreds”, he replied.
I told him: “Yes, there are three of you now. Since you’ve vowed to have 1,000 hands, when you go back, you’ll need to inspire 500 people to work with you. ”
He replied, “Yes, I will do that. ”
He understood and vowed to inspire more people, so they can have the strength to act as a Bodhisattva of Compassion.
Another Haiti volunteer was Pierre, who had served as our bodyguard, when we were in Haiti, he said that he will be a good bodhisattva.
I told him: “it’s a ready very good that you aspire to be a bodhisattva, much less a good bodhisattva”.
This is a lofty aspiration.
So, there three Haiti volunteers, left Taiwan with conviction to serve as bodhisattvas in Haiti.
This is what we truly hope for because our world is a world of suffering, especially since living beings have created collective negative karma which has brought on global warming.
Everyone not only needs to be vigilant but we must also inspire altruism in all.
Take Chile for example.
A powerful earthquake also struck Chile in February this year.
Tzu Chi volunteers from four or five countries went to Chile to provide aid to the survivors.
We started surveying the disaster area after the quake happened and then distributed material goods.
We continued hold distributions in June.
Then in early July, there was a serious storm in Chile.
The areas devastated by the earthquake were affected by the storm.
Local Tzu Chi volunteers responded by giving aid to the disaster survivors.
They first surveyed the disaster area, planned the aid distribution, then gave aid to the survivors with respect and without expected anything in return.
These new local volunteers in Chile accomplished all this (much like the way our volunteers in Taiwan work.
They are carry out Tzu Chi’s mode of operation in Chile).
Seeing them doing this, I was very touched and very grateful to them.
Chile is far away from Taiwan.
If not for the earthquake in February, (we wouldn’t have gone to Chile nor had any connection to the local Chinese in Chile.)
But now, some of the local Chinese have become Tzu Chi volunteers, so the spirit of Great Love has now reached Chile.
Everyone is being very mindful and careful in walking on this broad Bodhisattva Path.
I was very touched to see this.
That’s right our karmic affinity with Chile is now ripe so in the future, we can (have even more capability to help people in Chile.)
In a word, the world is very big.
Yet, disasters are happening frequently.
Earlier on Da Ai News, we saw that the abnormal climate has caused flooding in Guangdong Province, China.
When I saw this, I thought about the safety of our Tzu Chi volunteers in China and how we are to going to help the people affected by the flood.
There’s also flooding in Fujian Province, China.
The flooding affected a very wide area.
Meanwhile, in Guatemala, local Tzu Chi volunteers are continuing to help people affected by Tropical Storm Agatha.
Every day, we see reports of natural disasters happening and people being affected by them.
The disasters have brought much suffering.
All in all, what we need now is people giving their love.
The disaster survivors in Taiwan are truly blessed.
Our construction of the housing complex in Pingtung for the Typhoon Morakot disaster survivors is nearing completion.
Yesterday, many people went there to lay the interlocking pavers for the road.
The county magistrate also brought some of his staff to help with the work.
Even disaster survivors living in our Shanlin housing complex in Kaohsiung have come to help the disaster survivors in Pingtung.
This is in Taiwan. The disaster survivors in Taiwan are truly blessed.
Within one year, they were able to recover from the disaster and start a new life.
In Taiwan, there are a lot of people with love, so we can do a lot for the disaster survivors.
With many people united together with a common goal to help the disaster survivors, we have the strength to bring care and aid to the disaster survivors in a short period of time.
Thinking about the disasters survivors in other countries, they live so far away from us, so it’s difficult for us in Taiwan to reach them.
Fortunately, there are local Tzu Chi volunteers to care for them.
So, there are many things that we need to do.
I’m very grateful to you all.
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