Date: July 25th, 2010 (Sunday)
Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Stepping Up Our Recycling Effort 力行環保精質化
(The following conversations are between a presenter, Chen Sufen and a Tzu Chi’s volunteer, Gao Xuemei:)
“How did you come to do recycling work?”
“Master said that we can turn garbage into gold. So, because of this one of my donating members, a Tzu Chi volunteer, and me, the three of us started the recycling work”.
“Did you encounter difficulties while doing recycling work?”
“(Yes,) the place where we do recycling is not really considered a recycling point. When it’s sunny, we put up a black net to serve as a roof. When it rains, we put up a canvas. Then we do recycling under the makeshift tent. Without the tent, we’re essentially doing recycling on the street”. Because I love master and master says when something is right, just do it. I go ahead and do the recycling work.”
Look at ourelderly volunteer, Gao Zuemei.
There is no recycling station in the Xinyi District of Taipei City where she lives.
So, she doest recycling work in the street or in the alley in front of houses.
She also inspires people in her community and other volunteers with environmental consciousness to join in the recycling work.
“Hi, Sister Gao”.
“Howe are you, Mr. Liu?”
“We’ve collected the recyclables”.
“Thank you”.
“Please say thank you to your wife for us.”
“Thank you”.
“Thank you”.
A volunteer, Gao Zuemei said:
“Thank you for supporting us from the very beginning of our recycling work”.
“A Tzu Chi volunteer encouraged me to become a volunteer trainee. I told her that I’m not ready yet. I’ll do it when I’m ready.”
“OK, we look forward do it.”
See, she (Gao Zuemei) takes every opportunity whatever the time and place, and people she’s with to do recycling work.
It’s truly touching. She has been doing this for 10 to 20 years and she’s over 70 years old.
She has arthritis and has difficulties walking. She also has difficulty carrying things.
But, when it comes to doing recycling ---
(The following conversations are between a presenter, Chen Sufen and a Tzu Chi’s volunteer, Gao Xuemei:)
“On time, you carried something from the 4th floor. What did you carry?”
“A 29 inch TV carried it down to the first floor. I was exhausted but happy. I laughed and thought to myself: Wow, I just carried a TV”.
“What strength you have? You carried the TV all by yourself?”
“Yes”.
“How did you do it?”
“I love Master so I thought that if I collected more recyclables, we could get more money for Master to help the people in need”.
That’s how faithful and pious she is. During the day, she does recycling. At night, she learns about Dharma.
Because she has taken in the Dharma, she can carry out the Dharma in her life.
Of course, she has other people doing recycling such as Mr. Gao, Mr. Zhong , and Xiuxing. They are her good companions.
After she sorts out the recyclables, Xiuxing would help pick them up with her motorcycle.
See, even our Tzu Cheng members are helping her to transport the recyclables in their truck.
See how they are working together to do recycling work.
With united efforts, they create the strength and power to accomplished recycling work.
We also see China’ Sichuan Province and our volunteers in Luoshui, Hanwang, and Chengdu.
This is large group of bodhisattvas work together for a common goal.
Seeing the disasters in the world, they feel they should do their part to help and from the disasters, they’ve realized the need to protect the Earth. and they have all vowed to dedicate their efforts to promoting environmental awareness and changing their lifestyle.
We see that the local volunteers have brought the concept of recycling into the community in Sichuan during the summer, it only starts to get dark around 8 p.m.
So, after dinner, many families sit outside their homes to enjoy the evening.
Some even pass the time by playing mahjong.
Tzu Chi volunteers decided to make use of such a setting to promote environmental awareness.
They held the gathering at an open space in the housing community, and they simply used a white sheet as their projection screen.
Every family brought out their chairs and gathered around to listen to the Tzu Chi volunteers share about recycling.
The volunteers demonstrated that the warm blanket people were seeing and clothing of good quality fabric had been made from recycled PET bottles.
People were able to touch the fabric themselves and came to see that every PET bottle was valuable.
Though people discard it as garbage, it is a resource that can be reused.
After understanding that, they listened carefully to learn how to do recycling.
When our volunteers asked if anyone wanted to participate in recycling quite a number of people raised their hands.
So, they recruited recycling volunteers this way.
See, it’s not only material resources that can be “recycled”.
People, once their love has been inspired, will devote more time to doing good.
If they spend less time playing mahjong, they’ll have time to collect and sort recyclables which enables resources to be reused and benefits the environment and contributes to the good of the world.
Quite a number of people, having heart this talk, now will use their time to do recycling.
I am very touched to see Tzu chi volunteers seizing time to promote environmental protection so people can use their time and space meaningfully to do recycling with others.
In this, we see truth, goodness, and beauty.
Everyone makes use of time diligently and lets each moment be used meaningfully, instead of wasting it.
They turn the time that’d go to waste into something of value.
Isn’t that also a kind of recycling?
They also strive to change the quality of their surroundings
We really should work hard to reduce our pollutions of the land and conserve resources so they aren’t wasted.
Recently, I’ve continually shared the idea of “targeting the source” in recycling by having.
People use less resources in the first place and then keep their recyclables clean.
I’m very grateful that everyone is already promoting this.
This can raise the quality of recycling work and also improves hygiene and sanitation in the community, so, the practice of recycling should be promoted in every home so everyone has environmental consciousness.
Everyone, I believe if we make more effort to promote such concepts widely, then everyone in the world will become a bodhisattva.
When everyone living on this land is a bodhisattva environmental protection work will be done well.
If we protect the environment well, the climate will become more balanced and there won’t be disasters.
Though we don’t know how long it will take to achieve this, and though our time on Earth is short, we must make the firm resolution to protect the environment to set an example for our children.
(Source:Da Ai TV 人間菩提)
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