20180509一生無量成大愛Reflecting on the Path of Tzu Chi on Its 52nd Anniversary
I’m deeply touched and very grateful. With time, Tzu Chi has been making a difference. Today marks Tzu Chi’s 52nd anniversary. I remember that 52 years ago today, at the small Buddha Hall of Pu Ming Temple, which was dedicated to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, Tzu Chi was founded with scarce resources.
Back then, was only had less than ten Tzu Chi volunteers. Also, as we didn’t have much rice to cook, we could only add more water to our small pot of porridge which consisted of more water than rice. Later, when we cooked porridge with a large pot in front of the temple, we still needed to add more water to the pot, so when we looked into the pot, the sky and clouds were reflected on the surface of the porridge. That’s why you hear me say---“A grain of rice sees countless suns and moons. In a pot, the landscape of Nature is reflected.” This is a part of Tzu Chi’s history.
Also, back then, on the 24th day of each lunar month, we’d hold a Medicine Buddha Dharma Service with a heart of sincere piety for our donating members who gave what they could every month to help the needy. We recited the Medicine Buddha Sutra every month with utmost sincere piety to bless those willing to help the needy through giving. Our practice of donating money bit by bit in the coin banks was also initiated at that time.
Even until now, I still highly value this practice. Through the practice, we’re cultivating our hearts and minds, and only with a cultivated heart and mind will we give of ourselves to help the needy. This is why I highly value this practice. I’ve been very grateful since Tzu Chi was founded. Back then, we had scarce resources, but now we have many Tzu Chi members.
Thinking back to over 50 years ago, I remember how the housewives saved grocery money to support Tzu Chi’s charity work. By changing for the better as Tzu Chi volunteers, they moved their family members and inspired them to join us. And gradually, they also inspired people in society to volunteer with us.
Ten years later, we noticed that there were scarce medical resources in eastern Taiwan. Patients with critical illnesses could only receive treatment in western or northern Taiwan. At that time, due to inconvenient transportation, it was very difficult to send a patient to western Taiwan.
It also required a large sum of medical fees which was great burden for Tzu Chi. So, I thought that it’d be best if the patients could receive treatment in Hualien. So, I had the idea of building a hospital in Hualien, and it was really not easy. Be it a brick or a sack of cement, they all came from people’s donations, which were really not easy to come by.
This is also the same with our other hospitals. We now have six hospitals in Taiwan. I’m truly grateful to our superintendents and staff all departments of our hospitals for their dedication and hard work. Finding the cause of illnesses and giving patients treatment so as to relieve their suffering are the ultimate goal of our medical mission. I’m grateful that our medical staff all work hard for this shared goal.
This is what I hope for. Tzu chi started with a few housewives saving a little every day to help the needy. Now, more than 50 years later, by pooling together many people’s love, we’ve brought aid to more than 90 countries and regions and inspired many people to volunteer with us.
Let us not underestimate any effort we’ve made to inspire love in people. Once the love in people is inspired, it will ripple onward so more and more people can take action to help bring rays of hope to the needy. Then, everyone in our world will be just like a shining star, and when everyone works together, there’ll be hope as bright as the moon or the sun.
I’m grateful to our first Tzu Chi volunteers for dedicating themselves to the work of Tzu Chi and sharing the same aspiration as mine. Early on, our Abode was roofed with tiles, and when a typhoon struck, the entire roof was ripped through. Afterwards, our roof was built with cement and was handmade by our Tzu Cheng members. As the roof is made cement, it is special and can withstand typhoons.
The buildings our Abode are also precious because they were all built with the help of our Tzu Cheng members and Tzu Chi commissioners. Our Dharma masters at the Abode even went to the rooftop to tie steel bars. Our Abode was built thanks to everyone’s effort. Everyone worked very hard and even learnt all kinds of skills. In all, this is the value of our Abode. We built our Abode mostly by ourselves. Except for construction procedures that required great expertise or large-scale work, the construction project was mostly carried out by our Tzu Cheng members, Tzu Chi commissioners, and our Dharma masters.
So, in Tzu Chi, we work together as Master and disciples, and Tzu Chi members all work together in giving with love. There are too many stories for me to share. I’m most grateful that Tzu Chi members in each of our four missions give their all to fulfill their duties. There’s really too much to be grateful for. In all, may Tzu Chi members in each of our missions work together in unity and harmony so we can better benefit the world.
首頁 