20180608富貴學道會事理 To Learn the Dharma while Living an Abundant Life
I farmed as many as five thousand pigs, and exported them to Japan. At that time I earned a lot. Business was great. Yet, master says that all living beings may be our family in our past lives, so do not kill anymore. After I heard Master’s words, I got scared. I kept thinking, I really should not do this anymore, so I wrapped up my wholesale and retail pig farming business.
Ever since I joined Tzu Chi and I learned Master’s teachings, I have been feeling remorse for having taken lives of so many in the past. I did not know how to make up for it. So, in my new company, I treat my staff vegetarian lunch twice a week hoping to repent for my ignorance in killing animals. One more person eating vegetarian food is one life spared.
My boss has been promoting eating vegetarian for many years. She also encourages us to do what Master tells us, which is eat 80%full, and save 20% to help others. So, every Monday and Friday, she treats us vegetarian food, and encourages everyone to eat vegetarian.
Hearing people eating vegetarian, I am really touched. I always think that in life, people’s desires are endless. Take eating for example, no matter how much you eat, say three meals or more a day, we still can’t ever satisfy the sense organ below our nose. What is the organ below our nose? It’s our mouth. We can never eat enough to satisfy our mouth.
Furthermore, there is no end to our carvings for meat. To satisfy these carvings, how many lives, lives with flesh and blood, are swallowed down our mouth? How long do they stay in our stomach? Once the meat was swallowed, could you still taste its flavors? No, they are gone.
Once it’s in our digestive system, our body has its way of breaking down and digesting the food we take in. After food is digested, it turns into nutrition’s for our various organs. If not, it hastens the harmful bacteria in our body to grow.
It’s just like the world. In this world, there exist good and bad people. In our body, there are good and bad bacteria. Our body needs to absorb nutrients for us to have energy. However, if we have too much harmful bacteria our body can’t function well as bacteria might cause illnesses.
Being healthy is a blessing. When I hear someone make a vow to go vegetarian, I’m touched because it is hard, and they still commit to it. Curbing our craving for meat to go vegetarian is really not easy. It can’t be done without great determination. When we have made the decision and put it into practice, our health will benefit greatly.
Going vegetarian is a decision worth praising. Also, doing good deeds keeps our body and mind healthy. Everything arises from a single thought; a thought of kindness can create a heaven on earth. In heaven, as we know it, heavenly beings have a lot of blessings. They enjoy fortune, prosperity, and longevity. They live long life and have plenty to enjoy.
In fact, “Heaven” in Buddhism should not be taken to mean something that exists beyond this world which we cannot see. Heaven exists on earth. We may live a blessed life on earth and enjoy many blessings, have long life, good children and grandchildren, and a harmonious family with promising career. We may lead a happy life for decades or even a hundred years. We do see people living such a life on earth.
However, these worldly blessings are not exclusive to the rich to create. They mind have the blessings to enjoy, but not necessarily the opportunity to create them. Despite having blessings, many people are reluctant to give even if they can easily help many others. They may even hold others back from giving.
Some often say that it is harder for the rich to donate money. They are too proud to donate only a little, but not generous enough to donate a lot. So, it is harder for the rich to create blessings. The sutras said that it is hard for the rich to learn the Dharma and create blessings.
They live a life a abundance and luxury as if they were in heaven. In Buddhism, being born in heaven and enjoying blessings is the result of the good karma one created in the past. Living a heavenly life, they enjoy all kinds of luxuries and live a long life. They do not believe there is something more important than enjoying a comfortable life.
They do not want to find out about life’s truth. All their life, they care about nothing except enjoy a comfortable life. They only enjoy material comforts. They do not want to learn the Dharma, and thus, they do not know life’s truth.
So, all their life, when they see others suffering or falling ill, they do not think it has anything to do with them. They ignore other’s suffering; they only know about how to enjoy life. For the whole world, they do not care about anymore but themselves. But those who have learned the Dharma know that there exists collective karma that affects everyone.
I hope that all of you can encourage one another to be committed to Tzu Chi and carry out Tzu Chi’s missions. In walking the Tzu Chi Path to serve others, we should have the spirit of the Four Immeasurable: loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and selfless giving.
Of course, we should all learn the Dharma. The Jing Si Dharma Lineage is about diligently living out the Dharma. We need to practice the Dharma in our life, so we can help and serve others in society.
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