20180621慈濟非洲續播種Always Abiding in Loving-kindness, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity

無量光曜心 文章總數 : 2487 威望 : 33 注冊日期 : 2012-11-03

20180621慈濟非洲續播種Always Abiding in Loving-kindness, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity

(From Lesotho,) we have a glimpse of how Tzu Chi’s work and missions are carried out around the world.

See how many countries in the world are impoverished. Yet, oftentimes, it’s not easy to provide relief and or carry out our missions there. For example, in Mozambique, South Africa, or Lesotho, it’s not easy for our volunteers there to develop their businesses, so it’s even harder for them to make time and dedicate themselves to Tzu Chi’s work.

Take our volunteers in South Africa for example. Some places there are relatively unsafe, and quite a few volunteers of ours have been robbed or shot at. Yet, some volunteers still stay there to serve even though they’ve closed their businesses.

So, I asked Mr. Michael Pan and several other volunteers:” Since you’ve closed your businesses there, why don’t you come back?” And they all replied:” Master, local Tzu Chi volunteers in Africa, all of whom you love very dearly, still need my help and support. How can I just leave?”

So, they stay there to help me spread love around and care for our local volunteers.

In addition, our many volunteers in South Africa also travel to other African countries to care for our volunteers in those places.

Our volunteers not only provide material aid but also inspire those they’ve helped to give, so that they’ll become spiritually rich.

I always bear in mind our many local volunteers in Africa, for they’re truly very endearing and spiritually rich although they’re materially poor. I feel very close to them in heart, so whenever I talk about them, a sweet feeling arises from the bottom of my heart.

See how our volunteers there have mindfully been spreading love among the locals. Indeed, this is something I’m not able to do. Yet, they’ve been spreading love around because they love me dearly as my disciples. I’m not capable of what my disciples do and I only become honored through their merits. It’s not I but my disciples that carry out our work and missions.

Everyone, as I have the good karmic affinities to have you as my disciples, it’s my wish that you’ll share Tzu Chi’s spirit with everyone around you and even with people all around the world.

Indeed, we as Buddhists should go amongst people to serve as the Dharma teaches us to benefit all living beings through unconditional giving. We need to harbor great loving-kindness. With great loving-kindness, we’ll have no regrets.

With great compassion, we’ll have no complains, even if giving of ourselves is quite hard work and people might have clashing opinions. Don’t ever think that Tzu Chi members have no clashing opinions at all. As mundane beings, people naturally have different opinions.

Though, Tzu Chi members view giving with love as their shared goal, their approaches might differ. So, they might have clashing opinions or encounter difficulties in doing Tzu Chi’s work.

That’s why we need to harbor great compassion. We should feel others’ pain and suffering as our very own. For example, as we see someone injured, we’ll feel great pain in our hearts.

To learn the way of Bodhisattvas, we all need to harbor great compassion so we can’t bear to see people suffering and will overcome any difficulties in order to relieve their suffering. Our Tzu Chi members always say that they’ll overcome all difficulties to accomplish our missions. They have no complains at all.

Also, we need to harbor great joy so we’ll have no worries. To do that, we must strive to work with one another in unity and harmony and with our hearts united as one. Having vowed to serve as living bodhisattvas, we should harbor the Four Immeasurable Minds: loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity.

So, rather than for our own interests, we should work for the good of others. In addition, we must be content, grateful, understanding and accommodating. You might have heard a Jing Si Aphorism: “Blessings are the joy we gain through giving and wisdom is the ease we gain by being understanding.”

Indeed, we must know how to sow blessings and be understanding when getting along with people. Such is wisdom. We gain joy from giving of ourselves and working with one another in unity and harmony. Such is wisdom as well.

And we must be understanding in dealing with people and matters. Only when we do so in a harmonious way can we be in line with true principles. Such is how we can serve with great joy.

And we must also harbor great equanimity without seeking anything in return. See how humble our Tzu Chi members are in giving of themselves to help others. When we give of ourselves, we must stay humble, and we must help the needy in a way that they feel respected. This is what we should do in giving with love.

It’s not difficult to do. What’s difficult is to open our hearts and minds. When we open our hearts and minds and truly give with love, we’ll find that it’s not difficult at all. And we’ll be deeply moved, and a sweet feeling will arise in our hearts when we look back on how we’ve given of ourselves.

As I shared with you, every time I talk about our African volunteers in places with poverty, a sweet feeling arises from the bottom of my heart. Similarly, when you give of yourselves to benefit people and are deeply moved, you’ll also enjoy the same sweet feeling in your hearts.

In all, if you’re searching for who you are, I hope that you can all aspire to become living bodhisattvas who not only possess purity of heart but also work to purify people’s hearts and minds. If we can serve as living bodhisattvas with great joy and dedication rather than seek fame or our own interests, we’ll not be lost in life.

And what should our hearts and minds abide in? In loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. Then, we’ll have no regrets, no complaints, no worries, and we’ll not seek anything in return. Such is truly serving with purity of heart.