20181007本覺性淨善之德 The Virtue of Having A Pure, Intrinsic Buddha Nature
For this year’s Mild-Autumn Festival dinner party, there is something rather different. Do you know what it is? We’ll have a vegetarian dinner this evening.
Before, we celebrated Mild-Autumn Festival and the annual meeting by throwing a lavish dinner party each year. I’ve been a vegetarian for more than one year, so when the day I was offered to go through the menu, a stewed dish made of pork trotters caught my attention. As soon as I noticed the term “pork trotters,” instantly, an image came to my mind, like a pork trotter was waving to me. It was very terrifying.
Indeed, caring for every living creature is a virtue. All living creatures innately want to survive. So, we need to care for, cherish, and protect other living animals, not to mention people; we are all humans who belong to the same species and we share the same living environment. Every human being is capable of giving of themselves to care for and help one another.
I wasn’t able to be filial to my parents while they were alive, so I want to care for impoverished seniors to make up my regrets toward my parents. I hope to open a nursing home one day.
Although Nuriah lives a heard life, she is spiritually rich. For a long time, if people fall ill, she has always been willing to help them.
We should all have love for others and give care to one another, which shows we all have a pure, innate Buddha nature. Whether people we meet are related by blood or total strangers, owing to the Dharma, we have the karmic affinity with them.
First, there existed a language barrier. Second, Tzu Chi volunteers are not related to the affectees, why trouble themselves?
Tzu Chi formed the affinity with Mr. Chen owing to a flood in Lao. Tzu Chi volunteers in Thailand went to Lao to give help. Before, Tzu Chi did not have any volunteer there. Our volunteers from Thailand had the good affinity to encounter Mr. Chen. He is very sincere and was moved by our volunteers.
He was so willing to assist our volunteers, and he solved many problems for them. He spent a lot of time with our volunteers and saw the way how our volunteers interact with one another; they worked together for a common goal and gave of themselves to serve the affectees with sincerity and respect.
They came here as aid recipients, but we needed more volunteers, so we asked them to be event ushers and help with the Jing Si multipurpose folding beds. These volunteers were willing to receive their aid last, after all the recipients had received their.
I wanted the distribution to go smoothly. I felt every happy today, and I hoped that, with my help, everyone was happy today as they received their aid without any problem.
I was happy today, because I served others; felt tired but I worked harder.
Many entrepreneurs came with their staff. We all gathered here to serve the people of Laos.
Mr. Chen was very impressed at the beauty expresses by an organization’s dedication, with such respect and reverence. He was very moved. Tzu Chi volunteers invited him to visit Hualien and meet me, as well as for me to meet him and listen to their reports. Volunteers want to inspire these locals to become seeds of love. In the future, Laos will have countless seeds of love inspired by one seed of love. Mr. Chen is very sincere and speaks Chinese. This is not easy to come by.
Our intrinsic nature is pure and carries a virtue that is kind and caring; here lies an example of a kind and caring virtue. We rejoice upon hearing wondrous Dharma; not only hearing about a good deed, but actually seeing it being carried out, locals rejoice and join in the effort. Seeing people carrying out good deeds, Mr. Chen felt joy and praised them, he could not help but to participate; not only with his actions, but with aid supplies and inviting other locals.
He was a great help is supporting the distribution and volunteering as well. This is the Dharma; it is showing the joy we feel as we hear about a good deed, and we join in the effort as well. For this, I praise them as well. Everyone is a sutra of kindness and beauty which displays sincere Dharma.
Every day, I see the Dharma in others. To witness others doing good deeds and express our joy is like so; we praise and lend a helping hand, so this good deed can be we carried out smoothly. As we willingly participate in the good deed, we feel joy from it as well.
This is what we need to do in walking the Bodhisattva Path. To attain Buddhahood, we have to form good affinities with many living beings. To serve as living bodhisattvas, we have to do all kinds of work, big or small. Don’t look down on insignificant tasks and shun away from doing them. We need to do all tasks and accumulate good deeds.
We should praise people for good deeds they do no matter how big or small they are, for each good deed benefits people. This is why I often emphasize the importance of doing small good deeds as the accumulation of them creates merits.
Right now, Tzu Chi is carrying out disaster relief in many countries. While helping the affectees, our volunteers encourage them to donate small amount of money in a coin bank and make the vow of helping people. By donation a small amount of money in a coin bank, when the money is pooled together and being used to help people in need, donors gain merits from it.
This is why I tell Tzu Chi commissioners to encourage their donating members to volunteer. In providing emergency relief, we do not only relieve people’s suffering, we also share the Dharma with them. Because of disaster, Tzu Chi has the affinity to help the affectees. Many affectees don’t want to be in a situation of being helped; they would rather help others in what little ways they can.
Tzu Chi volunteers tell them that being able to help others, even in small ways, in creating blessing. The affectees are happy they can help people. Volunteers encourage affectees to do good, which in turn spread the Dharma. The help we give to people can help them grow in wisdom-life and inspire them to do good to help those who are truly in need.