Date: August 30th,2010 (Monday)
Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Spreading Bodhi Seeds Far and Wide 無心插柳柳成蔭
Love is somethingthe world can’t be without. But, it takes people to pass on this love.
Moreover, we must work mindfully to spread this love widely.
In today’s times, it is no longer enough to sow seeds of love one by one.
We need to scatter the seeds of love widely and let the wind carry the seeds onward far and wide.
We see that all over the world, as the times change, people’s hearts have also changed.
Thailand has become aware of this and recognizingthe moral decline in today’s society, they set up the Center for the Promotion of National Strength on Moral Ethics and Values.
This Moral Center searched for ways to restore moral ethics and values in Thai society.
It sent groups to countries worldwide for research.
A group visited Taiwan and discovered the Tzu Chi Foundation in Taiwan with Four Missions andEight Footprints (四大志業 八大法印).
They felt that Tzu Chi had what they were looking for.
Since then, the Moral Center sponsored group after group to visit Taiwan to learn more about Tzu Chi.
They hoped to learn the essence of Tzu Chi’s renwen and bring it back to their country.
Around two years ago, I heard of the developments from their efforts.
A police academy in Thailand began the practice of giving students a coin bank upon their entering the academy and encouraged the students to save money every day for charity.
Each year, the money from all the students was pooled together and used for charity.
So, Tzu Chi’s “bamboobank spirit” (竹筒歲月精神) was practiced in a police academy.
This was the first development that I had heard of.
Later, I also heard that a leader in the medical field in Thailand.
Dr. Witit Artavatkun had visited Tzu Chi in Taiwan and had vowed to carry out a similar medical mission in Thailand.
So, he started to organize free clinics which benefited many people.
Yesterday, I learned a piece of news that touched me a lot.
This touching news is from Thailand.
There is a doctor, Asst. Supt. Somboon Khunmuang, who already has a family.
Yet, he thought that passing on Buddhist teachings is what helps nurture people’s wisdom life.
So, he wanted to become a Buddhist monk to do this.
At that time, the medical chief of Ratchaburi public health.
Dr. Boonriang Chuchaisangrat told Asst. Supt. Somboon Khunmuang that he had heard of medical professionals who went to Taiwan and found a Buddhist organization called Tzu Chi which carries out charitable and medical work in society.
He told Asst.Supt. Somboon Khunmuang what he had heard about Tzu Chi and encouraged him to go to Taiwan to visit this organization.
It was a way he could work for Buddhism while helping people.
So, Asst. Supt. SomboonKhunmuang came to Taiwan and saw how a Buddhist organization could do charitable, medical, educational work, etc. He was very touched.
After he returned to Thailand, he started looking for Tzu Chi volunteers there.
He wanted totransform his hospital into a place full of love.
So, every month,he invited Tzu Chi volunteers to his hospital to talk about Tzu Chi’s work andspirit.
He also invited the local people to learn more about charitable work and how to pass on love in the community.
At the same time,he also joined Tzu Chi volunteers on visits to the poor.
He saw how people were suffering from poverty and illness and he felt deeply for them.
So, he started to get actively involved in Tzu Chi’s work.
Whenever he had time off, he would go help the people in need with Tzu Chi volunteers as a way of spiritual cultivation.
Then, he invited Dr. Boonriang Chuchaisangrat to participate in Tzu Chi’s work also.
Now, both of them are training to become a certified Tzu Chi volunteer and carry out Tzu Chi’s work.
To become a truly good doctor, it helps to get involved in charitable work.
Because at the heart of medicine is the spirit of charity.
Merely providing medical treatment is not enough.
One must open one’s heart to embrace all people as family and treat patients as one’s own family. (視病如親)
When encountering people in suffering, if doctors can feel deeply for them and take their suffering and pain as their very own, that’s doing spiritual cultivation and truly relieving living beings’ suffering
So, Asst. Supt.Somboon Khunmuang originally aspired to become a Buddhist monk to pass on Buddhist teachings to relieve suffering.
But, since he is adoctor, he can use his medical skills to immediately help the people in need andrelieve them of their suffering.
He has done this.
So, he has now inspiredthe staff in his hospital as well as their families to do charitable work andhelp an elderly woman.
This elderly womenhas no proof of identity and is disabled. She used toreceive assistance from the government.
But recently, the government changed some regulations and people without proof of identity cannot receive government aid.
So, this case was referred to Tzu Chi.
When Asst. Supt. SomboonKhunmuang learned of this, he, the staff of his hospital and their families, and the locals in the community went to help this elderly woman. It was truly touching.
A total of 100 to 200 people were mobilized to clean elderly woman’s home.
So, it startedwith one person’s aspiration.
With this one person, others were inspired to join in, including his staff and family.
Even people in his community were inspired.
We really should work mindfully to spread the seeds of love and scatter these seeds widely, sothey can take root all over the world.
These bodhi seeds(菩提種子) that karmic affinities have carried afar.
We never could have imagined what would come of these visits.
We always just offer what we can, without harboring any expectations.
When groups come, we give them tours of Tzu Chi and just sincerely share with them our experience.
But we’ve come to discover that these bodhi seeds that karmic affinities have carried afar have taken root and sprouted carried afar.
No matter what country it is, these bodhi seeds that take root ultimately contain karmic affinities with Tzu Chi.
(Source:Da Ai TV 人間菩提)
首頁 
