Date: September 1st,2010 (Wednesday)
Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Returning to Our True Nature of Goodness in the Face of Life'sImpermanence 秋颱無常應防備
Over the last fewdays, we’ve been very concerned about the tropical storms surrounding Taiwan.
To Take precautions,Tzu Chi volunteers in North Taiwan have set up a disaster relief coordination center at our chapter in Taipei.
For that, I’m very grateful.
I’m sure that not only volunteers in Taipei, but all those throughout Taiwan have been mobilized to make preparations and are ready to offer help if need be.
Indeed, we must be vigilant and on the alert at all times and bear a grateful heart every day.
Because of Taiwan’s geographic features, without the rain brought by typhoons, Taiwan will suffer from drought.
So, mild tropical storms that bring just the right amount of rain would indeed be a blessing to us.
But in case theyform into major typhoons, we must be on the alert and pray that the typhoonscan bring the right amount of rain but not strong winds.
When that occurs,we must be most grateful for it.
Indeed, the Buddha teaches us that the world is impermanent and the landis fragile. (世間無常 國土危脆)
In terms of time,this world we live in is impermanent as time passes us by continuously without rest.
This is what everyone can feel every day.
Time ticks away second by second and every second will eventually pass to become a moment in history.
And in terms of space, this world is also impermanent because in the Sutra on Impermanence<<無常經>>, there is a passage that says:
“Even the great Mt. Sumeru will erode by the kalpals end” (假使妙高山 劫盡皆壞散)
What this means is that even a mountain as great as Mt. Sumeru, now known as the Himalayas, will erode and vanish by the kalpals end.
Kalpa is the unit of time used in Buddhism, which refers to a very, very long period of time.
Not only great mountains, but even the deepest seas cannot last forever.
The time will come when oceans will dry up no matter how vast and deep they are.
See how the pumping of underground water has caused the land to sink, and how natural water ways have been destroyed, which can lead to less and less fresh water for people to use in the future.
All these are examples of impermanence.
Apart from these cases of impermanence that occur gradually over a long period of time, there are also those that strike in an instant, such as natural disasters of other misfortunes that people suffer in life.
These are what people experience in the short span oftheir lives in this world.
In fact, the law of impermanence applies to everything in the universe and the day will come when the Earth, the sun and the moon will be destroyed.
This is because all materials things undergo the four stages of formation, continuation, decayand annihilation. (成住壞空)
And before the stage of annihilation, all material things will keep decaying and then perish, including the Earth, the Sun and the Moon.
What should we do in the face of impermanence?
There’s only one thing we can do, which is to look after our true nature, which remains unchanged at all times.
All of us and the Buddha share the same true nature of goodness.
So, we need to look after this Buddha nature that lies within each of us and return to our original true nature by loving and respecting Mother Nature, and doing good to sow blessings for our world. (敬天愛地聚福緣)
This is what we started promoting a few years ago.
It isn’t a momentary thing that we practiced only in aparticular year.
No, it’s not.
We must continuously work to let people realize that respecting and cherishing Mother Nature is something every person in the world should do. (敬畏天地)
This is what we should help people understand and remind them to show greater reverence toward Nature by respecting and cherishing it and to form good karmic affinities with all.
When it comes to religious beliefs, we all have the freedom to choose our own religion.
But we must be sure that is correct, and that we do not deviate from its teachings.
When following the teachings of our religion, we must take care not to become self-righteous and disagree with people of other religions. (可以有宗教情操, 不可以有宗教情結)
If we do, then we are being rigid in our views.
In that case, not only will there be conflicts between different religions, but we’ll even disagree with those who are in a different school of the same religion as us.
So, we must free ourselves form such rigid views.
After all, don’t all religions remind everyone to refrain from all evil and do all that is good? (諸惡莫做 眾善奉行)
That is why we mustn’t become self-righteous and rigidin our beliefs.
As Tzu Chi members, we should gain wisdom by going amount the people.
This is because every person is a living sutra that we can learn form. (無量法門 悉現在前)
There is indeed a lot we can learn through our interactions with other.
So everyone, we should always remember that everything in the world is impermanent, so we must seize every moment and carry out our vows steadfastly.
We must take in the good Dharma we come across and put it into practice in our daily.
(時時警惕無常 把握當下 恆持剎那, 好的法就要入心也, 都是要用在日常生活中)
As I often share with everyone, when I took Ven, Yin Shu as my master,he told me to “work for Buddhism and for all living beings” and that is what I’ve dedicated myself to doing every day since then. (為佛教為眾生)
By taking the Buddha’s heart and my master’s missions as own (以佛心為己心 以師志為己志)
I know I’m walking on the right path where there are indeed countless things for me to do and learn.
All in all, in knowing that life is impermanent, we must diligently walk the right path.
When we give rise to a most genuine and sincere heart to respect and cherish Mother Nature and do good, naturally, the blessings we sow will protect us from harm and turn major disasters into minor ones.
Hence, we truly must be sincerely pious.
At the moment, Earl,a Category 4 hurricane in Caribbeanis moving toward the U.S.
So, people thereare concerned and on the alert.
Let us pray for them with sincere piety that the hurricane will pass peacefully.
We also see that Pakistan has been affected by floods for over amonth, but now the floodwaters have begun to recede.
Everyone is eager to return home.
But as floodwater haven’t fully receded, some people waded across the waters and were bitten by snakes.
Moreover, with animal carcasses in the water, people have no clean drinking water.
How are they to live in such conditions? It is truly heart-wrenching to see.
Seeing so many disasters around the world, I earnestly hope that every one of us can take goodcare of our mind and pray with sincere piety.
May Nature’s Four Elements be balanced and the weather be favorable. (四大調和)
We truly must bein awe of Nature’s might and never think that man can conquer Nature.
Humans are insignificant in comparison to Nature.
This is what we must humbly acknowledge and give rise to a heart of repentance.
Only then can we mitigate the negative karmic forces we have created and let positive karmic forces grow stronger.
All in all,everything arises from our mind, so we must look after our mind and realizethat the world is impermanent.
(Source:Da Ai TV 人間菩提)
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