20190714慈悲利他不失憶Recalling Memories to Bring Out Our Altruistic Self
Hearing that everyone is learning the Dharma and is earnest about it, I am truly moved and happy. After we learn the Dharma, we need to put it into practice to serve the world.
I feel weak as I talk; the old age has caught up with me. Before taking the tour, I had tried very, very hard to ensure that I could make the trip. I insisted on visiting our local offices, recycling stations, and Jing Si Halls. I have strived my best to do this, and I cherish this very much.
On my trip, I tell volunteers not to forget that year, that person, and that initial inspiration; this is the main focus of my trip. Starting in Taipei, I have been hearing how Tzu Chi volunteers give of themselves and live their lives to the fullest. Because, they have been engaging with society and caring for people in suffering, they are always there to lend a help hand. With the initial aspiration in mind, they give of themselves to serve people and accomplish their life purposes without wasting their lives.
We see that during the 921 earthquake, in blue and white uniform, Tzu Chi volunteers from various places in Taiwan all went to the disaster-stricken areas to give aid. Particularly, a lot of volunteers in central Taiwan also went. Looking back now, I felt that this earthquake was a significant part of my life. It is even more so for the volunteers who took part in the relief efforts. They went to the disaster areas and personally helped rebuilt the places.
We need to recall this memory. The value of our life lies in what we do after we are born and before we die. How did we mobilize to help? How earnest were we in giving of ourselves regardless of everything else? Let us recall our memory. Part of our life was devoted to that disaster relief.
While the memory is still vivid in our mind, we need to keep on recalling our memory and stimulate the altruistic region of our brain; don’t let it fall asleep or be switched off. Don’t let the altruistic region of our brain be switched off. We need to keep on stimulating it and using it. We need to make use of our life and time. Don’t let ourselves lose our memory.
This is why I keep telling everyone that our Jing Si Dharma lineage is about diligent practice. To practice the Jing Si Dharma lineage is to be diligent. To be diligent is to not waste time. Don’t just memorize the teachings, but to practice it with our action. Don’t let time go to waste, so we have to cultivate diligently. The Jing Si Dharma lineage is a path of diligence. This path is the Bodhisattva Path.
So, we need to cultivate diligently and create this Bodhisattva Path. This Bodhisattva Path needs to be created in this world. After the path is created, we need to pave it smooth so that the people right now and the people in the future, and for every generation after can follow this smooth path and walk on this path, one journey after another. This is also the Tzu Chi Path.
Tzu Chi was established with the purpose of using the Buddha’s teachings to help the world and practice the ways of Bodhisattvas. Our purpose is to create a door for people to enter the Buddha’s teachings and open up their hearts to walk the Bodhisattva Path. Hence, we have the Jing Si Dharma lineage of diligent practice and the Tzu Chi Path. Living in this world, the Dharma teaches us to head in the right direction and walk the right path.
To help the people in East Africa, many people bring forth their love. This is how Tzu Chi volunteers pool their strength together to help people. Let us create the blessings for ourselves and make use of karmic affinities to grow our wisdom-life.
Because of the karmic affinity to help the people in East Africa, we need to reawaken our initial expiration, and call on everyone to bring forth their love. With everyone’s individual contribution, we help bring purity to this world. To purify people’s hearts is to purify the sky and protect our land. We have such a big field of blessings, and hopefully, people can be safe.
We save coins in the bamboo banks, which doesn’t affect our lifestyles, and we can teach children to help others. Even young children are helping people in East Africa to transform their poverty. See, that child is a seed; plant a seed of love in the heart of a child, we cultivate a field of blessings, and we are teaching him, too.
By doing this daily, it nurtured the love in children’s hearts, and our wisdom-life also grows. Our life passes in time and diminishes by the second; second by second, step-by-step, we can cultivate our wisdom-life diligently. Let us seize each second to step forward. That is what I am doing now.
Presently, I am using up all my strength to give talks. I wonder, will I be able to finish expounding the Lotus Sutra? I speak with the mindset that it could be my last speech. That is why I don’t tell stories now. In the past, I said let’s take it easy, the Dharma can be expounded through stories. Now, I tell stories of our world, and everyone has a touching story.
I hope everyone will recall their story, their true-life stories, and stories they have witnessed. Now, I don’t need it to tell stories, please re-count your stories. Second by second, the time goes; step-by-step, we walk the path. As time passes, we are the ones who must walk every inch of the path because no one can walk it for us. Therefore, let us all seize time to utilize our life and grow our wisdom-life.
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