Date: September 6th,2010 (Monday)
Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Recycling Work: Spiritual Practice that Purifies the Heart 環保惜福淨心地
The following sentences are between Da Ai’s report and a recycling volunteer, Chen Wenzan:
“How long have you been doing recycling?”
“For four or five years.”
“Why do you want to do recycling?”
“When I started, I didn’t really think about why we should do recycling. A Tzu Chi volunteer said they needed a driver for their recycling truck so I offered to help be their driver. I had a lot of bad habits, such as drinking and gambling. After I joined Tzu Chi, I quitted smoking and drinking after a few months. It kind of just happened. The volunteers around me didn’t smoke. So, I felt embarrassed to smoke. At first, I did smoke, in a corner. After a while, I found I was the only one smoking and it looked quite inappropriate, so I quitted smoking, and gave up drinking and chewing betel nuts.”
“What about gambling?”
“I quitted that too. I once lost more than NT$1 mil (US$31,377).”
“In one night?”
“No, less than that.”
“How long?”
“More than one hour is too long. I’ve quitted gambling. It’s true.”
I am truly grateful to all Tzu Chi volunteers.
You truly put Tzu Chi’s principles into action and through your recycling work, you are educating people, purifying people’s hearts and protecting our environment.
(大家都是身體力行，用環保在做教育，淨化人心，也是呵護大地)
Even though this world is a world full of impurities, the Buddha said that this impure world can be turned into a Pure Land for everything is created by our mind.
(雖然娑婆世界是五濁惡世，可是佛陀說這一片惡濁的世間，也可以淨化成為淨土，一切唯心造。)
So, as long as everyone can dedicate themselves to working for the good of the world, with the heart of a bodhisattva, together, we can build a Pure Land.
(所以人間真實的淨土，就是在於我們人人肯發心，以這樣的菩薩的心，來建設人間淨土)
If people’s hearts aren’t purified, there’s no way this world can become a Pure Land.
So, we need to first purify our hearts and manifest this purity of heart in our actions and conduct.
Then, we can turn this world into a Pure Land in actuality, and it won’t be just a slogan.
It’s because everyone believes me when I say:
”When something is right, just do it.” It’s so simple.
Once you have the aspiration to serve as a bodhisattva, the thing to do is “Just do it”. Everyone has the same common purpose. (你發菩薩心，立菩薩願，別無他法，總是做就對了，大家共同一心)
Some volunteers are CEOs of major corporations. Others are street vendors. Still others are manual laborers.
Despite the differing backgrounds, everyone practices the Buddhist principle of compassionately recognizing the equality of all. (大家真正的是，以佛陀所教育的，慈悲等觀在落實。)
This Buddhist principle is very deep and profound but Tzu Chi volunteers are already living it
With the spirit “Just do it”, they all joyfully dedicate themselves to the recycling work, all for the sake of purifying people’s hearts and protecting the environment.
(可是我們慈濟人做就對了，做得輕安自在，很甘願、很歡喜，這都是為了，淨化人心、保護大地)
We often recite the name of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (千手千眼觀世音菩薩),described as having a thousand eyes and hands to help suffering beings.
Actually, all of us together create an incarnation of the Bodhisattv with 1000 hands through our actions and these come from our belief and convictions.
Therefore, eventhough the recyclables are dirty and smelly, because of our convictions and aspiration, we can still collect and sort the recyclables and turn them into useful resources once more.
They are truly very precious resources and we collect them and make them useful again.
This spirit is the great compassion of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.
Ourhands are the hands of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva of 1,000 hands.
When each of us uses our hands for this work, so thousands of hands are working at the same time how much we can accomplish!
(這就是觀世音菩薩大慈大悲，他借重了我們人人的雙手，你伸出了你的雙手，百手、千手、萬萬手，同一個時間能付出，你想這樣的力量多大。)
The money earned from recyclables supports Da Ai TV which broadcasts worldwide so people worldwide can see what Tzu Chi members are doing and how to be a bodhisattva.
So,this is a cycle of love.
By doing recycling, we set forth a cycle of love that can enable this impure world to become a clean Pure Land.
(我們的雙手能推動了乾坤，讓污濁的惡世，要讓它變成了，乾淨、淨化的人間。)
Just in Taiwan, there are four or five thousand recycling points with 50 to 60 thousand recycling volunteers.
They are all quietly doing recycling work.
They all cherish material goods and make use of their time to do recycling.
The contributions of their effort and time are truly precious.
They’re doing recycling all the time.
(他們都是默默付出，大家總是疼惜物命，還要分秒寸土，這種的分秒把握時間去做，這都是非常寶貴的力量，非常寶貴的時間，分秒中人人都在動。)
We see our recycling volunteers doing recycling work from predawn until all the way into the night.
If there are people who want to do recycling work, where do we find the land to establish arecycling station?
The land for the recycling stations is contributed by kindhearted people.
The lands are donated, rented from, or lent by people who have a bodhisattva heart.
There are places where there is no recycling station.
Yet, with determination, they still persevere.
For example, land in Taipei’s Xinyi District is very expensive. There’s a noodle eatery there.
The owner of the eatery set up a small metal structure of less than 3.3 sq. meter (36 sq. ft.) to store recyclables behind the eatery.
She keeps the recyclables very clean.
The owner of a noodle eatery, Mrs. Huang Yuhuei said: “Cleaning the recyclables will make it easier for the volunteers because they won’t smell as bad or attract ants, mosquitoes, and insects. This is why I rinse all the recyclables”
A Da Ai report asks: “The land in this area is very expensive. What’s the land value in this area?”
Mrs. Huang Yuhuei answers: “I don’t know that the land value is. We’re doing recycling to protect our environment. If we think about land price, we won’t be able to do recycling.”
In the WanhuaDistrict(萬華地區) in Taipei, our recycling station often hand to relocate.
Then, our volunteer found a place under a highway, so, they rented the place to do recycling.
A recycling volunteers, Jhang Yicheng said: “Our recycling station is quite different from other recycling station in Taiwan. The cars are constantly traveling over us and the market next to us gets very noisy early in the morning. But Tzu Chi volunteers accept these. You can see that we make loud noises here too. But we also have the sound of Master’s teachings and despite all the other noise, our volunteers work with a quite mind, working hard amidst all this as cultivation.
They can do this because their mind is tranquil.
Though the place is very noisy, they were able to play my teachings to cover up the noise.
When they listen to my teaching, they can purify their hearts. (淨心地)
A place where we can purify our hearts is a place of cultivation.
See, aren’t they practicing samadhi? (禪定)
Some people say that they want to practice meditation to gain samadhi.
In fact, being able to focus on recycling work is a kind of Samadhi. (其實心不動就是禪定，這就是已經是禪了)
Even the elderly are deeply involved in recycling.
A elderly recycle volunteer, Song Fansihmo said: “Though the recycling station moved to here, I still come. Since I have spare time, I do recycling joyfully with other people.”
She said that she’ll work at the recycling station no matter where it relocates to.
Seeing how determined she is doing recycling work, I’m deeply moved.
We also have a recycling station on Mt. Guanyin (觀音山).
It used to be a restaurant. Our volunteers renovated this abandoned restaurant and converted it into a recycling station.
A recycling volunteer said: “See this, people had thrown away there round pieces. They can’t be recycled, as there’s no use for them. So, we thought to make something special with them. We don’t want to spend money to decorate or hire someone to make the gate logo. We want to do it ourselves. The recycling volunteer all agreed to this. So, we first drew and outline of the Tzu Chi logo, then glued these round pieces to make the logo. All that you see are recycled materials, especially the materials used to make this wall it’s made from recycled wine bottles.”
A Da Ai report asked:“The bricks are recycled too?”
A recycling volunteer answered: “Yes, they are recycled bricks. People had disposed ofthem, so we collected and stored them here. This is why the size of the stonebricks in the wall are not the same.”
Such is their wisdom. Ordinary people have cleverness but not wisdom.
Yet,Tzu Chi volunteers, out of a compassionate wish to better the world, protect our land, and purify people’s hearts because of this compassion, they give rise to wisdom. So, they exercise both compassion and wisdom.
(平常的人聰明，可是沒有智慧，慈濟人一念悲心，為了救世、護大地、淨化人心，這種的悲心一起，智慧很自然也生起，所以叫做悲智雙運)
In their work, I’m truly grateful to all our recycling volunteers.
(Source:Da Ai TV 人間菩提)
首頁 
