20200213警世災難須醒覺Awakening from Our Wrongdoings and Following the Law of Nature
Disasters are happening frequently in the world. The Buddha foretold that our world is filled with the Five Turbidities, which are View Turbidity, Afflictions Turbidity, Living Beings Turbidity, Life Turbidity, and the Era of Turbidity. So, add a present, there are many disasters and the environment is deteriorating.
Why is this called the Era of Turbidity? Because our world is filled with many impurities. This impure world is brought about by ignorance of all living beings. Bad karma created by ignorance has been accumulating for ages. Ignorance leads to afflictions and unwholesome deeds, speech, and thoughts.
Some people often speak unwholesome words. Making no distinction between right and wrong, they spread rumors, defame others, and so on. As often expounded in Buddhist sutras, when our five senses organs come in contact with the five objects of sense, five sense consciousnesses will arise and prompt us to act.
Through the workings of our consciousnesses and thoughts, we might distort the truth. Some people always distort the truth, whatever they see or hear. This is a result of ignorance. Led by ignorance, They spread rumors and commit wrongs, hence creating bad karma. As they make no distinction they arouse disputes between people, hence leading to the creation of bad karma.
All this derives from ignorance. Ignorance creates impurities. This is why are in the Era of Turbidity. For ages, bad karma created by all living beings has been accumulating considerably in the world. I often say that bad karma has been created collectively by all living beings.
For a very long time, there have been people refusing to look at or walk the right path in life. Led by ignorance, they go astray in life, spread rumors, and commit wrongs. We create bad karma as we spread rumors. I also often say that as many people eat meat, countless animals have been killed, which has created tremendous bad karma. Yet, we can create good karma by speaking kind words and sharing life’s truths with others.
Recently, because of the coronavirus outbreak, we canceled a school fair at a Tzu Chi School in the U.S. We see that due to the epidemic outbreak, many people are afraid and worried. So, we invited one of our volunteer doctors to share how to take precautions against the disease.
After learning the precautionary measures, those who participated in the event felt calm and less worried. They all gave positive feedback and thanked our doctor for sharing correct knowledge with them, guiding them how to guard against the disease, and setting their minds at ease.
We must be vigilant about the epidemic. Indeed, we need to live with vigilant care in daily living. Now, we must heighten our vigilance as the current coronavirus outbreak is very serious. The only way we can prevent infection is by practicing personal hygiene even if it may bring inconvenience to our life.
We must give with compassion and love to benefit all. We must know that our times are the Era of Turbidity. For ages, impurities have been accumulating in the world. As all living beings have been creating bad karma, Impurities have been accumulating, making our times the Era of Turbidity.
I often share with you that a kalpa is a very long period of time. The current kalpa is one with plagues. In a time like this, epidemics break outs. With Life Turbidity in this world, we may lose our lives to the epidemic outbreak. Recently, didn’t we learn that many people have lost their lives to the coronavirus? This is very worrying.
It is still not clear how the first patient of the novel coronavirus was infected. The virus may have come from wildlife. This is an example of Life Turbidity. To eat meat, we humans have killed animals and end up losing our own lives. So, only by stopping the killing of animals and going vegetarian can we ensure our safety and health.
There is an abundance of crops in the world that can feed and nurture us. If we can follow the law of natural, we will enjoy good health. We must understand the Dharma and live it out in the world. Humans and everything in this world are interconnected. May we all reflect on the connection between time, people, and the world.
Disasters have been occurring constantly in the world, which reminds us to be alert and awaken to the disasters. More devastating disasters are impending. So, we must quickly awaken from our wrongdoings and practice repentance.
We may have crossed boundaries in the past. Now, we must be self-disciplined. As everyone is inherently kind-hearted, we must all harbor love, care for the land and everything in the world, and lead a disciplined life by following life’s principles. This is how we should live as human beings.
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