20200220祈求平安覺無明Taking Action to Bring About Peace in the World
Erratic weather patterns have been occurring around the world. The high temperatures in Australia have triggered bushfires. Wildfires have also destroyed large areas of the Amazon rainforest. This will have an impact on the overall climate of the Earth. The wildfires were a natural disaster caused by people’s collective bad karma.
On top of that, deforestation has damaged the environment and caused soil erosion. Due to the bad karma people have created, disasters have been occurring. Bad karma created by people has been accumulating for a very long time.
In the chapter on Parables of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha told his disciples about the numerous disasters, the evil ghosts and poisonous creatures, the spreading fire, and how all kinds of suffering would come one after another and continue on without end. I‘ve explained this passage in my Dharma talks.
The Buddha told his disciples that all living beings would suffer from many disasters in the future. The world would be filled with invisible evil ghosts and tiny poisonous creatures. So, disasters would constantly occur around the world. There would also be a spreading fire. This disastrous fire would spread ceaselessly and people would not be able to put it out.
This is what the Buddha expounded more than 2,000 years ago. The Buddha also said: All kinds of suffering would come one after another and continue on without end. All kinds of suffering brought by disasters would occur one after another and continue on without end. This is what the Buddha spoke of in the Chapter on Parables of Lotus Sutra.
If you’ve listened to my Dharma talks, you’d know that I spent a long time explaining this chapter. Please reflect on the Buddha’s teachings. His teachings truly correspond to the way of things today. So, we must believe in his teachings. At a time like this, we are in the era of degenerate Dharma and our world is filled with turbidities.
In a world where the Dharma is in decline, many people give rise to ignorance. Although they listen to Dharma talks, do they truly take the Dharma to heart? In a world full of impurities, people’s minds have been defiled and are filled with afflictions and ignorance. Due to afflictions, greed, anger and ignorance, people’s minds have become very impure.
For this reason, many disasters have occurred in the world. Nowadays, peoples minds are restless. They are unable to calm and settle their minds. Led by greed, anger, ignorance, and arrogance, even if they learn the Dharma, they do not have faith in it. Their minds are unsettled, which leads them to stray from the right path in life.
As a result, disasters have been occurring and will continue our without end. Over a long period of time, I’ve been very worried that more disasters may occur with one following another. The Earth has fallen ill. When will it recover? The recovery will take a very long time because instead of awakening from our wrong ways and heading towards the right direction in life, we humans still live in delusions.
This is why disasters have struck one after another in frequent succession. Watching the news reports every day, I see that there are earthquakes, wildfires, storms, and floods around the world. There is even a coronavirus outbreak now. The disease has spread to many countries and regions.
This is an example of suffering in life. The Buddha came to this world to help people understand that life is full of suffering. Where does suffering come from? From the bad karma people have created. As many people do not follow true principles, there is much suffering as a result. If we sow bad karma, we will bear bad consequences.
Due to people’s collective bad karma, disasters have been occurring around the world. In the aftermath of the 921 Earthquake, I said no words could describe my grief and pain. Seeing the devastation caused by the quake and the great suffering of those affected, I have no words to describe how deeply pain I felt.
I said those words in Taichung. Now, the coronavirus outbreak deeply worries me. Words cannot describe my worry, and there are many things I wish to say, but I can’t. The outbreak is truly heartrending and worrying.
If we do not harbor sincere piety, It is truly worrying. The only way we can mitigate disasters is by calling everyone to take action. We must emulate the Buddha’s heart, take the suffering of the needy as our very own, and urge everyone to pray with sincere piety for the safety and peace of the world.
The only way to express our sincere piety is by going vegetarian. Apart from knowledge and understanding, we must also take action. In a time like this, we truly must take action to make a difference. Everyone, please be mindful always.
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