Date: September 10th,2010 (Friday)
Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Treasuring Our Resources Through Recycling 菩薩人文教育站
Good morning, everyone.
I’m sure all of you here are early risers.
Is that right? (Yes)
By getting up early, we are seizing the time we have.
Indeed, by seizing the time we have, however short it may be over time, we can achieve great things.
(起早就是要把握時間，疼惜時間，真真正正時間我們若把握，時間本來就是有長短，短的時間我們好好把握，久了就叫做長，長時間)
This is how our recycling efforts have accumulated for 20 years now.
In these 20 year,we have extended the life of many material things. (疼惜物命)
There are many attractive commodities in the world that people wish to possess out of indulgence (享受的心).
When they like something, they buy it.
But such a desire to have something is only momentary(一時的愛欲), as they don’t usually cherish what they have for very long.
Think about how people continuously go through such a cycle of wanting things, and buying things out of impulse.
But after buying things and finding that they take up too much space, people simply discard them.
When things are discarded, they become garbage.
“Garbage can lead to many problems.”
This is something you all know too well, because garbage is truly a great problem.
Do you still remember that about 20 years ago, garbage disposal was a problem in Taiwan?
Fortunately, we also began promoting recycling 20 years ago.
And now, we have around 5,000 recycling points and over 60,000 recycling volunteers across Taiwan.
So, Taiwan is indeed a blessed place as it is full of people who give of themselves with love.
Take this Guanyin recycling station for example (五股觀音山環保教育站).
As soon as I saw this place, I could see how mindfully, you have made use of recycled materials to beautify the environment.
On the walls, we also saw many Jing Si Aphorisms (靜思語).
See how you have truly transformed this recycling station into a spiritual cultivation ground.
Seeing all that, my heart is filled with gratitude.
This recycling station used to be a restaurant that sold chicken dishes.
But as circumstances would have it, things did not work out, despite how beautifully this place had been landscaped.
So, it was left unused for over ten years until Tzu Chi volunteers set up a recycling station there two years ago.
See how this place really has deep affinities with Tzu Chi (跟慈濟的緣較深) and how such affinities have turned it into a place that sows blessings (福緣).
What was initially a restaurant has now become a place full of living bodhisattvas.
Moreover, this place has now become an educational recycling station that works to raise people’s environmental awareness. (這個地方已經是一個，菩薩人文的教育站，這真正是菩薩人文的教育站)
It is truly a very clean and peaceful place. Just now, I saw an Acacia tree out there.
So, it looks like everyone still remembers what I had mentioned before that the tree Ilove most is the Acacia tree (or Xiang Si tree, meaning remembrance in Chinese 相思樹).
That’s because as a child, I often played under the Acacia tree in front of my home.
So, it always brings up a lot memories for me.
I also saw that you’ve named the garden here Xiang Shi Garden(想師園), meaning thinking of Master’s in Chinese.
I can truly feel your love and respect for me and may your love and respect for me serve as an encouragement to you.
Does everyone feel encouraged? (Yes)
Am I always in your thoughts? (Yes)
Indeed, I can see that you have put in every bit of love you have for me into doing recycling and other Tzu Chi work.
Earlier I took a look inside the recycling station and saw how very clean it is.
Though there are many things in there, they are all precious treasures.
Lately, we’ve been sharing with people how things can be again turned into raw materials and remade into other useful things.
We should make the most of all the things we use in daily life as many of the material we use are made from the Earth’s precious resources.
(我最近一直說，清淨在源頭，清淨在源頭，天底下的物資，都能夠好好來來利用，我們利用那些都是源頭來處都是很可貴的東西)
For example, many of the clothes we wear are made from synthetic materials like nylon.
Nylon in actually made from petroleum products, and it became widely used, when nylon stockingsand pantyhose (尼龍長襪和絲襪) became commercially available to people.
All the nylon products we use come from petroleum(石油). At first, it was seen as a precious material.
But with the drilling of more and more oil, nylon products became common in daily use and also became cheaper and cheaper.
In fact, we should realize that if we keep using the Earth resources without check, they will runout one day.
(其實我們現在要知道，物極必反，我們如果一直把它用用用，用到後來就會空了)
That is what we must be aware of and not keep pumping for more petroleum.
See how people’s excessive need for petroleum has led to incidents such as the recent oil spillin the Fulf of Mexico, causing and environmental disaster in the sea.
So, nowadays, disasters are not only occurring on land, but also in the sea.
All this is a result of people’s greed(人的欲念).
Through continual development, products become cheaper and more affordable, and so, people become more wasteful.
But we must realize that that these things we use and then discard as garbage can still be turned into raw materials again and remade into other valuable things.
This is why we are now working hard to let everyone know and understand that all the things we use are treasures.
In fact, all the resources we have in this world are precious treasures.
So, you’re all collecting treasures.
When we collect recyclables and put them to good use, they become treasures.
(我們這時候要認清，那些買來的東西我們使用後, 然後將丢棄變成垃圾，它還可以再回源頭去，回源頭，它可以再變造出，很有價值的東西，這是我們現在努力，一直要讓大家知道，我們這些東西真正都是寶，凡是天地之間的物資，無不都是寶，所以我們大家是在收寶，把寶回收來，有用的它就是寶)
Take this recycling station for example.
By making good use of it, Tzu Chi volunteers have turned it into a treasure in many ways.
Firstly, it is acultivation ground for everyone.
Secondly, we can do recycling work here.
Thirdly, it’s a place where our volunteers gather, support and inspire one another. (互相勉勵, 淨化人心)
Working together here, many volunteers have found answers to their questions about life and gained peace of mind.
So,anything that is useful is a treasure. That is the case with this piece of land.
So, I’d like to thank the owner of this land for having built this place and set up everything here and I’m very grateful to the volunteer for providing this space for us to use.
For that, I thank him very much.
I’d also like to thank our senior volunteers, they understand what I want to do, so they take it upon themselves to lend me a helping hand.
See how Mr. Xie has inspired so many people and gathered everyone together to help clean up this place and set up this recycling station.
See how you’ve made good use of this place by doing recycling here and donating the money, you collect from selling recyclables to Da Ai TV so that itcan produce wholesome programs to spread the message of goodness worldwide.
So, in a way, you’re spreading the Dharma.
I am teaching the Dharma but you’re the ones living it out and spreading it far andwide. It is truly a very meritorious deed. (師父在講經，說是在說法，其實你們是在行經，你們也是在弘法，真正是功德無量)
Thank you all and please be more careful and mindful in every aspect of the recycling work you do.
(希望人人做環保，凡事要細心、要用心)
(Source:Da Ai TV 人間菩提)
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