Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Love, Cherish and Benefit Others (愛人惜物利人群)
Since we were born into this world, we must co-inhabit it with all creatures, not to mention our distant relatives, close neighbors, friends and acquaintances. We should even care for strangers. We need to extend our love to cherish and protect everything on Earth. As humans, this is what we all need to do. In particular, we want to give others peace and happiness. Peace comes from cherishing and loving one another. When we respect the existence of all things, all beings can enjoy their blessings.
Now let us look at the next paragraph. “Also, from Beginningless Time until now we may have besieged cities, burnt villages, ruined homes, trafficked people, or abducted others’ slaves.” This paragraph is also not hard to understand. We have previously talked about abusing public authority for private gain, taking away people’s homes, seizing their stores and shops, or damaging their towns and villages. This is what we have been discussing. We should repent all of this. We have to respect [afflictions] layer by layer. Since Beginningless Time, we may have committed an unfathomable number of major and major [wrongdoings]. Besides seizing other people’s land and homes, we may have “besieged cities.” We did not just seize a village or a few homes, we may have also “besieged cities.” This is even bigger. A city is bigger than a village, bigger than a township. One city may besiege another city.
In ancient India, the city was the most important. Each city was its own state. This was in ancient times. Some people felt their city was not large enough, so insatiable greed arose in their minds. They took the initiative to attack other cities, and annex them to their own. This is besieging cities, seizing other people’s towns and cities. Or they may have set them on fire, burned down someone’s town, city or village.
Even today we often hear about this. When our volunteers went to Cambodia, they could sense [the tension there]. The people were divided into parties and factions, and were often warring with each other. The Khmer Rouge formed, the red political party. Then there were government soldiers, who always wanted to attack, subdue and destroy the Khmer Rouge, which was the remnant of the Communist Party. The government had wanted to go subdue them. But these people escaped to the mountains which were their stronghold. From there they established their party. They would often come out and loot villages. At the time we went to provide relief it was still very dangerous. There were land mines everywhere. To protect the relief workers, the army would send out a tank or armored car to clear the road. So, with much apprehension, we carried out our relief work there. At the same time we saw how often war broke out. The people could not make a living; they had no way to safely do business, or work the fields. So, the country became very poor. You could see that the soil was good, but the irrigation systems did not work, because they had been damaged so often. They had soil, but no water to farm with. Or there might be huge fields of soil, but no one would dare to farm them. Why wouldn’t they dare? Because there were land mines. They were all very small; once they were scattered you could not see them. There were some called butterfly mines; they were as small as butterflies. The resistance fighters would sometimes plant this kind of mine on farmland. If you were not careful and stepped on one, it would explode. So, a big field of fertile land could actually harm many people. Thus, there were many handicapped people there.
Some farmers were working, but they could not get enough water, because the irrigation systems were broken. Some irrigation canals had water, but there was no way to irrigate the fields. They had to pump water, but to pump water you need a motor and fuel. The government could not even buy gas to supply the farmers.
Seeing this kind of government. I felt deeply for its people because they could not develop farms or factories. This was all due to political factions. Between the government attacking the resistance, and the resistance coming down and looting the villages and farmers, stealing rice just after harvest, or burning the field when it ripened, it was extremely chaotic.
We would often send them grain and seeds, gas and motors. When the farmers worked the fields and saw the rice plants were ripe, they would begin to cut and harvest them. At that time the Khmer Rouge would appear and seize all the harvested grain. Afterwards, they would set fire to all the remaining crops. This was going on while we were doing relief work. We felt very nervous, heartbroken and helpless. Think about it. Because of people’s conflicts, they break into factions. They may be divided by city or county boundaries. Because of people’s minds, or the greed of those who hold power, they lead people to attack other cities or counties, or even villages. Whether it is looting or burning, they violate other people’s boundaries. Or, we may have “trafficked people” or abducted other people’s servants.
This was all in ancient times. Is it still like this now? I saw an article about mainland China. Mining areas are very dangerous. There are often explosions or tunnel collapses. So it became harder to find workers. Some people go to very poor areas, and kidnap child laborers. They lure the children out, saying they will take them to find work, but actually they take them to the mines. Sometimes they deceive the parents into letting the children go. Sometimes they just grab and abduct them.
According to this report, when the children arrive, they aren’t treated like people; they are badly abused. They are forced to work all day without food, and their quarters are quite crude. With no food, no shelter, they are constantly forced to work. When I saw this I could not bear it. In the pictures of the article, you could see that these children had no trace of youth left. This is all due to poverty and people’s evil mindsets. These evil mindsets lead to the destruction of cities, so citizens can’t live peacefully and happy so citizens can’t live peacefully and happily. Some even “traffic people.” They lure people always, or abducts them and force them to work. This was very common in the past, and it still exists today.
“We may wrongly oppressed the innocent. We may lead them to die on a bloody blade, or lead them into captivity, or destroy their families.”
Because using and deceiving others, we may “wrongly oppress the innocent.” Some people have done no wrong, but in order to use them for labor, others wrongly persecute them and lock them up. Then they are forced to toil.
Today there are many veterans in Taiwan. If their stories were told, we might find them hard to believe. Some of them were taken, loaded onto boats, and shipped to Taiwan, Vietnam or northern Thailand. Why were they brought there? To fight in the war. They were abducted to become soldiers. This also occurred in the Japanese colonial era. Able-bodied, young people were sent by the government to the front lines, to Hainan or many other places to besiege cities, to make war. Some were forced by the government, others were coerced by neighborhood [officials], thus “wrongly oppressing the innocent.”
They had done no wrong, but were gathered together and sent to the front lines “led to die on a bloody blade.” They were sent to die, sent to fight, like being sent to the chopping block. This is the “bloody blade.” People were sent to the front lines, into the cannon fire.
In the past they did not have cannons, they used swords or spears. So this passage says, “lead them to die on a bloody blade.” It is like sending them to the chopping block. A chopping block is like a cutting board. It is like sending them to a place where they will be executed. “We lead them into captivity, or destroy their families.” It is a sorrowful life to be born in a time of war and chaos. War comes from the deviant views of rulers, who lead so many innocent civilians [to die]. They phrase it nicely, “Sacrifice your life, fight and die for your country.” Don’t they know how many old people are left without support, how many become widows and orphans? Families are broken up. Sometimes they use bonds, strong chains to carry people off. This is truly not a peaceful world; it is chaotic and tears families apart.
Also, “Separated from their parents, children were sent to another land, isolated for the rest of their lives. For these and other countless transgressions, we repent completely.”
Perhaps in a past life we did these kinds of things. Perhaps we caused children and parents to be separated. “Sent to another land” means sending someone to a different country.
In the past, Taiwanese people were sent to Hainan as soldiers, or mainlanders were abducted and brought to Taiwan. How many families were separated in this way? Those young people who were taken to Taiwan are now old and lonely veterans.
At that time their wives were at home, so they may have left widows and orphans. Many people were killed, many families broken. Thus they came to live isolated lives. So who created “these and other countless transgressions?” We do not know who created them. If we committed these “countless” transgressions, and caused people to die or forever separated from their families, we truly need to repent.
People born into this kind of chaotic world certainly have done these things in the past. From the beginning of history, humans have constantly invaded each other’s lands, deceived and cheated each other, etc. This has been happening forever. This all comes from people’s minds, and now the population is ever increasing. People fight over the land, and then countries fight each other. Think about it. Now we really need to purify people’s minds so that everyone can co-exist peacefully in this world.
When people are born they are naturally this way. The whole world is like a big family, not to mention our real relatives and neighbors. Perhaps our ancestors are from the mainland, and our bloodlines may be all over the Earth. So we should really cherish both our distant relatives and close neighbors.
Not only do we need to love all people, we also need to cherish all things, and protect all life. This is what we need to promote now. Everyone, If we can all manifest this love to benefit all people and things, then everything we do creates blessings.
So everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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