20130914船師雖病猶度人Rising Above Illness and Obstacles to Share the Dharma and Inspire
It is given I will leave this world one day, so I just hand myself over to my doctor and settle my heart down in my faith. I don’t think too much about things, just pass each day with a broad and pure heart and make the most out of every moment. If I can get well and good, if not, next life, I will continue to do Tzu Chi’s work as I have been doing for over 20 years. I have no regrets. I am so glad I can be part of Tzu Chi in this life.
Mr. Wang was very familiar to us. He was a Tzu Chi volunteer who did many good works and formed good affinities with many people. He was very diligent and active in doing Tzu Chi’s work. Not only did he do the work himself, he also supported others doing it. He had a virtue of rejoicing the good that others did. We are truly saddened by his passing.
Half a year ago, he was diagnosed with terminal stage pancreatic cancer. Everyone was shocked. He was a person with no bad habits, such as drinking or smoking. He was very good and kind. He supported and encouraged his wife Xuezhu in doing Tzu Chi’s work. Sometimes, when she encountered setbacks over disagreements with people, he was her wholesome friend and guide and helped her to let go of her afflictions and recover her motivation to actively do Tzu Chi work.
In a word, Xuezhu says that she is very blessed. This is because she has very good sisters who are fellow Tzu Chi volunteers and give her a lot of support. What makes her even more blessed is that she married such a good husband with good character and habits. Whatever she wanted to do, he would accommodate her and let her do it. He was also her wholesome friend and guide.
So, the script of his life can be considered as a happy play, a very joyful life. His whole life has been so good. When Tzu Chi volunteers went to his home to chat with him, they could see how happy and harmonious his family was. His grandson came to him, and he hugged him very tenderly and said to him: “Grandpa will not live to see you grow up.” His grandson answered: “Take care, Grandpa.”
He was still so positive-minded. His abdomen was swollen and he could not eat. So, he was brought to the hospital. He was hospitalized for only two days, and on September 11, he passed awat very peacefully. Xuezhu could not accept it. But, two days ago, when we spoke on the phone, she said, “Master, my pain and grief was only for a short period.
I have thought it through and have let go now. I am very grateful I have the support of the big Tzu Chi family. Please don’t worry about me, Master.” I told her to settle down her mind and be at peace and once she has taken care of his funeral and other arrangements, to quickly return to Tzu Chi. She said she will, most certainly. Before he passed, Mr. Wang told fellow volunteers not to have any regrets in doing Tzu Chi’s work, and to do it actively and earnestly.
He said, “In my life, one thing I never regret is being a part of Tzu Chi.” At his end, his commitment and will to cultivate remained very firm and he left the world with such peace in his heart. We sincerely give him our best wishes. May he return to us very soon and be born in a Tzu Chi family so that from young, his heart can be nurtured and so he never leaves the Tzu Chi path, so that he can take up the great mission of passing on the Dharma and guiding all beings, for the sake of the wellbeing of the world and all humanity. This is our best wishes for him.
Indeed, here in Taiwan, we have the good affinities to have had such a role model and wholesome friend and guide who continually reminded everyone to seize time to walk the path and never lose that heart and conviction.
We also see a volunteer from Myanmar, a country of the Theravada Buddhist tradition. She is firmly committed to the Tzu Chi Path and shares Tzu Chi with everyone.
“Ever since we were little, we pray to the Buddha every day, hoping to quickly go to the paradise of Pure Land. Tzu Chi is not like that. Going to the Pure Land is not a priority, walking the Bodhisattva Path is. For example, while walking the Bodhisattva Path, we might have greed, a bad temper, violate the five basic precepts, etc. Humans are prone to all sorts of desires.
Walking the Tzu Chi Path helps people, cleanse their hearts and come back to the right path in life. Dharma is like a boat that can carry people to the shore. Though what I can do is limited, I will continue to share Tzu Chi with people. I will continue to speak up and keep sharing. In order to inspire more volunteers, we have to try our best in sharing Tzu Chi with others every day, just like we have to eat and bathe every day.
We have to share Tzu Chi with others every day because they still don’t know about Tzu Chi. We have to give people an opportunity to get to know Tzu Chi. So, I still have to keep sharing.”
She vows to inspire everyone to know and join Tzu Chi. She is determined to bring this Buddhist spirit of working for the good of society and living beings and have it take root in her country. Her sincerity is very touching. In a word, life in this world is very short and transient. The end of one life is the start of another.
May he leave behind this body harrowed by illness to have a wonderful new life full of wholesome affinities and blessings as well as wisdom, so that from the very start of life, his wisdom-life can be nurtured and grow. This is our deep and heartfelt hope for him. For those still with us who are walking the Bodhisattva Path, we give them our best wishes to continue on this path unremittingly.
In this world, there are so many people who give of themselves unstintingly with the conviction: “Just do it.” because they know that they do is a right thing. We also need to know that life is impermanent. Life in this world is very short, yet it is also only here in this world that we have the chance to serve as a bodhisattva because being a bodhisattva is about rescuing people in suffering.
For the past few days, I have been very worried about the crisis in Zamboanga, Philippines. Finally, both sides have agreed to talk and a ceasefire is taking place now. Can this ceasefire and the hope for peace last? Let us pray for them wholeheartedly and sincerely. May those involved find calm in their heart and return to their past peaceful way.
Life is full of man-made crisis and natural disasters. On top of that, we never know how much time we have in life. So, we should truly seize the opportunity we have now to learn the Dharma and really take it into our heart and at the same time practice the Dharma in our daily life to live a grounded life and move steadily forward on the path of awakening.
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