20131002緣苦眾生種福因Seizing the Opportunity to Give with Love
See how powerful and destructive Typhoon Wutip was. It was a natural disaster. Storms nowadays always bring with them strong wind and heavy rains. This is how powerful natural disasters can be. We also see manmade disasters. For many days, I’ve been very worried about the situation in Zamboanga of the Philippines.
Since the first day of the conflict there, our local Tzu Chi volunteers have been providing food and supplies to those affected. At the same time, our volunteers had also been very worried about our eye clinic and our prosthesis manufacturing center in Zamboanga. Fortunately, I've received word that the crisis in Zamboanga is over, and our eye clinic and the prosthesis manufacturing center have not suffered much damage.
So, our volunteers can set their minds at ease now. Before the crisis ended, I kept cautioning them to be careful with their relief work and not to be hasty. They have listened to my words and gave out aid to those affected only with the help of the military. Now, our volunteers are looking at how they can provide further aid after the crisis as more than 10000 homes were destroyed and over 150000 people were affected.
So, our volunteers in the Philippines are now trying to help these people. They’ll start surveying people’s needs and provide aid first to those who need it the most. I’m grateful that our volunteers there are safe and well so that they can continue to give with love like this. In China, as our winter aid distributions will start soon, our volunteers are now visiting poor families to survey their needs first.
During their visits, they saw that some people still kept the blankets, coats, etc. that we gave them five years ago. Some elderly people even said that they want to wear our coats when they pass. Seeing how endearing and content they are I am very touched. And in Taiwan, we see a man who lives alone and is unable to take care of his daily living. So, Tzu Chi volunteers went to help clean up his house.
This is what our volunteers in every part of Taiwan do every day to help those in need. There are many such heartwarming stories to tell. This kind of love is what every society and our world needs. When we give with love, many people’s lives can change for the better. Apart from improving their lives, we can also inspire them to give, so they can become spiritually wealthy and happy.
All this is possible because there are living bodhisattvas who come into being wherever there is suffering. This is the working of karmic affinity. Today, I’m very happy to see our trainee volunteers from several parts of China. Welcome back to your spiritual home in Hualien. Seeing every one of you here, I can’t help but think of how Tzu Chi started its work in China. In 1991, China was devastated by severe flooding.
Given the severity of the disaster that affected many people in a vast area, Tzu Chi volunteers mobilized to fundraise for the flood survivors in China. We also built permanent housing for people in four counties of three provinces. At the time, I insisted on building permanent housing that would be sturdy enough for people to live in for generations to come.
I also suggested that the locations of the housing communities we built shouldn’t be too far away from cities so it’d be easier for them to find jobs. In Quanjiao of Anhui Province, we helped build a total of 945 houses in 14 communities, and it took less than 60 days for the construction to be completed.
At the time, we often encouraged our construction workers to work hard rain or shine, day and night to complete the construction as soon as possible so that people could move into their new homes before the Chinese New Year. Thought the surrounding landscaping was not done yet the houses were ready for people to move in. I remember it was in December when the houses were completed.
At the time, it was freezing cold but people couldn’t move in as the inauguration ceremony hadn’t been held yet. Hearing that, Master immediately said that as it was very cold, it’s okay for people to move in first and to hold the inauguration ceremony later. Thanks to the help and support from the local officials, each family was able to receive a title deed for their house and a certificate for using the land where their house stands.
So, everyone not only had a new home, but they also owned the house they lived in. we also see that the wife of a family gave birth to twins. Many men even got married after moving in. one man shared with us that he was able to get married because he had a house. So, many girls wanted to marry him. Looking back, it’s been over 20 years since we built the permanent houses for them. Time truly flies.
So, we need to seize time. All this had been made possible due to the coming together of causes and conditions. So, we need to seize the opportunity to give. The footage on this part of history flashed very quickly before our eyes. But, every step we took along the path was actually very difficult. Although it had been an arduous path, what we see now fills our hearts with much warmth. Indeed, the power of love is unlimited. Please seize the opportunity to serve.
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