20131005 人間菩提~防颱準備 擇法精進To Prepare for Approaching Storms
When the typhoon approaches, we will patrol the area under our jurisdiction to see if there is any blockage. Accumulation of leaves, tree branches, and miscellaneous items will be immediately cleared.
It is expected that the outer rim of Typhoon Fitow will impact Taiwan, bringing strong wind and heavy rain. So, we must not take it lightly. People should be sincere in staying alert and carry out typhoon preparedness work.
This typhoon is followed by another tropical storm. With these two storms coming one after the other, we should be very cautious and prepare for it sincerely. We also see that Tropical Storm Karen is closing in on the Louisiana coast.
People in the area are very concerned. We see they are quickly carrying out storm preparedness work. It is better to be over-prepared than under-prepared. We see Thailand is affected by flooding again.
Heavy rain in areas north of Bangkok is causing water levels to rise. Like the flooding two years ago the floodwaters are rising again this year. We humans should deeply reflect and ask ourselves, “Why are disasters happening all around the world, causing crises?”
Every country nowadays is suffering from some disaster, be it earthquake, flood, wildfire, or storm. Also, many exporting countries have reduced the amount of grains they export. With a large population to feed, reduction in food harvest, unfavorable climate, and people’s demand for leisure and enjoyment all create problems in our world.
We see that China is now having a week-long national holiday. So, in one day, over 80 million people traveled for tourism and leisure. Hundreds of tons of garbage were created in the course of such mass tourism. How scary. The people had spent their time and money, but the media reported that many people said they were very tired out. I believe they must be tired because there were massive crowds at he scenic tourist spots.
So, they couldn’t see anything only crowds everywhere. But they had willingly gone to these tourist sites packed with people. What could they really see there? Not to mention all the garbage created. Why do that to themselves?
But, such is the way people are with their tourist activities, they produce considerable amounts of garbage. It takes many, many people to clean it all up. And, the garbage isn’t biodegradable.
Look at the harm to the environment. And, with masses of people continually trampling on the land in these areas, the land will also become compacted and degraded. If everyone can be more humane and unselfish and live more simply, lot of resources can be conserved instead of being wasted.
We see that in China, there are already many people starting to bring forth their love. Over the past few days, new volunteers from 24 regions across 16 provinces came. Many are the first volunteers in their area. They were very mindful and inspired. They made the great vow to bring Tzu Chi’s values back to China to spread this spirit and inspire everyone to have a good heart and carry out Tzu Chi’s mission to spread the Dharma and help living beings.
Their great convictions and vows will really bring great hope for China because with China’s big population, massive amounts of garbage is created. Also, many people are lost about life’s true value. If someone can point out the right direction to them so they can come to have the right values in life, with all these people transformed, it will bring great hope to the country.
We also saw heartwarming footages. When the South Asian Tsunami hit in 2004, Tzu Chi volunteers went to Sri Lanka to provide disaster relief at Hambantota. Hambantota was an underdeveloped town in Sri Lanka. It was in a remote area, very poor, and was hit hard by the tsunami.
At that time, Tzu Chi medical volunteers from Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, United States, and Canada all joined together and participated in this disaster relief effort. For this major disaster, team after team of Tzu Chi volunteers went there to help in the immediate aftermath.
Next was our mid-term aid: providing free clinic services to the local people. For several years, our Singapore TIMA volunteers traveled to Sri Lanka every year to hold large-scale free clinics there.
Next was our long-term aid: building a housing community for disaster survivors. After our Great Love Village was completed, Hambantota also came to be developed into a major economic area. Moreover, an international port is also being built there.
At the same time, an eight-lane highway was built in this remote, outlying region to improve transportation. We see how, in a short 9-year-period, Hambantota has developed into a prosperous place. We also built them a secondary school, which became Tzu-Chi National School.
We saw how the students are receiving their education in this school. Recently, our construction committee members returned from a visit to Sri Lanka. They reported that the school provides very good education there.
The female students look very graceful and the male students are very clean-cut. When I heard this, I felt very satisfied because the students’ clean and proper appearance shows that they are being taught well. This is what we saw in Sri Lanka.
Every day in this world, we are creating history. We have to decide how we want to face the world and our life every day. Using a good frame of mind, we bring peace and harmony to all. We truly should be grateful every day because it is love from many, many people that makes what we do possible.
So, we should be grateful to have each other for every undertaking in our history is made up of contributions from everyone. I’m very grateful. So, I have to express my gratitude every day.
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