20131011 茹素培德‧宗教和諧 Serving as Living Bodhisattvas to Inspire Others to Give with Love
Yesterday was the National Day of Taiwan. In Taipei, a simple yet dignified ceremony was held. Indeed, for everyone to be able to celebrate the occasion happily together, we should count our blessings. So, we should be grateful.
We should be grateful for the peace and safety we’ve enjoyed. If everyone can learn to be grateful and seize every occasion to encourage one another to work together for the wellbeing of the world, there’ll be more peace and harmony in society.
The Buddha shares his teachings with us in the hope that everyone can awaken to truths and eliminate the afflictions in their minds so that they’ll be able to enlighten one another with their wisdom, support and encourage one another, and help one another with love. This is the beauty in human nature.
At my Dharma talks, I shared with everyone a metaphor that describes three kinds of people who have come in contact with the Buddha’s teachings. The first kind is living bodhisattvas. They take in the Buddha’s teachings and put them into practice by going amongst people to serve. With the Dharma in their hearts, they work to pave a Bodhisattva Path among people in line with life’s truths that can be followed and practiced by all.
This is how they pave a smooth path for everyone to walk. They do so to help everyone pave an inner path that can lead them to their awakened true nature.
The second kind of people are those who have learned the Buddha’s teachings, so they understand that life is impermanent and that they should not fuss over things, but should instead safeguard their minds so they won’t give rise to afflictions and create negative karma. So, they are self-disciplined and take good care of their minds.
In recent years, there have been many natural disasters in the world. Natural disasters are brought about by our lifestyles. And one thing we can change about our lifestyles is how we eat. How should we eat? We should eat healthily in a way that won’t harm the environment or pollute the air.
How can we enjoy good health, a clean environment and fresh air at the same time? By eating vegetarian. See how many animals we’ve consumed and how much karma we’ve created because of that?
In ancient Chinese mythology, we saw a python devouring an elephant. But how about humans? Humans eat almost everything. To satisfy their desire for meat, people have killed countless animals and created much negative karma.
However, killing animals and creating karma is one thing but causing pollution is another. When we raise so many animals, we pollute our environment and the air.
As Buddhist practitioners, what’s most important is to nurture a loving heart. So, I hope everyone can be aware and switch to a vegetarian diet. Otherwise, there’ll be more natural disasters.
We see the heartwarming images in Indonesia. When a major earthquake hit Padang in 2009, Tzu Chi volunteers immediately went there to provide aid. The quake had caused severe devastation in Padang. To thank Tzu Chi for its aid, the mayor of Padang even came to Taiwan in person.
Apart from bringing quake survivors timely aid, we also helped rebuild a school and construct new homes for them.
“I hope everyone can be grateful to Tzu Chi for its help. People didn’t own a house before, but now they have a house of their own. Next, we’ll focus on improving children’s education, the locals’ health, etc so that people’s lives can truly change for the better.”
All the work in Padang was carried out by Tzu Chi volunteers in Indonesia, but they gave the credit to Tzu Chi in Taiwan. That’s why the mayor came to Taiwan to express this gratitude to Tzu Chi. During his visit in Taiwan, he saw how Tzu Chi volunteers across Taiwan mobilized to help the survivors of Typhoon Morakot and he was very moved. So, he vowed to promote Tzu Chi in Padang.
After he returned, he’s truly worked very hard to promote Tzu Chi. Yesterday, our office in Padang was inaugurated. It was very dignified. Many locals have also started the practice of saving a little every day to help the needy.
So, as long as we have the will, nothing is impossible. And, as long as we have love in our hearts and give unconditionally, we can inspire people of other religions. This is possible because everyone shares the same selfless Great Love within.
What touches me the most is to see them doing recycling work. They’ve done a great job. They do this to repay Tzu Chi. After the quake, Tzu Chi volunteers built new houses and rebuilt a school for them.
For years, our volunteers have give sincerely without asking anything in return. All they hope is that people can take up recycling to help protect the Earth. So, our volunteers shared with them how people’s wasteful behavior has contributed to global warming.
They felt that what our volunteers said made sense, so they responded by taking action.
See, when we give with love, we can bring about harmony in society and inspire others to serve selflessly. This is only possible when we give of ourselves.
Living bodhisattvas will never distinguish between religions. When we embrace all with Great Love, we’ll transcend religion. Moreover, we must not ask for anything in return. This is the true spirit of religion.
Living in this vast world, this is how people in different parts of the globe can interact with and help one another. How beautiful it would be. All in all, only when people’s hearts are filled with pure love can there be peace in the world.
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