20131022 心富聖財 賑濟苦難Helping Those in Need and Caring for Our Environment
We’re here, I heard auntie’s voice. I love Tzu Chi, so I share it with people, and I’m not worried about being turned down. The lady we see is our volunteer, Mrs. Xie. See how she gives of herself with love and how persistent and patient she is.
Although she has bad knees and it hurts when she walks, with the willpower to serve, she came up with a way to climb up and down the stairs that is easier on her knees. Let’s go! Okay. Time to collect donations. Hold this for me. Be careful! I will. Why do you walk like this? I have degenerative knee arthritis. Walking downstairs this way is easier on my knees.
Indeed, as long as we’re willing to serve, we won’t consider our work hard. See how happy Mrs. Xie is every day. Her husband is also a Tzu Chi volunteer and they happily do Tzu Chi’s work together. They support each other and work together with one heart. They’re the best partners for each other.
To many, Mrs. Xie is like a loving mother, and she always patiently shares Tzu Chi with others to inspire them to give. She is always smilling and is patient, persistent and sincere in giving of her love. She’s like my mother. I’m truly very graceful for her support to help me get through a very difficult and painful time in life. She’s always there 7-11. Whenever I need help, she never hesitates. I can always count on her and she’ll always give me good solutions.
See how she does all she can to support others. Her husband is like her guardian, always staying by her side. The two of them truly cultivate both wisdom and blessings together. Seeing how accommodating and understanding they are to everyone and each other, I’m truly moved.
But, looking around the world, we see many disasters bringing suffering to people. When people live in harmony with one another, there’ll be peace in society. If not, Nature’s laws will be disrupted and disasters will ensue.
Look at Japan, Due to disasters, many people there have suffered a lot over the past few years. Now, another typhoon is heading toward Japan and may pose a great threat to Japan. It’s truly very worrying. So, I hope that the people of Japan can truly awaken to the lessons disasters bring.
Also, on October 15, a strong earthquake struck. Bohol in the Philippines, causing widespread devastation there. Tzu Chi volunteers have gone there to provide aid and care. It’s the same with our aid work in Zamboanga. The other day, our Zamboanga volunteer, Anton Lim, came to Taiwan to see me. He said that gunshots can still be heard at night, so people there are still very anxious.
As children there still need to go to school and many schools have been damaged, the local government asked if Tzu Chi could provide them with 160 large temporary classrooms for the children. So, right now, in our office in Houli, Taichung, our volunteers are working to assemble these 160 classrooms. Now, many schools in Bohol have been damaged by the earthquake. In a few days, our volunteers there may come and brief me about the locals’ needs.
This is how Tzu Chi volunteers carry out disaster relief work around the world carry out disaster relief work around the world. They are truly living bodhisattvas. Wherever there are disasters, our volunteers will go there to provide aid and care to those affected.
Here in Taiwan, we also see an abundance of love. Yesterday, our hospital in Taipei worked with a miners’ hospital to hold a free clinic in a mountain area. Many young people there have moved to the city to work, so most of those left behind are the elderly. As many of them have difficultly moving about, our doctors and volunteers went to their homes to bring them care and medical help. Such is love. There’s indeed much warmth in the world.
We also see Tzu Chi volunteers in the U.S. state of New Jersey going to a local lake park to pick up trash there. They do this four times a year. See how some of our volunteers’ shoes and pants were all covered in mud. But they didn’t mind as they said: “We can wash our clothes, but once our environment is polluted, it will affect our future generations”
Indeed, when our clothes become dirty, we can wash them clean, but when our environment is polluted, our future generations will suffer the consequences. Seeing how our volunteers serve unconditionally and willingly clean the lake park at ease like this, I’m indeed very moved.
This is how Tzu Chi volunteers give of themselves with love wherever they are. This world we live in is where all living beings call home. So, we must love and care for one another. If everyone can do so, our minds will be at peace and Nature’s elements will be in harmony.
We must also know that it’s time for us to change our lifestyles and lead a simple, frugal, and diligent life. We should not indulge ourselves in comforts. If we do, our basic human capacities will be lost and we won’t be able to take care of ourselves. All this is a result of leading a materially comfortable life.
So, what we need to do now is to work harder to teach our children how to care for the Earth, interact with others in harmony, and follow proprieties, moral principles, etc. We should also teach them how to take care of their daily living, such as cooking a meal, washing clothes, cleaning, etc. as well as how to cherish resources. But, no matter what we’re going to tech them, we must first set an example ourselves. In all, I hope everyone can mindfully live out the value of their lives.
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