20131207因核果海護善根Expanding the Power of Love Within Our Heart
“She has history of travelling to Shengzhen, buying chicken, slaughtering the chicken and eating the chicken.” “We are now seeing a second case of avian flu in Hong Kong. However, so far, the virus has not transmitted to other people.”
In our daily life, it is best for everyone to be a vegetarian. Didn’t we just see more new cases of H7N9 avian flu? They had either been to the live poultry market where they have had contact with poultry or they had eaten them. I hope people can be more cautious with what you eat. It is best not to come in contact with poultry or eat them. So, it is best to eat vegetarian.
We also saw a couple who wanted more people to eat vegetarian.
“When my eldest daughter passed away, at that time, we only had one daughter and we concentrated all our love on her. Suddenly, beyond anyone’s imagination, she passed away within just three days. Actually, during that period, we thought about committing suicide. My daughter’s passing made us realize how precious life is. When my child passed away, I really cried myself to pieces.
But, very often, when we are eating meat, myself included, we keep killing animals. Though I did not personally kill that chicken, we have a demand for it. Because we have a demand, the market will supply it. Because we demand meat, animals get killed. So, we turned to eating vegetarian. After I turned vegetarian, I thought that since I was able to successfully transition into eating vegetarian, if I can help more people eat vegetarian, then that’s also creating blessings.”
So, despite many challenges, they persisted in running a vegetarian restaurant. They are not afraid of setbacks and were very determined to go forward and do the right thing. Though every step of the way is challenging, yet by continuing onward, the rocky path can be made smooth. It is just like cultivation. To cultivate, our path is rocky and difficult.
But, we have to overcome the difficulties in order to turn our path into a smooth one. The same principle applies in both cases. Life contains many truths. Through people’s actions and life stories, we can see life’s principles.
We also see Tacloban in the news again. Tomorrow is December 8. One month ago, on November 8, a super-typhoon made landfall in the Philippines and caused massive destruction in the areas along its path. Our volunteers have been clearing away the debris.
The huge disaster area is gradually cleaned and cleared of debris and we see more and more cleaned-up areas. One by one, we see stores opening for business.
“Water came up to here and sediment here.”
“How did you clean it up?”
“It was Tzu Chi who came and cleared out debris three days ago.”
“A very big help for us. If you had not come, this area would not be so clean.”
“When we arrived, this place was filled with debris. Right now, it looks very clean. What makes me most happy is seeing a sign on one store that says “Now Open to Serve You”. This makes all our hard work for these past days very worthwhile.”
We also see out relief effort in Tunga. Our volunteers saw children holding umbrellas while attending class inside a classroom with broken roof. So, they worked quickly but mindfully to build temporary classrooms for them. Even when it was extremely hot or when it started raining, they didn’t stop working. We can already see the students happily moving their own chairs one by one into the temporary classroom.
It is truly a heartwarming scene. Moreover, after the students lined up their chairs, they all bowed to thank our Tzu Chi volunteers.
“Thank you, Tzu Chi!”
“We are very happy to see this. So, we try to work as fast as we can. When we first came, the area looked like hell on earth. But now, we can see the school children go into the classroom to study. It is very touching.”
See how our volunteers were moved to tears. To help with the relief effort, our volunteer Henry Yunez, arranged for heavy equipment to be sent to the disaster area. He has been very involved in the planning and arrangements. He is also involved in finding suitable lots for setting up our temporary classrooms. We see the children now have a classroom to study in.
Children need to receive their education. Though the classrooms are temporary, they at least provide a place for them to lean and broaden their mind and give them hope. Education is what brings hope to their future. This also helps teachers resume their teaching.
From all this, we witness the power of living bodhisattvas’ spiritual riches – the love that makes their hearts rich. Due to this spiritual treasure of love, such results are now produced. In this case of cause and effect, we can see the law of emptiness and wondrous existence. Everyone gave of themselves so willingly and contributed so tirelessly all because of the love they have in their hearts. We can see the results already.
The main roads are cleared now. As we started to make progress, cleaning the business district, stores began to reopen. Seeing such bustling activity on the shop-lined streets, we are very happy. Though it may seem like a simple thing, yet without the love inside people’s hearts, which gave them the drive to serve.
How could there be such a scene now? So, it all starts from what is inside the heart, which is the nuclear or the seed. It is from this that great power comes, creating abundant results. Seeing the survivors and their community revitalized makes us very happy.
Tomorrow will be the typhoon’s one month anniversary. We should be able to wrap up our cash-for-work program. For next, we need to quickly prepare the name list for distribution of a relief cash gift to help them rebuild their homes. To distribute this cash aid, we will need to mindfully prepare a name list. It is also our sincere hope that we can help them to celebrate Christmas joyfully, with renewed faith.
So, we are working hard on this. I am very grateful. There is so much to be grateful for. But, we really much be vigilant for Nature is very imbalanced now. We see that the Philippines within just a few months has suffered a series of natural disasters, as well as a crisis from armed conflict. So, it is very important that everyone bring their hearts into harmony.
We have to mindfully look after our heart at every moment to keep it harmonies. If everyone does this, humanity will have more blessings and the climate can become more balanced. This is what is truly important.
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