20131222冬至陽生春又來Bringing Love and Warmth in the Wintry Cold
We’re going to Sahab. A new refugee camp has been established next to large vegetable market there.
We see our volunteers in Jordan giving care and bringing warmth to the Syrian refugees in Jordan in this cold, harsh winter. Falling snow covered the camp in the thick snow. The refugees live in tattered tents and walk on wet and muddy ground caused by the melting snow.
I remember when Ji Hui was in Taiwan, before returning to Jordan, I spoke to him about the heartbreaking conditions I’d seen from news about the refugees. He said that after returning to Jordan, he wanted to give them gas heaters. I replied that if it’s safe to use in the tents, it’ll help them. Otherwise, I’d seen that some exchange food vouchers for fuel to warm up their tents. They would rather go hungry in order to keep warm.
After he returned to Jordan, he started to provide gas heaters and gas tanks to the Syrian refugees in the refugee camps. See how the volunteers truly brought aid to help them stay warm.
In California, U.S.A., volunteers are still fundraising to support the Philippine relief effort. They also presented vegetarian dishes to promote vegetarianism while also raising funds for the Philippine relief effort. This is the love we are seeing in the U.S.. Everyone across the U.S. is making the same efforts to help others. Their love is truly very touching.
The coins people donated were pooled together. The clinking sounds the coins made are quite delightful because these donations can help people. They can be used to help people restart their lives. These donations can also support the survivors through their hard times, allowing them to have a temporary shelter and begin to resume their livelihood, so they can go on to rebuild their homes. So, now in many countries worldwide, we are promoting the practice of saving money in coin banks to help people.
We’re also promoting vegetarianism to let everyone know how our climate is affected by the damage and pollution to the environment and how a great deal of this pollution comes from raising animals for meat. Such pollution from greenhouse gases is closely tied to why our climate is becoming more extreme.
So, every day, Tzu Chi volunteers work hard to protect the wellness of our planet with tireless dedication, never slackening.
To help people suffering great hardship, they very actively go out in the snowy weather to help people who are suffering. So, in places where it’s winter, they sincerely work to bring aid to help people stay warm while in places where it’s summer, they withstand the heat and scorching sun to bring care. Such is the love that bodhisattvas have.
Besides relieving suffering, they guide people to understand life’s principles. Doesn’t the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings speak of sharing the Dharma after relieving suffering
? When people have urgent needs, we quickly bring timely aid and while relieving their hardship, we furthermore tell them about life’s principles. This is what bodhisattvas do.
Out of great compassion, bodhisattvas tirelessly do many good deeds and continually strive to do more, in order to benefit living beings. We see how in the bitter winter, our bodhisattvas make a difficult trip trekking through slush and mud all just to deliver gas heaters and gas tanks. It’s no easy mission.
Meanwhile, in China, there are poor families living in the mountains. Our volunteers went there to visit senior citizens who can’t come to our distribution. Because they can’t come to us, we go to them to deliver aid to their homes. We saw an elderly couple who went to their village entrance to wait for us because they knew we were coming and really looked forward to seeing us. So, they waited by the village entrance, full of anticipation. Finally, they saw our volunteers and we gave them new winter coats.
Is it warm? Yes. It’s light and warm. You’ve never worn anything like this. Never? Yes, never.
It will be his birthday soon and he will wear this new coat for this birthday. His wife is older than him by a few years. She is 90 years old already. At ages 90 and 86, this elderly couple live in the mountains by themselves. Life is truly full of suffering. There is one family. The elderly father has to care for his two mentally impaired adult sons.
Yuanbo, this is your dad. Here, touch him. Here’s your dad.
I need to live longer so they can live longer. If I’m around, they’ll be able to live a few more years.
How old are you now? I’m 73 years old.
To live their entire lives like this is truly suffering. So, our volunteers willingly trek up the rough mountain path while carrying heavy relief goods, to go to their home to give them care and aid. See, this is the spirit of great compassion which inspires their tireless efforts. They will not let difficulties keep them from delivering aid because it will benefit people in need.
In the Philippines, during our relief effort, when the weather was hot and the ground was still muddy, our volunteers still guided everyone to pray sincerely for the world, and shared with them about the love from worldwide making Tzu Chi’s aid possible. Then, they rallied everyone to bring our their strength to clean up their community and revitalize it.
After more than a month of effort, the relief phase can now come to an end. A few days ago, I saw how sad the residents and our volunteers both were when saying goodbye. The residents were very sad, but our volunteers also felt sad leaving because of the bond that had been formed. They said, “The material aid you give us will be used up one day but your love for us is something I will never forget in my life. They were full of feeling. There really is warmth in this world.
In conclusion, such devastating disasters come about due to the karma living beings have collectively built up. The Buddha came into this world in order to teach us how to create positive karma and avoid creating negative karma and how to shift our thinking to change from unwholesome to wholesome thoughts, to leave suffering and experience happiness. By learning the Dharma, we can do this.
All in all, I hope every one of us can be a living bodhisattva and always transform our own hearts while sharing the Dharma with others to keep perpetuating a cycle of goodness among people. So, please be mindful all the time.
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