20131225 轉業清淨成道場Recycling for a Better World
My daughters have been Tzu Chi volunteers for years. Once, they took me to a Buddha Day ceremony, and I was deeply moved by it. So, when they suggested setting up a recycling station in our town, I immediately agreed to turn our fish factory into a recycling station.
Now, it’s become a gathering place for volunteers and we moved the recycling station across the street. I’ll reserve this place for Tzu Chi’s work forever.
See how Mr. Chen and his family had decided to turn his fish factory first into a recycling station and then a gathering place for Tzu Chi volunteers. Actually, by running a fish factory, they’d committed the karma of killing. To many people, animals are food for human beings. Because of people’s ignorance and their desire for meat, we’ve killed many animals for food, creating bad karma.
But, look at Mr. Chen. His daughters are Tzu Chi volunteers, and they hoped that their parents could learn more about Tzu Chi and the Buddha’s teachings.
So, they invited their parents to attend a Buddha Day ceremony, which moved them deeply.
So, when his daughters proposed to set up a recycling station in their town, Mr. Chen turned his fish factory into a recycling station, which has now become a gathering place for our volunteers to cultivate together and inspire one another to give with love and nurture their spiritual wealth by benefiting others. It’s truly a meritorious deed.
Everyone, when we do recycling, not only can we help to protect the Earth, but also support Da Ai TV in spreading wholesome teachings to benefit humanity. Many years ago, we had a slogan “ Turn garbage into gold, turn gold into love, and let this love become a stream of purity that flows around the world”. Have we done that? Yes. Indeed, this stream of purity is now circling around the world.
Through satellites, Da Ai TV in Taiwan is able to transmit its programs for people across the globe to watch. Now, there’s the Internet as well. With the help of these technologies, Da Ai TV can share, for example, my Dharma talks with people in many parts of the globe. Although I am in Taiwan, Tzu Chi volunteers around the world can all watch my Dharma talks.
The programs that Da Ai TV produces are all very good, and that’s why they receive awards every year. Most importantly, these programs have helps better people’s lives.
For example, some people think about committing suicide, but when they tune in to Da Ai TV and hear what I or our volunteers say, they shift their perspectives, turn their lives around, and even become someone who can help others. We’ve heard many stories like that.
So, by doing recycling, we not only help the Earth, but also support Da Ai TV to spread correct values and guide people onto the right path in life. All these are the results of our recycling volunteers’ effort. The Year-end Blessings Ceremony in Yilan is the first one during my trip this time, and many of the attendees are our recycling volunteers.
All of you have dedicated yourselves to caring for the Earth and sowing blessings for our world by reaching out your hands to collect and sort recyclables.
With what you do, you allow resources to be reused. After collecting the things that people have used and discarded, you mindfully sort out recyclables into several categories. I often say that I cannot compare with our recycling volunteers. When I see plastics, I can never tell what kind of plastics they are.
All I know is that they are plastics. But, by touching or rubbing the plastics and listening to the sound, our recycling volunteers can tell you whether it is PET, PVC, PP etc. They’re really good at that.
The uniforms you are wearing now, be it gray shirts, blue shirts, or white pants, are all made from yarn spun from processed PET bottles. They can keep us warm. Just now, as I got off the van, I found it very cold outside. So, immediately wrapped the scarf around me.
It was very warm. The scarf was also made from PET bottles and remake them into useful things. Over the years, we’ve sent millions of blankets made from recycled PET bottles to many needy people around the world.
Wherever disasters strike, Tzu Chi volunteers will give out the blankets to those affected. So, many countries have received our blankets, and countless people have benefited from them. That’s why every year around this time, I’ll come here to personally express my gratitude to all of you. This year is coming to an end.
As we welcome in the new year, we should see the past year off with gratitude. At this time of the year, it is my sincere wish that everyone will contemplate how we’re going to contribute to humanity and the Earth in the future and which direction we should head in. For example, what can we do to benefit others and ourselves? Now is the time to think and make vows.
It is said that in winter, we should make plans for spring. By making vows now for the coming year, I hope you can start off a new year that is full of hope ahead. May the new year be filled with peace, blessings and wisdom. That’s my best wishes to you all.
首頁 