20140105心中有法行大願To Diligently Take in Dharma and Give for the Greater Good
It’s again time to wish you all a Happy New Year. Time always flies by so fast. Our life also diminishes with the passage of time. I often say that every morning when I wake up, the first thought that arises in my mind is: I’m so grateful that at the start of the day. I’m healthy and can move about.
Every day I’m grateful for this. Every day, I also remind myself that with yesterday gone, I have one day less in my lifetime. Being able to move about and carry out my daily activities. I have to be grateful for this. Every day, this is my first thought when I wake up.
Everyone, everyday, we really have to cherish the time we have, especial at the start of each day. We need to take hold of time to take in Dharma and develop our wisdom-life. That’s why I hope all of you will listen to my morning Dharma talk every morning. In order to lead you by example and keep you company, besides the talk broadcasted on TV at 5:30 A.M., I come out to give a talk every morning.
The Lotus Sutra contains the ultimate teaching the Buddha wanted to give living beings---to guide all to walk the Budhisattva Path. I tell myself that I must complete my talks on this sutra’s essence. So, I don’t let myself rest. Every single day that I am at the Abode, I insist on making it to the Buddha Hall to explain this Dharma.
It is my hope that all my disciples can listen. No matter what country you’re in, you can attend the talk via videoconferencing thanks to modern technology.So, as long as you want to listen, you’ll be able to.
If you have a will, you can. When you’re listening, at that same moment, I’m speaking live. You are with me. You’re there to hear what I’m saying to you. No matter how far away you are, so long as you want to listen, you’ll be able to.
Hearing that you’re diligently learning the Dharma makes me very happy. At many Tzu Chi offices, people regularly attend the Dharma talk. I can feel how they’re taking in Dharma. It makes me very happy. At lunch time, I met a very senior volunteer. Her commissioner number is around 1400. She is already 81 years old this year. She told me: “Master, last year you told us to use the Jing-Si e-Book Device to record donations.”
I registered in April to buy an e-book device. In May, I started learning how to use it to register donations. And now, can you teach others? Master, to tell you the truth, my memory is not good, I need to write everything down first. Look. here: steps 1,2,3,4. That’s how I do it. You even know English?
I don’t know English. I note it in Japanese syllables that I know. I never went to school, so I can’t read, I just try my best to learn. People called to say they wanted to donate to Tzu Chi. They gave me their ID number which starts with “ABC”. I know the numbers, but not the English letter. So, I ask my grandson to say the English letter and I write its sound in Japanese.
She attends the morning Dharma talk. You attend? Yes, I come around 4 A.M. You write your notes so neatly. Your handwriting is better than mine.
Moreover, she can use her e-book device to download articles. When she find articles with good teachings she then sends the articles to other volunteers. See, when we’re determined to learn, we can overcome all difficulties.
Also, we saw a couple, Cai-chun and her husband, A-po. Look at Mr. Lv A-po. When I certified him around 30 years ago, his hair was still black. Now, his hair is all white. But he is still working hard and has inspired many to join Tzu Chi. This is an example of “one giving rise to many”.
When a new commissioner is certified, she will inspire more people to join Tzu Chi. when a new Tzu Cheng member is certified, he will inspire a group of people to become volunteers. So, one can give arise to many, and the many resulted from that one volunteer.
Also, there is our volunteer Mr. Tong.He offered such a large place to Tzu Chi to serve as a recycling station as well as a meeting venue. Every morning before 5 A.M., volunteers gather there to participate in the morning service and listen to my morning Dharma talk via videoconferencing.
They cultivate so diligently, doing recycling and learning Dharma there. That is a place of cultivation. Located in the city, in the midst of a bustling area, it’s a tranquil, dignified place for cultivation. I asked him what his profession was. He replied without thinking: “Tzu Chi.“ He is a full-time Tzu Chi volunteer wholeheartedly committed to Tzu Chi.
He donated a large piece of land to Tzu Chi to use for gatherings and recycling. He is an example of the rich among the rich, serving as a living bodhisattva and giving of himself and his wealth for a greater good. He is truly very inspirational.
This is the power of love. There are so many people in Taiwan who have great selfless convictions and give of themselves for the greater good. This is in Taiwan.
Taiwan is the birthplace of Tzu Chi. It’s been 48 years since Tzu Chi was founded. This year will be our 48th anniversary. It will be exactly 48 years when we reach the third month on the lunar calendar. After that we’ll start our 49th year. See how through time, we’ve been able to fulfill the work of our missions.
Everyone, we really need to seize the time we have to walk Tzu Chi’s Bodhisattva Path. Here in Taiwan, we have favorable circumstances to serve as a living bodhisattva.We also have so many good and wise people working with us as our fellow volunteers. I am also here in Taiwan with you. So, we should be even more mindful and dedicated.
We live in very troubled times when living beings predominantly have many wrong views, inner impurities and afflictions. So, there are many corrupting influences all impacting people so that they’ve become spiritually ill, so they do many errant things and cause a lot of problems and chaos in society.
What is really needed now is for us to go amongst people to share the Dharma with them to help them walk a correct-path.
But of course, as you go out to serve in a group with many people like Tzu Chi, it’s natural that you will run into various people troubles. That’s why we need to regularly learn the Dharma. When we understand life’s principles, we won’t so easily feel hurt.
And, when encountering obstacles in the course of our service work, we won’t so easily quit because when we’ve taken in the Dharma and understand the principles in life, the various setbacks we encounter or troubles with people won’t deter us from our cultivation or make us lose our will to walk the path.
So, we need to regularly take in the Dharma and most importantly, use the Dharma to cleanse our minds and grow spiritually.
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