20140117 純善能量轉法輪 Awakening Our Goodness Within
In southern California of the U.S., a wildfire started on Thursday after three people tossed paper into a campfire and a breeze kicked up and set the fire. Seeing such a large fire, we truly don’t know how much land will be raged eventually.
We also see Australia, which has been hit by hear waves lately. On Tuesday night, lightning strikes sparked hundreds of fires in Victoria. Even a historic questhouse was damaged. Seeing that, I can’t help but sigh that life is impermanent. No matter how rich we are and how luxurious our house is, all it takes is a fire to reduce everything we have into ruins.
See how disasters can strike anytime. The Buddha said that our world is like a house on fire. People have many desires, and they don’t understand that everything is impermanent and life is suffering. So, they overdevelop the land and indulge in extravagance, bringing harm to the Earth. With what they do, they’ve created much negative karma.
But they think what they do will bring them happiness and wealth, so they keep doing it without holding back. If they continue their way, what consequences will be brought about? Seeing that, I’m very worried. When disasters occur, we must reflect upon what we’ve done. Apart from having such awareness themselves, Tzu Chi volunteers hope that more people can also become aware of this and then lead a simpler and more frugal life.
More importantly, they hope to inspire love in more people and awaken them to see their long buried goodness within so that they can also give with love and become spiritually wealthy. Take Malaysia for example. As Malaysia seldom has earthquakes and typhoons, how are people there to understand how terrifying earthquakes are and how people suffer after a typhoon hits? So, Tzu Chi volunteers in Malaysia mindfully set up a place for people to experience different disasters.
To show people how our actions have led to global warming, which in turn has affected the Earth, they made big models of Planet Earth stuffed with plastic bottles, disposable tableware, etc. They did everything they could to help people understand how blessed they are as they seldom experience disasters, and so, they all the more need to cherish the Earth and the resources they have.
It’s a pity people don’t collect rainwater. If they do, they can save a lot of money. The exhibition inspires people to help the poor. Through the exhibition, our volunteers hoped that people could learn more about disasters and be reminded to be cautious with their actions. Every part of the Earth is connected and we all live under the same sky.
So, there should be no boundaries between people. Living in this world, we are all interrelated. So, we must help one another. When disasters strike, we should reach out to those affected. The exhibition was held by our volunteers in Malaysia in celebration of Tzu Chi’s 20th anniversary there. They also held Year-end blessings Ceremonies where our volunteers presented.
Ven. Jian Zhen’s story for the locals. Seeing what they’ve done, I’m very moved. We also see South Africa. Our Zulu Tzu Chi volunteers there are poor, but every one of them is a living bodhisattva. See how they also fundraised for the people in the Philippines. They even invited their care recipients to join them so they could also have the opportunity to help.
They took to the streets and went from door to door to share with people that the Philippines needs help and that even a coin would do. Some people coldly turned them down, but some responded warmly. One of our care recipients who has restricted mobility also went with our volunteers to help raise funds.
She is truly full of love. See how our volunteer encouraged people to give no matter how much they could donate, even a coin was okay. But some people are poor and ill, so they don’t have money to give. So, our volunteers would pray for them and then tell them that it’s okay if they couldn’t donate money and they could always pray for the Philippines.
See how sincerely those children pray. Indeed, donating money isn’t the only form of giving. Seeing all this, I truly feel that. South Africa’s future will be very promising as the people there are very kind and loving. See how the local children showed to people the posters of the disaster in the Philippines and shared with them that they were much more blessed than the people in the Philippines and that since they were safe and well, they should reach out to help those in need.
Just like that, they collected coin after coin, and in the end, they collected around US$100. See how everyone’s tiny contributions could amount to a large sum. Such love is very pure, genuine and beautiful I’m very grateful to them.
Living bodhisattvas don’t come to the world to enjoy life, but to awaken people and remind them to do what is right. They first take in the Dharma themselves, and then share it with others to help them. Only when we can use the Dharma to help ourselves and others can we perfect our spiritual cultivation.
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