20140123生命相連共善業 Caring for All Beings and the Environment
We see that Mount Sinabung in Indonesia ahs erupted again. This volcano had been quiet for over 400 years until it rumbled back to life in August 2010. In 2013, it again began erupting notably, spewing thick ash into the sky with small rocks pelting nearby villages. There was thick volcanic ash everywhere. At the time, Tzu Chi volunteers in Indonesia quickly mobilized to provide aid.
At the beginning fo this year, it erupted again, spewing lava and ash clouds over a wide area. In the footage, we see that the sky is covered in dark ash clouds. At night, red lave can be seen glowing from the top. People there have truly suffered. Because of thick layers of volcanic ash, residents within a 5-km radius of the mountain have been evacuated. But, to prepare for a worst-case scenario, local authorities have expanded the evacuation zone to 10 km.
As more and more people have taken refuges in shelters, Tzu Chi volunteers in Medan quickly mobilized to provide aid. For the past few days, they’ve been busy surveying people’s needs and giving our aid. Such volcanic eruptions are truly very worrying to see. In Jakarta, many people have been affected by flooding and evacuated to shelters. Even before the floodwater receded, Tzu Chi volunteers rode on rubber boats to deliver supplies and meals to people.
And, in North Sulawesi, torrential rains have triggered mudslides and floods, causing severe devastation there. So, on January 18, Tzu Chi volunteers took a military aircraft to North Sulawesi to give out material supplies and provide medical care to those affected. During cleanups, many people got wounded. So, in our medical station, we perform minor surgery when needed and clean people’s wounds to avoid infection. Such medical service is very helpful to us.
We are all very happy that we can receive medical care and love from Tzu Chi. See how our volunteers have brought timely aid to those affected Tzu Chi volunteers in Indonesia are now busy providing aid to disaster victims in different parts of Indonesia. Seeing these disasters, we should be on guard. Lately, we’ve often seen disasters of flood, fire, etc.
From the news, we’ve also learned that several countries and regions have been affected by thick smoky fogs, or smog. It has created very serious air pollution. The smog in china has even drifted across the ocean to countries such as Japan, the U.S., etc. this is inevitable because we should know that every part of the Earth is connected.
So, we shouldn’t care only about ourselves; we should also care about others in the world. Living on the Earth, we’re all interconnected. However, many people only care about their own wellbeing. For example, when the weather is cold, some people well wear coats made of animal furs and skins. That’s why we’ve seen rabbits and minks being skinned alive, such acts of killing will create heavy negative karma.
But people still wear animal furs and skins just to keep warm. If people like so much to wear animal skins and furs, in their next lives, chances are that they may be reborn as the animals whose furs they’d worn in their previous lives.
People are not aware of the consequences of their actions, so they don’t know they should be fearful. See how ignorant people are. In the Lotus Sutra, we see how people in the burning house are oblivious to the danger they’re in, so they’re fearful. They’re doing the wrong things, but they are not fearful because they don’t know there’ll be consequences. This is how ignorant and blind people are.
Seeing that, I can’t help but sigh. But what can we do? As I said earlier, every part of the Earth is connected, so we are all interrelated. Only when the Earth is safe and well can we be safe and well. Look at all the disasters of earth, water, wind, and fire around the world. It’s truly alarming and frightening to see. So, we must reflect upon what we’ve done. We should also be grateful to modern technology for opening our eyes to what’s happening around the world and cherish this opportunity to learn from what we’ve seen.
The images of disasters we see contain the truth of suffering. They also show us how all the natural and manmade disasters are brought about by the unwholesome karma that we’ve created collectively. On the news, we see that the flooding in Indonesia is caused by garbage clogged in waterways. Many people are aware of that now. And in China, many places have banned. Chinese New Year fireworks if serious air pollution is forecast.
This truly is a very wise decision. Isn’t it better to celebrate the Chinese New Year in a peaceful manner? We can get together with our family and enjoy the joyous and harmonious moments together. Isn’t that wonderful? So, it’s a good policy to ban fireworks. All in all, we must cherish our environment. Apart from caring for ourselves, we should love and safeguard our surrounding and we need more people to do that with us.
Otherwise, the number of people doing bad deeds will far exceed those who are giving of themselves to care for those in need. It’s a tug of war between good and evil and we need more people on the side of good. So, let us inspire more people to do good
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