20141031人間菩提 ~ 人才養成‧勤勇精進 Seizing Time to Do What Is Right
Time really flies. Our Mission of Education will be celebrating its 25th anniversary soon. Over the last 25 years. We’ve been working very hard to nurture talents for our society.
In 1989, we first set up a nursing college. In the first graduating class, there were only 107 students. That year, we also set up a Yi-de program and invited our Tzu Chi commissioners to care for our nursing students. Later, our Tzu Cheng members also joined them in mentoring the students, and each group of our volunteers could look after eight students.
This program has continued into this day to care for students at all of our schools. So, our students not only have teachers to guide them, but also our volunteers to care for them. It’s been 25 years, and my heart is filled with gratitude.
Thanks to the loving care and sincere guidance of our Tzu Chi members, students from our schools have all become useful members of society. They are like tiny seeds that have sprouted and grown into big trees.
See how the nurses and doctors we’d nurtured and now serving in hospitals across Taiwan with love. Their services have inspired a sense of purity, sincerity and love in the hospitals they serve.
This path we’ve walked is paved with great mindfulness over a long period of time. I often speak of “paving a path with love”. Indeed, the longer we walk down the path, the farther the path will be paved. In 25 years, we’ve paved this path of love.
We also see the Philippines. After Typhoon Haiyan, Tzu Chi volunteers have been caring for those affected for almost a year now. Be it in Ormoc and Palo, we see that the temporary houses we’re building for them are being completed one after another.
Every day, before the workers in our cash-for-work program start to work, Tzu Chi volunteers will gather everyone together and show their sincere gratitude to them. Then, they’ll share Jing Si Aphorisms with them to boost their morale and motivate them to work with their hearts. So, the work progresses rapidly. All this is made possible with love and patience.
Our volunteers and Tzu Chings from Manila also travelled all the way there to lend a hand. They not only help with serving the workers food but also share wholesome values with them. Although our volunteers are there to help with the temporary housing project in everything they do, they also work to purify the locals’ hearts in order to really better their lives so they can eventually settle down both physically and mentally. This can be done only with love.
Earlier this month, in California of the U.S., a trailer park caught fire, burning down four trailers and affecting over 20 other trailers where gas and electricity were cut off. After contacting the Red Cross, Tzu Chi volunteers went to provide aid.
Those who had received our aid were very grateful. Most of them are of Mexican descent and don’t speak English. But interestingly, a little girl speaks a little English even though she grows up in a Mexican family. When our volunteers spoke, she could interpret for other aid recipients. This is truly incredible.
Our volunteers also shared with them the story of our coin banks. It was very heartwarming. Such is love. So, we must believe in reincarnation----Maybe the girl who interpreted for us was American in her former lives. I’m grateful to her.
We also see our recycling volunteer, Zheng Mei-Zi. She is over 70 years old, but still very dedicated to doing recycling. Every morning, she takes the first bus to our recycling station in Linkou. She is always the first one there.
“Plastic bags are a big problem. If we don’t sort them quickly, they’ll pile up and become smelly. So, I go to the recycling station every day, even during the Chinese New Year holidays when everyone goes to temple to pray. The Buddha is in our hearts. It’s more important to do recycling”
“When others walk, I must run because I don’t know how much time I still have. So, I must work harder than others.”
See how dedicated she is to doing recycling. She said that she’s old and time is running out, as I often say. So, she wants to seize time to work. This is her philosophy on life.
She also said that every time she comes to our recycling station she is very happy. If she stays home doing nothing, she’ll worry about many things. So, rain or shine, she comes to our recycling station every day as she wants to work harder than others.
We also see Li Deng-shan, who is 90 years old and will become our certified volunteer this year. Years ago, he thought of joining Tzu Chi. But he hesitated because he thought he was old and couldn’t help much. He looked down on himself just because he was old. In fact, he’s a great recycling volunteer.
He’s now training to become a certified volunteer, so he does much of Tzu Chi’s work just as a trainee volunteer is required to.
“Life is impermanent. Today, I’m here chatting with you, but tomorrow maybe I’ll be in another world. No one knows for sure. If I don’t join Tzu Chi now, I might never have the chance again. I deem Tzu Chi’s work as my job and I’ll do my best until I can’t work anymore”
His children and grandchildren all love him very much. He has four sons and all of them and his grandchildren give him their full support to do Tzu Chi’s work. One of his sons said that as long as he is healthy and happy, they’ll do Tzu Chi’s work with him. He’s blessed to have such good affinities in life.
See, if everyone can work together to give with love like this, how can our society not be peaceful? When we do good, we’ll reap blessings. Seeing how happy, healthy and worry-free our recycling volunteers are, I’m really very happy.
In life, when we know something is right, we should just do it.
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