20141129了悟四諦勤行道 Diligently Walking the Path to End Suffering
Unrest in the world has created many crises and suffering. Every day in the news, we see refugees living in crude tents, which are not able to protect these people from extreme weather. My heart goes out to them every time I see news about them I often ask myself why they have to suffer so. We are all one human family living on the same Earth, going about our own lives. Why do some people have to attack and murder each other? That is truly beyond me.
Only Dharma can explain why. This is their collective karma. Over the course of many lifetimes, living beings have accumulated a lot of negative karma, which has now ripened and led them to be born in a country of conflict, giving them unbearable suffering. Therefore, the first lesson the Buddha gave was on the truth about suffering and how to end suffering. To end suffering we must cultivate and actually walk the path, and not just know it in concept.
We have to practice giving of ourselves. Otherwise, our learning of Buddhism is in terms and concepts only. If we just learn the Buddha’s teaching without putting the teachings into practice, that is not “walking the talk” which is of no benefit. We must put into practice what we have learned. We see news from Fujian, China Fuding Hospital hosted a free clinic on a remote island off the coast of Fuding. To go there, they had to travel by boat.
Some of them got motion sickness. However, as soon as they reached the island, they quickly assumed their positions at the clinic Supt. Li led the hospital delegation there, accompanied by local official. They went to a village with no access to health care.
When the residents get sick, who can take care of them? That is why such a group of medical professionals is needed, to reach out to them with heartfelt compassion for their suffering.
When these medical professionals arrived at the village, they dedicated themselves wholeheartedly to caring for people's medical needs. It is because they’ve learned the Dharma and wish to apply the teachings by giving of themselves and dedicating their talents and skills to relieve other’s suffering. Love requires action. It requires that we give of ourselves. In their hearts, they’ve already discovered the essence of the Dharma which is to give of oneself to help others.
It is truly moving to witness Tzu Chi volunteers in Indonesia also give love to the people in need. Where there is poverty, they will go to provide assistance. They visit the poor at their homes to find out their needs. There is a case of a 13 year old girl from a poor family who receives Tzu Chi’s aid.
She is very independent and self-disciplined. Early every morning, she sells bread on the streets to earn extra money. Then she quickly rushes home to prepare for school. Every day, she saves a coin in a coin bank to help other people. In the example, we see that the wholesome values we share has reached many people, and they’ve put these values into practice. Not only do they know it intellectually, they also practice it in their daily lives.
Around this time of the year is Tzu Chi’s volunteer certificate. Volunteers in many countries are holding certification retreats. For their retreat in Africa, many volunteers had to travel hundreds or around 1.00 kilometers to attend the retreat. Volunteers, including Chinese entrepreneurs and local volunteers overcame many challenges to attend this retreat
Tzu Chi there does not have a big meeting space, and they set up a large tent on the lawn outside to serve as a classroom. Now is summertime in South Africa, there is a huge temperature difference between day and night During the day, the temperature in the tent can reach 30 to 40 degrees Celsius. In the evening, the temperature drops so low to a volunteer had to wrap a blanket around her to keep warm. So, it is very cold at night.
Though the training took place in makeshift conditions, they still all gathered together from different areas for this occasion. They took their three day training all in this tent. In fact, there are holes on the top of the tent. One afternoon, the sky suddenly turned dark. Volunteers knew a storm was coming and would bring heavy rain and fierce winds.
They quickly secured the tent by reinforcing tie downs with ropes and bricks. Even with all the bricks, they could not prevent the inevitable.
The strong winds still blew open the tent’s bottom and let in the rain when the heavy rain came. Rain leaked inside from the top of the roof and also on the sides, turning the ground wet. However, Tzu Chi volunteers continued on with their training classes. Culinary volunteers also continued to prepare the food, unaffected by the by rain dripping all over their bodies.
This shows the power of their love. In a word, despite the difficult condition, they were very earnest in learning the Dharma. The senior volunteers continually learn and take in deeply our Jing Si Dharma Lineage. In training new volunteers, be they local people or Taiwanese entrepreneurs, Tzu Chi rules and etiquette are strictly enforced without exception.
The experienced volunteers who were already certified shared with the new volunteers their Tzu Chi experiences and Tzu Chi’s values and spirit to nurture and guide the generation of Tzu Chi volunteers I am very touched to see them doing this.
Volunteers from Mozambique and Lesotho also travelled to South Africa to attend this training retreat. From their training we can see and realize that we have a group of volunteer bodhisattvas in poor countries in Africa. They are not afraid of hard work and are determined to carry out Tzu Chi missions regardless of difficulties. See how sincere and earnest they are in learning Tzu Chi’s values and spirit. I am very moved by them.
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